NEWS & INSIGHTS

New York - Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business has named 171 lawyers from Sidley Austin LLP as leaders in their field in their 2011 guide. In addition to lawyer rankings, the Chambers guide ranks practices on a national and regional basis. Eighty-two practice areas in Sidley’s U.S. offices were recognized, with 20 receiving number one rankings. Sidley was also recognized in Chambers’ new ranking categories, Client Service and Commercial Awareness, in a number of nationwide practice areas. Sidley received 197 lawyer rankings for 171 ranked lawyers, including three “Star” rankings, 36 number one rankings and six “Up and Coming” rankings in a broad range of practice areas. 

Sidley’s Intellectual Property Litigation practice was also recognized as the IP Team of the Year at The Chambers USA Awards for Excellence 2011.

The 20 number one ranked practice areas are:

• Nationwide (8) – Appellate Law; Capital Markets: Securitization; Environment; Financial Services Regulation: Consumer Finance (Compliance); Insurance: Transactional & Regulatory; International Trade; Investment Funds: Hedge Funds; Transportation: Rail (for Railroads). 
• District of Columbia (1) –Environment. 
• Illinois (10) – Antitrust; Banking & Finance; Corporate/M&A & Private Equity; Environment; Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Reinsurance; Insurance: Transactional & Regulatory; Intellectual Property; Labor & Employment: Employee Benefits & Compensation; Media & Entertainment: Litigation; Real Estate. 
• New York (1) – Corporate/M&A: Highly Regarded.

In addition to the firm’s rankings, Sidley was “Recommended for Client Service Nationwide” in the following practice areas: Antitrust; Appellate Law; Capital Markets: Securitization; Corporate/M&A: The Elite; Insurance: Transactional & Regulatory; Investment Funds: Hedge Funds; Privacy & Data Security; Products Liability & Mass Torts; Tax: Corporate & Finance; and Transportation: Rail (for Railroads). Sidley was also “Recommended for Commercial Awareness Nationwide” in the following practice areas: Antitrust; Capital Markets: Debt & Equity; Capital Markets: Derivatives and Structured Products; Capital Markets: REITs; Climate Change; Environment; Financial Services Regulation: Banking (Compliance), Broker Dealer (Compliance) and Consumer Finance (Compliance); International Trade; Investment Funds: Registered Funds; and Transportation: Rail (for Railroads).

Three partners received “Star” rankings, Chambers and Partners’ designation for their highest level of recognition. Thomas A. Cole, chair of the firm’s Executive Committee and a member of the Management Committee, received a “Star” ranking in Corporate/M&A (Illinois); Carter G. Phillips, managing partner of Sidley’s Washington D.C. office and a member of the firm’s Executive and Management Committees, received a “Star” ranking in Appellate Law (Nationwide) for the third year in a row; and Renwick D. Martin, member of the firm’s Executive and Management Committees, received a “Star” ranking in Capital Markets: Securitization (Nationwide) for the second year in a row.

Additionally, one partner and one practice area were recognized in the Spotlight Tables, which spotlight firms and lawyers who have “achieved a ranking for the breadth of their expertise, but also receive praise from commentators for having a particular practice (or industry) specialty as part of their wider skill set.” David T. Buente Jr., a global coordinator of the environmental practice, was recognized in Products Liability: Toxic Torts (Nationwide). Sidley also received a Spotlight table ranking in Privacy & Data Security: Healthcare (Nationwide).

Thirty-three Sidley lawyers achieved 36 individual number one rankings for their work in specific practice areas. Lawyers who received number one rankings in the Nationwide category include: Roger R. Martella Jr. for Climate Change; Eugene R. Elrod for Energy: Oil & Gas (Regulatory & Litigation); Susan A. Stone for Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Reinsurance; Jeff S. Liebmann for Insurance: Transactional & Regulatory; Daniel M. Price and Andrew W. Shoyer for International Trade: Trade Remedies & Trade Policy; William D. Kerr, David R. Sawyier and Michael J. Schmidtberger for Investment Funds: Hedge Funds; Thomas C. Green for Litigation: Trial Lawyers; Alan Charles Raul for Privacy & Data Security; and G. Paul Moates for Transportation: Rail (for Railroads).

In Illinois, the following lawyers received number one rankings: John W. Treece for Antitrust; James E. Clark for Banking & Finance; Larry J. Nyhan for Bankruptcy/Restructuring; David W. Carpenter for Communications; Frederick C. Lowinger for Corporate/M&A; S. Michael (Sy) Peck for Corporate/M&A: Private Equity; Richard W. Astle for Energy & Natural Resources: Transactional; Robert M. Olian for Environment: Litigation; William M. Sneed and Susan A. Stone for Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Reinsurance; Michael P. Goldman and Perry J. Shwachman for Insurance: Transactional & Regulatory; David T. Pritikin for Intellectual Property; Priscilla E. Ryan and Stewart R. Shepherd for Labor & Employment: Employee Benefits & Compensation; Scott R. Lassar for Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations; Richard O’Brien for Media & Entertainment: Litigation; and Lee M. Smolen for Real Estate.

In the District of Columbia, the following lawyers all received number one rankings: David R. Kuney for Bankruptcy/Restructuring; David T. Buente Jr. for Environment; and Thomas C. Green for Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations.

In New York, Jeff S. Liebmann received a number one ranking in the Insurance: Transactional & Regulatory category. Gary F. Bendinger of the New York office received a number one ranking in Litigation: General Commercial in Utah.

Paul R. Walker of the Los Angeles office received a number one ranking in Real Estate in California.

The six lawyers who received “Up and Coming” rankings are: Allison J. Satyr for Banking & Finance (Illinois); Jeffrey E. Bjork for Bankruptcy/Restructuring (California); R.J. Carlson for Capital Markets: Securitization (Nationwide); Kevin J. Campion for Financial Services Regulation: Broker Dealer (Compliance) (Nationwide); Hae-Won Min Liao for Healthcare (California); and Amanda M. Todd for Insurance: Transactional & Regulatory (Illinois).

A firm profile and complete rankings for Sidley are available on the Chambers and Partners website at: http://www.chambersandpartners.com. In the 2010 guide, 163 Sidley lawyers were recognized.

The U.K.-based international publisher Chambers and Partners based its report on in-depth interviews with leading private practice lawyers and key in-house counsel.

Sidley Austin LLP is one of the world’s premier full-service law firms, with more than 1600 lawyers practicing in 17 U.S. and international cities, including Beijing, Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. Sidley is recognized for service and responsiveness. Sidley received the most first-tier national rankings of any U.S. law firm in the inaugural U.S.News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” rankings for 2010. BTI, a Boston-based research and consulting firm, has named Sidley as one of only three firms to have been in the top ten of the BTI Client Service rankings every year since the inception of those rankings in 2001, and as number one in three of those years.

For more information:

, Director of Practice Development, 212.839.8797 
, Rubenstein Associates, 212.843.8007 


For purposes of the New York State Bar rules, this press release may be considered Attorney Advertising and the headquarters of the firm are Sidley Austin LLP 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019, 212.839.5300 and Sidley Austin LLP One South Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60603, 312.853.7000. Prior results described herein do not guarantee a similar outcome.