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1501 K Street, N.W.
Washington,
D.C.
20005
202.736.8000
202.736.8711 Fax
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Founded in 1963, our Washington, D.C. office, with more than 250 lawyers, handles civil and administrative litigation concerning a wide range of issues involving federal law. Our lawyers also help our clients navigate U.S. and international regulatory law and public policies that affect the way business is conducted both here and around the globe.
Our D.C.-based lawyers practice in over two dozen discrete areas of law. Key practice areas include Appellate, International Trade/Arbitration, Healthcare, Life Sciences, White Collar and Internal Investigations, Environmental, Energy, Communications Regulatory and Privacy, Data Protection and Information Law.
As one of the first law firms to have a dedicated Appellate group, our Washington, D.C. office features a renowned U.S. Supreme Court practice. Recognized on
The National Law Journal “Appellate Hot List” for two years running, the group is chaired by former Acting U.S. Attorney General, Peter D. Keisler. Sidley lawyers have briefed over 160 cases on the merits before the Court and have argued more than 85 cases. Washington, D.C. office managing partner, Carter Phillips, has argued 66 cases (including six cases last Term) in the Supreme Court. Across the last two Terms, our team represented a party before the Court in more than 20 cases and represented an
amicus in more than 20 cases. Twelve of our 28 firmwide former U.S. Supreme Court law clerks are resident in our Washington, D.C. office. Our Appellate team has represented clients on virtually every type of federal legal issue—patent, trademark, criminal, constitutional, antitrust, transportation, communications, employment, civil rights, tax, government contracts, arbitration and health law—in federal and state appellate courts across the country since the practice began in 1985.
Named global Trade & Customs Law Firm of the Year 2009 in the
Who’s Who Legal Awards—an award Sidley has received every year since its inception—Sidley's International Trade/Arbitration team works with our clients to ensure that they understand, apply and make the most of the national and trans-national rules that shape global flows of capital, investment, goods, technology and services. We help solve market access problems and resolve the disputes that affect international business, whether they be commercial disputes in international arbitration, disputes with governments or disputes between governments over the rules of global trade. We also advise on issues of trade sanctions, export controls, and restrictions on foreign investment in the U.S. and abroad. Our international dispute resolution team has advised numerous governments and companies in more than 200 WTO disputes. Members of our acclaimed group have served in senior roles in the U.S. and other governments. In 2009, Daniel M. Price returned to Sidley as Senior Partner for Global Issues from his service as Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs where, among other duties, he served as the representative to the G-8, the G-20 Financial Summit and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum. Our experience in government gives us a unique perspective in representing clients before Congress, the White House, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Departments of State, Treasury and Commerce and in Federal Courts.
The firm’s Healthcare, Food and Drug, and Intellectual Property components of Sidley’s global Life Sciences practice are very active in our Washington office. We were named the “Most Recommended Law Firm in the Pharmaceutical Industry” in the 2008
BTI Industry Power Rankings; and
Chambers USA and PLC Cross-border Life Sciences have ranked our practices highly. Sidley’s global Life Sciences practice is a multidisciplinary group dedicated to serving the legal needs of the myriad sectors that collectively comprise the life sciences industry. Our interdisciplinary team assists clients—ranging small biotech start-ups to established multinational drug and device companies; food, nutraceutical and cosmeceutical companies to clinical research organizations; and equity investment firms and lenders to trade associations -- on a wide range of legal and policy issues. Serving many global pharmaceutical companies, our Food & Drug, Healthcare, and IP practices have grown substantially in recent years. Several of our Washington-based partners have held senior positions in government and were deeply involved in the drafting and implementation of major healthcare laws. In 2009 we were honored to welcome back to our ranks as co-chair of the global Life Sciences group, James C. Stansel, who had been serving as Acting General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Our White Collar Crime and Internal Investigations lawyers focus on the representation of U.S. and foreign corporations and their executives in responding to and defending against criminal and civil investigations by both federal and state governments, SEC and other administrative agency enforcement actions, and other governmental inquiries, including congressional hearings. Our Washington team has a strong track record of successfully defending clients, both at trial and in the pre-charging stages, in cases involving allegations of financial and healthcare fraud, antitrust violations, false claims and environmental crimes. In all cases, our approach is to develop comprehensive strategies that address all of the legal and factual defenses— as well as the public, media and other collateral consequences—of the case. Our Washington office has been particularly active in representing clients in international investigations and law enforcement matters, including multi-jurisdictional antitrust and competition matters, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations, economic sanctions and embargo issues, and matters involving Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties. Throughout our practice, many of our greatest successes have never become public because victory was achieved by preventing clients from becoming targets of the investigation or persuading prosecutors or agencies not to pursue charges against our clients. Other cases have involved some of the most publicized cases of recent decades, including the representation of members of Congress and executive branch officials, as well as other individuals and companies, in every major independent counsel investigation, from Watergate and Iran-Contra through Whitewater. Our D.C. lawyers have been recognized by
The National Law Journal which named our victory in
U.S. v. Tyson Foods Inc. as the "Defense Verdict of the Year” and
Chambers USA Awards for Excellence 2009 which honored Thomas C. Green as the “Top White Collar Lawyer” of 2009.
The Washington Environmental team has great depth with strength in such diverse areas as criminal and administrative matters before U.S. bodies such as the EPA, DOJ and the Interior, other federal agencies and their state counterparts as well as defending environmental citizen suits and litigating contribution and indemnification claims arising out of environmental disputes. In addition, we handle complex toxic tort cases, including successfully defeating large mass tort and class actions. Our lawyers also have worked on cutting-edge public nuisance cases brought by states and environmental advocacy groups, including claims for damages and injunctive relief from contamination of rivers, and for alleged contributions to global warming from emissions of carbon dioxide. Beyond litigation, our Washington team advises multinational clients on supply chain management, transnational movement of materials and wastes and the regulation of products and chemicals and are representing clients on leading-edge issues, such as climate change and nanotechnology. The group also provides compliance counseling, assists clients in commenting and challenging rulemakings, and advises on corporate environmental management issues. In 2008, the firm welcomed back Roger R. Martella, Jr., former General Counsel to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Our Energy group represents and advises clients in regulatory, litigation and transactional matters involving electricity, natural gas, crude oil and petroleum products, and renewable energy resources. Much of our diversified energy practice is before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the federal district and appellate courts, but we also appear before the U.S. Departments of Energy, State and Transportation, state regulatory agencies, and the National Energy Board of Canada. Our practice has expanded in 2008 and 2009 with the addition of David R. Hill, former General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Energy, to co-chair the practice, and the addition of Stan Berman and Marie Fiala, both of whom have years of experience in the electric power area. In addition to our work before federal and state regulatory agencies and courts, Sidley energy attorneys actively work with the firm’s corporate and project finance attorneys on transactions relating to the financing and acquisition of energy projects, and advise clients in connection with major Department of Energy loan guarantee or financial assistance programs, pending regulatory or legislative activity concerning energy issues, and climate change and other environmental matters.
Sidley’s Communications Regulatory group represents leading communications companies, ranging from telecommunications to broadcasting and new technologies. For over 100 years, the firm has provided communications clients with corporate, regulatory, and antitrust counsel, transactional representation and trial and appellate court litigation experience. The Washington office represents all participants in the communications arena, including broadcasters, wireless and wireline telephone and broadband companies and global telecommunications companies. Our lawyers appear regularly before the FCC, DOJ, FTC and district and appellate courts on matters significant to established and emerging communications companies.
Sidley’s Washington, D.C.-based Privacy, Data Security and Information Law practitioners provide strategic counseling, regulatory compliance, legislative services and litigation services to clients in various industry sectors. We regularly undertake especially complex legal analysis and advocacy in this fast-changing terrain, and provide meaningful advice on novel questions of privacy and information law. Because these fields of law and business are relatively new, and evolving quickly, our ability to deploy a large number of experienced, highly talented and top-credentialed lawyers offers great practical benefits to our clients. Our team focuses on complex U.S. and international issues of privacy, data protection, information security, internet and computer law, intellectual property, information management and records retention, e-commerce, consumer protection and cybercrimes as well as developing and implementing global data protection programs. From March 2006 through January 2008, team co-chair, Alan Charles Raul, served as Vice Chairman of the White House Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, a panel established by the legislation implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.
The Washington office also has practices in the following areas: antitrust and domestic trade regulation, banking, bankruptcy, capital markets, corporate, e-commerce, financial services, general and commercial litigation, government contracts, labor and employment, municipal finance, private equity, products liability, professional liability, real estate, religious freedom, securities enforcement and litigation, tax and transportation.
The office also is recognized for its strong commitment to pro bono representation and involvement in the community. In 2008 and 2009 the chief judges of the District of Columbia federal courts honored Sidley’s D.C. office at the “40 at 50” ceremony, which recognizes firms in which 40% of the lawyers devote 50 or more hours to pro bono services. Firmwide, Sidley was one of four law firms honored with
The National Law Journal’s 2008 Pro Bono Awards and was recognized for its work helping war veterans seeking government disability benefits, a program spearheaded by Washington, D.C. partner Ronald S. Flagg in his position as Chair of Sidley’s Committee on Pro Bono and Public Interest Law. The award marks the second consecutive year in which
The National Law Journal has recognized Sidley for the firm’s commitment to pro bono representation. Ron Flagg also serves as President-elect of the DC Bar Association, a position once held by Sidley Washington, D.C. partner, George W. Jones, Jr.
Sidley is located in the landmark Investment Building. Just two blocks from the White House, our D.C. office is in the central business district of the K Street corridor.
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