NEWS & INSIGHTS

Washington, D.C. – Sidley Austin LLP is pleased to announce that Edward R. McNicholas, a partner whose practice focuses on information technology, constitutional and privacy issues, has been chosen by the Burton Awards for Legal Achievement as one of the Best Law Firm Writers of 2010 for his article on National Security Letters.

Mr. McNicholas is among thirty winners chosen from entries submitted by the nation’s 1,000 largest law firms. His article was published in the BNA Privacy & Security Law Report on March 30, 2009, and explores the legal issues regarding National Security Letters, which serve a significant role gathering personal information for analysis as part of the U.S. response to international terrorism.

“We are proud that Ed’s legal writing skills have been acknowledged with this prestigious award,” said Carter Phillips, managing partner of the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. “His commitment to scholarly writing, particularly on matters involving cutting-edge Internet and information law, has benefited Sidley, the firm’s clients and the legal community.”

“I am honored to receive this award along with the other recipients,” said Mr. McNicholas. “I am gratified that Sidley has consistently supported my writing and speaking on significant privacy and information law issues as part of its desire to enhance its market leadership in information law.”

The Burton Awards for Legal Achievement, which is held in association with the Library of Congress, was established to select the finest law firm and law school authors and has since expanded into other areas of the law. The Burton Awards is a non-profit academic effort. Mr. McNicholas will be presented with his award at the Eleventh Anniversary Burton Awards event, to be held at the Library of Congress on June 14, 2010.

Mr. McNicholas concentrates his practice on trial and appellate representations of technologically-sophisticated clients including telecommunications carriers, electronic service providers, financial services companies and other companies facing complex personal information issues. Mr. McNicholas also has extensive experience with matters involving online brand protection, eDiscovery, electronic surveillance, defamation, information security, trade secrets, e-commerce and national security. The 2007 Computerworld survey of “Best Privacy Advisers” recognized Mr. McNicholas as one of the “Top 25 Privacy Experts” in the country, and Mr. McNicholas and Sidley’s privacy and data security practice were selected for Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business for 2008 and 2009, as well as Chambers Global for 2010. Previously, he served in the White House Counsel’s Office as an Associate Counsel to President Clinton.

Sidley Austin LLP is one of the world's largest full-service law firms, with approximately 1700 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—BTI, a Boston-based research and consulting firm, has named Sidley as one of only two 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 was number one in three of those years.

For more information:

, Director of Practice Development, 212.839.8797 
, Rubenstein Associates, 212.843.8023 


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