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Woolgate Exchange
25 Basinghall Street
London, EC2V 5HA
+44.20.7360.3600
+44.20.7626.7937 Fax
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Initially established in 1974 as a U.S. law practice and relaunched in late 1994 as a multinational English and U.S. law practice, Sidley's London office has more than 140 lawyers, both English and U.S.-qualified. The majority of our London-based lawyers are qualified to practise under English law. We advise on domestic and cross-border matters and have been involved in many highly complex and pioneering transactions. Our principal areas of practice are international finance, including securitisation, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, corporate reorganisation and insolvency, insurance and insurance (including reinsurance) litigation. These practice areas are supported by tax, regulatory, real estate finance and real estate, competition, employment, intellectual property and commercial.
The London office is Sidley's largest office in Europe. Our lawyers work on transactions in many European jurisdictions, acting with Sidley teams in Frankfurt, Brussels and Geneva and with local counsel where required. Languages spoken by lawyers in the London office include French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Russian and Afrikaans.
The office has one of the largest dedicated securitisation and structured finance teams in London. It is part of an integrated international structured finance team of more than 200 lawyers with market-leading positions in Europe, the U.S. and across Asia. Our experience covers the financing of numerous types of financial assets including commercial and residential mortgage loans, trade receivables, future flows, whole business transactions, loan and bond portfolios, insurance receivables and premia, equipment and property leases, IP and media rights and receivables, project finance receivables, consumer loans and credit, fund and hedge fund portfolios, credit cards, aircraft leases and toll roads. We have provided legal advice on the development and use of many market-leading structures, including asset-backed commercial paper conduits, asset-backed MTN programmes, master trusts, REITs, synthetic ABS structures, CLOs, CDOs, CFOs, CEOs, SIVs and English and U.S. law covered bonds.
Our real estate team focuses on real estate financing transactions ranging from big ticket secured lending transactions to securitisations of real estate assets. We have particular experience advising on the origination of mortgage assets by banks and other financial institutions and act for lead managers and arrangers, originators (sellers and servicers), tenants and landlords in relation to property finance matters and CMBS.
The London office has a wide ranging English and U.S. corporate and securities law practice. Our corporate practice includes M&A, joint ventures, inward investment, funds, company formations, restructuring and distribution, licensing and other commercial arrangements. Our securities practice includes private debt and equity transactions and a broad range of capital markets transactions including IPOs, secondary equity offerings, convertible and exchangeable securities, preferred, hybrid and other capital instruments, structured, index-linked and extendible note offerings, structured investment vehicles, high yield securities and various other U.S., European and global capital and funding programmes. We also advise in relation to listings on the United Kingdom's regulated and unregulated markets, including AIM. Our clients include sovereigns, agencies and private sector corporates and financial institutions, as well as investment banks, sponsors, trustees and other financial intermediaries.
Our Investment Funds team serves virtually every type of investment fund and investment manager, as well as many other market participants. The team advises on all aspects of the structure and operation of hedge funds and other “alternative” investment products including their marketing and distribution, trading and transactional documentation and the creation of structures or repackaging arrangements to access specific markets or investors.
Our London and U.S. offices have an internationally prominent practice in corporate reorganisation and bankruptcy. Our capabilities extend to both court-supervised proceedings in England and Wales and in the U.S. and also to out-of-court workouts and restructurings throughout the world. We represent clients across the full range of participants in these proceedings including debtors, special board committees, official and unofficial creditors’ and bondholders’ committees, senior creditors, senior debt syndicates, unsecured creditors, subordinated debt teams, acquirers, trustees, liquidators, administrators and receivers.
The insurance and financial services group advises the insurance industry on transactional and contentious matters both within the UK and overseas. The transactional team advises on insurance mergers, acquisitions, reorganisations, alternative risk transfers and securitisation. They focus on restructuring insurance and reinsurance companies by sale, Part VII Transfer, group reorganisations and schemes of arrangement, but additionally have extensive experience in handling insurance company insolvencies. With their U.S. colleagues in the 90-lawyer global IFS group, they also advise on securitisations, side-cars ILWs and other capital markets instruments. The lawyers on the litigation team have represented clients in high value complex litigation and arbitration in England, the U.S. and Bermuda. The team advises on traditional insurance and reinsurance issues, including product liability, pharmaceuticals, financial products, professional indemnity, D&O, energy and the run-off market. With their U.S. litigation colleagues, they are well-equipped to handle complex cross-border disputes.
Our London tax practice advises on the UK tax aspects of structured finance transactions (including all types of securitisation), mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate finance and capital markets transactions, corporate reorganisation and bankruptcy, commercial real estate and tax litigation. Much of our work has a significant cross-border element, and we work closely with our tax colleagues in the U.S. and Germany.
In May 2004, Sidley consolidated its two London offices with its move to Woolgate Exchange. This modern building is located close to the heart of the financial district, with views of St Paul's Cathedral and on the doorstep of the Bank of England.
Lawyers in the London office provide legal services through Sidley Austin LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership. This is separate from the Delaware limited liability partnership of the same name which operates at the firm’s offices other than Chicago, London, Hong Kong and Sydney.
