Sidley Austin LLP > San Francisco, United States > Firm Profile

Sidley Austin LLP
555 CALIFORNIA STREET
SUITE 2000
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104
CALIFORNIA
United States

Visit website 1 415 772 1200 1 415 772 7400

Go to...
Rankings

M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism Tier 1

Sidley Austin LLP has a strong track record and market reputation in shareholder activism, both domestically and internationally, and is ‘full of skilled attorneys‘ who work on high profile activism matters for household name clients such as The New York Times Company. The team includes two specialist activism and takeover defense practitioners in Derek Zaba, who splits his time between Palo Alto and New York, and Kai Liekefett in New York, with the pair referred to as ‘great lawyers who have a very good practice representing public companies defending against activist investors’, and are well supported by Jessica Wood in New York, who has represented a wide range of public companies against shareholder activism. Leonard Wood in Houston was promoted to partner in January 2023, and is a key team member experienced in takeover defense, with specialist expertise in investor pressure connected to ESG issues.

Leading lawyers: Advice to boards

Kai Liekefett – Sidley Austin LLP

Next Generation Partners: Advice to boards

Derek Zaba – Sidley Austin LLP

Practice head(s):

Kai Liekefett; Derek Zaba

Other key lawyers:

Beth Berg; Jessica Wood, Leonard Wood

Testimonials

‘Full of skilled attorneys.’

‘Derek Zaba and Kai Liekefett are great lawyers who have a very good practice representing public companies defending against activist investors.’

‘Deep experience and leadership in area of activism defense. A practice singularly focused in this area and with partners who are respected in the industry.‘

Key clients

The New York Times

Hasbro, Inc.

Box, Inc.

Alkermes, Inc.

Zendesk, Inc.

Momentive Global Inc.

SpartanNash Company

US Foods Holding Corporation

Peloton Interactive

LivePerson, Inc.

TreeHouse Foods, Inc.

Comtech Telecommunications Corp.

CytoDyn, Inc.

Blucora, Inc.

Quotient Technology Inc.

NiSource, Inc.

UBS Puerto Rico Family of Funds

Medallion Financial Corp.

UpHealth, Inc.

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.

Work highlights

Representing The New York Times in its activism campaign defense against ValueAct Capital Partners.
Represented Hasbro in its successful proxy contest against hedge fund Alta Fox.
Represented Box in its successful proxy contest defense against Starboard Value, which was Starboard’s first defeat in a proxy contest in nearly a decade.

Environment > Environment: litigation

Climate change litigation TIER 1

Environment: litigation TIER 3

Hall of Fame

David Buente

- Sidley Austin LLP

Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)

Appellate: Courts of Appeal TIER 2

Appellate: Supreme Courts (States and Federal) TIER 2

Hall of Fame

Next Generation Partners

Michael Levy - Sidley Austin LLP

Finance > Structured finance: securitization Tier 2

Insurance > Insurance: non-contentious Tier 2

Hall of Fame

Michael Goldman

- Sidley Austin LLP

Perry Shwachman

- Sidley Austin LLP

International Trade > Trade remedies and trade policy Tier 2

Hall of Fame

Andrew Shoyer

- Sidley Austin LLP

Dispute resolution > International arbitration Tier 3

Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco) Tier 3

Environment > Environment: regulatory Tier 3

Hall of Fame

David Buente

- Sidley Austin LLP

Environment > Environment: transactional Tier 3

Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings

Advice to underwriters TIER 3

Advice to issuers TIER 4

Hall of Fame

Edward Petrosky

- Sidley Austin LLP

Next Generation Partners

Johnny Skumpija – Sidley Austin LLP

Finance > Structured finance: derivatives and structured products Tier 3

International Trade > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions Tier 3

Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection) Tier 3

With the May 2022 arrival of David Lashway

, John Woods, Jennifer Seale and Jonathan Wilan from Baker McKenzie LLP, Sidley Austin LLP’s Washington DC-centered practice has deepened its expertise in the data privacy and cybersecurity space. The team is called upon to advise leading technology companies and public companies on global and critical malware and ransomware matters that require international regulatory engagement, law enforcement coordination, breach notifications and SEC disclosures. Practice co-heads Alan Charles Raul and Lashway advise clients on global regulatory compliance, data breaches and crisis management with the former focusing on issues concerning national security, constitutional and administrative law. Lashway is also known for his expertise in advising on incident responses to critical infrastructure attacks, national-level misinformation-related issues and data due diligence assistance as part of corporate transactions. Colleen Theresa Brown is the key contact for emerging technology issues, working on the full range of mandates. Clients in the financial sector rely on Woods’ advice concerning global responses to data integrity attacks. Seale brings experience in handling complex cybersecurity investigations. Clayton Northouse departed the firm in April 2022.

Hall of Fame

David Lashway

–Sidley Austin LLP

Practice head(s):

Alan Charles Raul; David Lashway

Other key lawyers:

John Woods; Jennifer Seale; Jonathan Wilan; Colleen Theresa Brown

Testimonials

‘The team has deep expertise in privacy and cybersecurity and provides great guidance across the board. They have a long history on working with these issues and provide expert guidance on short notice.’

‘Alan Raul has long time deep expertise on cybersecurity and privacy laws stemming from a background in administrative law.

‘Colleen Brown is an excellent privacy attorney working closely with the financial services industry and providing expert advice.’

Key clients

WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.

AT&T

Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association

Stonepeak

Clearlake Capital Group L.P.

nCino, Inc

Work highlights

Represented a technology company in a highly sensitive cybersecurity matter regarding the Cyclops Blink malware by a Russian threat actor.
Advising AT&T on a broad range of privacy and cybersecurity issues, including advising on communications, satellite and cable privacy, location data privacy, and general privacy under the FTC and Telecom Acts, as well as under state (such as CCPA and CPRA) and international laws.
Advising SIFMA on financial privacy, cross-border, cybersecurity, and emerging technology issues.