The Legal 500

Within Corporate tax, tier 4

Sidley Austin LLP has expertise in funds and other financial services work. It acted for Western Union on its acquisition of Travelex Global Business Payments Business, and for Zynga on its acquisition of Wonderland Software. Drew Scott is recommended.

Within EU and competition, tier 6

‘Fantastic’ firm Sidley Austin LLP has ‘great knowledge, and a great ability to work with people all over the world and co-ordinate effectively with them’. It acts for clients including Airbus, Hachette, Microsoft, and AT&T. It acted for Western Union on its $1bn acquisition of Travelex Global Business Payments. David Went is recommended, and Tim Cowen is ‘intelligent but also practical, and capable of thinking in terms of broader strategy for a corporate client’.

Within Financial services, tier 4

Sidley Austin LLP’s ‘service levels are first rate’. The practice’s advisory experience includes regulatory capital under the Basel/CRD framework, hedge fund regulation, consumer credit issues, and payment services regulation and e-finance. John Casanova ‘brings to bear years of experience’, and Leonard Ng is also highly rated. Rachpal Thind was promoted to partner.

Within M&A: premium deals, £250m+, tier 7

Sidley Austin LLP’s team ‘is always responsive, knows its stuff, and gives very business-focused advice’. In 2011 it advised Western Union on its £606m acquisition of Travelex Global Business Payments. Thomas Thesing and Jonathan Wallace are ‘excellent negotiators and advisers’, and were joined by Stephen Blackshaw from Linklaters LLP.

Within Commercial litigation Commercial litigation

Within International arbitration International arbitration

Within Corporate restructuring and insolvency, Sidley Austin LLP is a third tier firm,

Aided by a very strong transatlantic offering, Sidley Austin LLP’s team specialises in advising US-based multinationals on their restructurings, and in advising US investors. Team head Patrick Corr had a significant involvement in the global restructuring of Titan Outdoor Group. US-qualified Marc Wassermann has particular expertise in restructurings involving structured products. Clients include GE Capital, Regus and Grant Thornton.

Within Debt capital markets, Sidley Austin LLP is a third tier firm,

Sidley Austin LLP’s team, led by Stephen Roith, is ‘first class, intelligent, thoughtful and responsive’. David Howe, trustee expert Bart Capeci, Mark Walsh and Dorothee Fischer-Appelt ‘don ’t miss a thing’. Howe advised Olayan on Credit Suisse’s issue of $3.4bn buffer capital notes.

Within Derivatives and structured products, Sidley Austin LLP is a third tier firm,

The ‘high-quality’ team at Sidley Austin LLP features Matthew Dening, Elizabeth Uwaifo, Paul Matthews and Howard Waterman, who are known for innovative transactions. Recent examples include a £3bn longevity risk transfer for a leading reinsurance company, and assisting on the hedging of a $500m covered bond for Standard Chartered.

Within Investment funds, Sidley Austin LLP is a third tier firm,

Sidley Austin LLP’s hedge and private funds clients include Centaurus Capital, Merrill Lynch Asset Management, and Trafalgar Asset Management. Practice head Bruce Gardner is recommended.

Within Securitisation, Sidley Austin LLP is a second tier firm,

Sidley Austin LLP’s Graham Penn is advising the issuer on the proposed restructuring of the highest-value European CMBS, the €5.3bn Grand securitisation. The firm advises many fund clients, and is well known in the RMBS space. John Woodhall advised Banco Santander on a NOK5.7bn Norwegian auto-loan deal; and a €500m trade receivables deal for Styrolution was another highlight for the team.

Within Insurance and reinsurance litigation, tier 6

At Sidley Austin LLP, Dorothy Cory-Wright recently acted for Pulsar Re, the Bermudan reinsurance company, in a dispute over assets valued at $60m following the liquidation of Lehman Re. Other clients include BMA Suisse SA and Lonmar Global Risks Limited. Simon Fawell was promoted to partner.

Within Insurance: corporate and regulatory, Sidley Austin LLP is a third tier firm,

Sidley Austin LLP has a team of ‘talented individuals providing exceptional service’, with practice head Martin Membery noted for his ‘pragmatic approach’. Matthew Dening is praised for his ‘strong working knowledge of standard structures and derivatives’; and Matthew Griffith is also recommended, along with associate James Phythian-Adams, who joined from RPC. The team recently acted for a reinsurance group in relation to the £3bn Rolls-Royce Pension Scheme longevity swap to Deutsche Bank. Other clients include Aon, Prudential plc and Munich Re.

Within Insurance: insolvency and restructuring, Sidley Austin LLP is a second tier firm,

At Sidley Austin LLP, Nigel Montgomery advised four participants in a carefully crafted solvent scheme of arrangement, the CUAL Scheme, including Allianz Global Corporate & Speculate and Allianz IARD. The team was also active in assisting international clients in relation to Solvency II requirements on non-equivalent third country insurers in the UK. Martin Membery is recommended, and Nancy Corbett transferred to the London office from New York.

Within Commercial property Commercial property: hotels and leisure

Within Property finance, Sidley Austin LLP is a second tier firm,

Sidley Austin LLP is ‘definitely a go-to team for CMBS knowledge and special servicing’. The team advised Starwood Property Investment Trust on the provision of junior finance to an investment fund acquiring supermarkets in Germany. Graham Penn is ‘a font of knowledge, and very diligent when giving advice’, and Jason Richardson is ‘very dependable and knowledgeable’.

Within Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, tier 4

Sidley Austin LLP advises clients such as Celgene, GlaxoSmithKline and Teva/Cephalon on transactional, regulatory and litigation matters. Tom Thesing and David Went advised on the corporate and competition law aspects of Medline’s acquisition of CareFusion’s surgical products division.