NEWS & INSIGHTS

Geneva – Sidley Austin LLP is pleased to announce that Sybilla C. Fries will join the Geneva office as counsel in its International Trade and World Trade Organization (WTO) practice, effective 1 September 2010.

Ms. Fries joins the firm from the European Union Permanent Delegation to the WTO, where she has served as Legal Counsel since 2006. At the Delegation, Ms. Fries provided in-house legal advice on European and international law, with a specific focus on international trade law and dispute settlement at the WTO, including diplomatic representation of the EU and its Member States at the WTO.

Prior to joining the Delegation, Ms. Fries was a member of the European Commission Legal Service in Brussels. During her five years with the Legal Service, Ms. Fries represented the Commission in international litigation before the WTO, the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. She also provided in-house legal advice to Commission services on EU external relations, in particular bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, humanitarian aid and human rights.

Ms. Fries obtained law degrees from the University of Paris, Panthéon-Sorbonne, and the University of Munich, Germany, where she received a Doctor of Laws in 2000. She began her career at an international law firm in Brussels, where she practiced EU and international law.

“Sybilla is a highly respected and effective WTO and EU lawyer and negotiator,” said Scott Andersen, managing partner of Sidley’s Geneva office. “She brings rich practical experience, hands-on knowledge of WTO and EU law, as well as an intimate understanding of the workings of the WTO and the EU.”

“I am honored and delighted to be joining Sidley’s leading WTO practice,” said Ms. Fries.

Sidley’s International Trade practice includes approximately 70 professionals based in Washington, D.C., Geneva and Brussels with experience in international trade, investment and arbitration and with a significant depth of knowledge in a range of areas, from WTO and investment treaty negotiations, to trade policy, customs regulations, export controls, trade remedies and sanctions. Sidley is the 2010 “Global Trade & Customs Law Firm of the Year” according to Who’s Who Legal, and has had that honor every year since the award’s inception in 2005. Sidley also received the Chambers USA Award for Excellence for International Trade in 2010 and continues to top Chambers’ International Trade rankings.

The Geneva office was established in 2002 to assist companies, trade associations and governments navigate international trade and investment rules. The team of ten seasoned trade and investment negotiators, WTO litigators and policy advisers draws on extensive private sector and government experience to help our clients shape these rules and resolve disputes arising under them. With a combined experience of effectively 60 years in Geneva, Sidley’s WTO litigators have also been involved in more than 230 of the 400-plus complaints brought through the WTO’s dispute settlement process.

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 as number one in three of those years.

For more information:

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


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