Sidley Austin LLP, a premier global law firm, has announced the elevation of 29 lawyers to partnership and 12 to counsel, effective January 1, 2024. This significant announcement, originating from the firm’s Chicago and New York offices, underscores Sidley’s ongoing commitment to nurturing exceptional legal talent and bolstering its diverse practice areas across key global markets. This promotion cycle also highlights the success of Sidley’s innovative “Built to Lead℠” associate development program, with this class being the first to fully benefit from its comprehensive framework.
“It is a privilege to recognize this remarkable group of lawyers for their outstanding talent, collaborative spirit, and unwavering dedication to achieving exceptional results for our clients,” stated Mike Schmidtberger, Chair of Sidley’s Executive Committee. “This cohort of new partners and counsel truly embodies the best of Sidley, reflecting the breadth and depth of our expertise across a wide spectrum of legal disciplines.”
Yvette Ostolaza, Chair of Sidley’s Management Committee, further emphasized the strategic importance of these promotions: “The diverse backgrounds and practice areas represented by our new partners and counsel are a testament to Sidley’s continued growth trajectory and our firm-wide commitment to providing clients with the most talented legal minds in the industry. Witnessing the progression of the first class to fully engage with our award-winning Built to Lead℠ program to this pivotal career milestone is particularly inspiring.”
Meet Sidley’s Newly Promoted Partners:
Century City
- Feifei Bian, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A): Specializing in M&A, Feifei advises private equity firms, portfolio companies, venture capital investors, and strategic corporations in complex transactions spanning diverse industries and international jurisdictions. Her expertise encompasses mergers, acquisitions, strategic investments, and a broad range of corporate matters.
- Evie Whiting, Global Finance: Evie’s practice is centered on global finance, with a focus on advising clients in the entertainment and sports sectors. Her deep understanding extends to film slate financing, single picture financing, television financing, production and distribution of motion pictures, television, and digital content, as well as financing aspects within the sports and music industries.
Chicago
- Natalie C. Chan, Labor, Employment and Immigration: Natalie is a versatile labor and employment attorney, adept in both contentious and advisory roles. Her dynamic practice includes litigation, counseling, internal investigations, training, and strategic advice on corporate transactions. Natalie handles a wide array of employment law matters, including discrimination, harassment, wage and hour disputes, contract disputes, and restrictive covenant issues.
- John Grothaus, Insurance: John focuses on corporate and securities law within the insurance and financial sectors. He represents insurance companies, financial institutions, and private equity firms in M&A, capital investments, securities offerings, and complex insurance financings. John is known for his ability to develop innovative and practical solutions tailored to meet client-specific needs.
- Teresa A. Napoli, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Teresa provides expert counsel on employee benefits and executive compensation matters. Her clients include both public and private companies across diverse sectors, with significant experience advising private equity firms and their portfolio companies on the intricacies of benefits and compensation structures.
- Zach Paterick, Investment Funds: Zach specializes in advising alternative asset managers on the formation and operation of private funds. His extensive experience covers hedge funds, private equity funds, co-investment funds, credit funds, and other alternative investment vehicles. Zach also represents investors in negotiating portfolio company investments, co-investments, and strategic transactions.
- Leif E. Peterson II, Intellectual Property (IP) Litigation: Leif is a seasoned IP litigator representing both plaintiffs and defendants in complex patent disputes. His expertise spans infringement, validity, damages, FRAND licensing, and antitrust issues across diverse technologies, including cellular and wireless standards, pharmaceuticals, and automotive devices.
- Jennifer M. Wheeler, Commercial Litigation and Disputes: Jennifer concentrates on white collar defense, regulatory enforcement, professional liability actions, and complex commercial disputes. She represents corporations, accounting firms, and individuals in enforcement actions before the SEC, PCAOB, and DOJ.
Dallas
- Sean Damm, Global Finance: Sean’s practice emphasizes financing transactions, including private equity-backed financings, acquisition financings, syndicated lending, and debt restructurings. He represents both borrowers and financial institutions in domestic and international financing deals, demonstrating versatility across different financing structures.
- Courtney J. Gilberg, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A): Courtney advises public and private clients, including private equity sponsors, in complex corporate transactions. Her expertise includes acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and investments across sectors such as healthcare, technology, financial services, and energy.
- Jeremy B. Pettit, Energy and Infrastructure: Jeremy’s practice is focused on M&A, joint ventures, and private equity investments within the energy sector. He advises private equity funds, public companies, and private entities on transactions across upstream, midstream, renewables/low-carbon, and energy services.
- David A. Silva, White Collar Defense and Investigations: David defends companies and executives in complex criminal and civil investigations, government enforcement actions, and white collar matters. He has significant experience with FCPA, False Claims Act issues, and multinational investigations across Latin America, Africa, Europe, and Asia.
London
- Jonathon M. Hamill, Private Equity: Jonathon advises private equity firms and financial institutions on a range of transactions, including leveraged buy-outs, distressed M&A, and growth capital investments. His sector expertise includes financial services, real estate, energy transition, infrastructure, and technology.
- Sarah Lainchbury, Commercial Litigation and Disputes: Sarah specializes in resolving complex cross-border commercial disputes through litigation and arbitration. Her experience includes high court litigation, contentious regulatory work, and cross-border investigations, particularly in the Commercial and Chancery Divisions.
Los Angeles
- Lauren M. De Lilly, Commercial Litigation and Disputes: Lauren handles a variety of commercial litigation matters, with a focus on trademark, advertising, and copyright law. She defends clients against class actions and protects intellectual property rights for clients in media, entertainment, consumer products, and financial services.
- Adriane Peralta, Products Liability: Adriane defends companies in product liability, class action, and consumer fraud litigation. She has represented clients in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotechnology industries, with significant experience in dispositive motions and appellate work.
Munich
- Jörg Fischer, Tax: Jörg advises German and international clients on German and international tax law. His focus areas include structuring private equity and restructuring transactions, M&A deals, and fund structuring, demonstrating expertise in complex tax-related aspects of corporate transactions.
New York
- Mark G. Adler, Global Finance: Mark focuses on all facets of debt financing, representing corporate and private equity borrowers in acquisition and non-acquisition contexts. He also has experience in restructurings and complex capital structure transactions.
- Chuck Daly, Investment Funds: Chuck advises traditional and alternative investment advisers on regulatory compliance. His expertise includes compliance program design, implementation, and ongoing administration for registered and unregistered advisory firms.
- Adam M. Gross, Capital Markets: Adam specializes in corporate and securities law, representing issuers and underwriters in public and private securities transactions.
- Julie Ann Rosenberg Lamm, Global Finance: Julie Ann’s practice centers on debt financing, including workouts, asset-based lending, and leveraged finance.
- Reuben Zaramian, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A): Reuben focuses on shareholder activism and corporate governance, advising public companies on investor engagement, takeover defenses, and ESG issues.
Palo Alto
- Helen Theung, Capital Markets: Helen represents clients in securities offerings and corporate governance, including private company financings, public offerings, and SEC compliance, with a focus on life sciences, healthcare, and technology industries.
Washington, D.C.
- Laura Collins, Antitrust and Competition: Laura advises clients on antitrust and competition law, drawing on her experience as a former DOJ Antitrust Division trial attorney. Her expertise includes merger investigations, monopolization issues, and pricing policies.
- Jacquelyn E. Fradette, Commercial Litigation and Disputes: Jacquelyn represents clients in all phases of trial litigation, with experience in complex commercial and class action litigation, including False Claims Act and consumer protection cases.
- Krista Kay Lewis, Private Equity: Krista represents private equity sponsors and companies in domestic and cross-border M&A, investments, and restructurings across diverse industries, including healthcare and technology.
- Ray Mangum, Commercial Litigation and Disputes: Ray handles government investigations and civil litigation, including False Claims Act matters and healthcare litigation. His expertise includes eDiscovery and data analytics, advising clients on complex data management in litigation.
- Jack Raffetto, Environmental: Jack focuses on environmental litigation, including CERCLA matters and Clean Water Act litigation. He also advises on environmental aspects of transactions and defends financial institutions in consumer class actions.
- Andrew J. Sioson, Securities Enforcement and Regulatory: Andrew advises clients on regulatory, compliance, and enforcement matters before the SEC, FINRA, and other regulatory bodies. His practice includes cryptocurrency and blockchain-related issues.
Sidley Welcomes New Counsel:
Dallas
- Jocelyne E. Kelly, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A): Jocelyne handles complex corporate and transactional matters, advising domestic and international clients on M&A, joint ventures, and securities offerings across diverse industries.
Hong Kong
- Liming Xu, Capital Markets: Liming focuses on corporate finance and capital markets transactions, including IPOs and debt offerings in Hong Kong and the U.S. He also advises on M&A and FCPA investigations.
Houston
- Andy Chen, Energy and Infrastructure: Andy advises clients on debt financings in the energy sector, representing capital providers and borrowers in various credit facilities and loan structures within oil and gas.
- Quan Q. Lu, Energy and Infrastructure: Quan focuses on global finance in the energy sector, with experience in structured finance, asset securitization, and corporate finance transactions.
- Eduardo Marquez Certucha, Energy and Infrastructure: Eduardo advises private equity firms and investors in M&A and project development, with a focus on energy, mining, and transportation sectors, particularly in cross-border Latin American transactions.
London
- Dr. Chris Boyle, Food, Drug and Medical Device: Dr. Boyle advises and litigates in regulated sectors including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, food, and chemicals. His expertise includes compliance projects and due diligence in life sciences corporate transactions.
New York
- Jessica M. Pisani, Private Equity: Jessica focuses on domestic and cross-border M&A, representing private equity sponsors and corporations across industries including technology and defense.
- Jamie M. Sadler, Antitrust and Competition: Jamie advises clients on antitrust issues in mergers and acquisitions, with experience in HSR Act filings and global advocacy strategies before regulatory bodies like the FTC and DOJ.
- David L. Zhao, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A): David focuses on a wide range of domestic and cross-border transactions, including M&A, joint ventures, and equity financings.
San Francisco
- Lauren C. Freeman, White Collar Defense and Investigations: Lauren helps clients navigate regulatory environments in government investigations, with experience before agencies like the DOJ and FTC. Her expertise includes consumer protection and technology sectors.
Washington, D.C.
- Elyssa R. Kutner, Global Arbitration, Trade and Advocacy: Elyssa counsels clients on U.S. customs law and import compliance, representing clients before U.S. Customs and Border Protection in administrative proceedings.
- Meghan F. Weinberg, Healthcare: Meghan focuses on healthcare regulatory and compliance matters, advising clients on fraud and abuse, healthcare reform, and program coverage.
Sidley Austin LLP is recognized as a leading global law firm with 2,300 lawyers and an extensive history of 157 years. The firm is renowned for its Built to Win℠ legal strategies, providing comprehensive legal services across transactional, investigation, regulatory, and litigation matters in over 70 countries. With 21 strategically located offices across the United States, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region, Sidley offers a global perspective and reach, supported by lawyers fluent in over 80 languages and possessing deep cross-cultural and legal expertise.
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