Sidley Wins “Innovative Lawyers in Disputes” Award at the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards Asia-Pacific 2026

Sidley has won the “Innovative Lawyers in Disputes” award at the Financial Times’ prestigious FT Innovative Lawyers Awards Asia-Pacific 2026. The annual awards are given by the Financial Times and its research partner, RSGI, to recognize innovative law firms and in-house legal teams across the Asia-Pacific market for their originality, leadership, and impact.

Sidley has been celebrated for its role advising Sino-Ocean in its US$6 billion offshore debt restructuring. Sino-Ocean’s restructuring became effective on March 27, 2025, becoming the first restructuring of a Chinese property group to be implemented via an English Restructuring Plan with a parallel scheme of arrangement in Hong Kong. The extraordinary success of Sino-Ocean’s restructuring demonstrates both Sidley’s unmatched experience in advising large-scale offshore debt restructurings and its ability to manage and deliver complex restructuring transactions.

Sidley was also named a finalist in the “Innovative Lawyers in Restructuring and Liability Management” category for its role in New World Development’s landmark exchange offer.

In 2025 alone, Sidley’s restructuring practice in the region successfully completed restructurings with the combined value of over US$40 billion.