NATALIE CHAN is a senior managing associate in the firm’s Chicago office, where she focuses her practice on employment and labor law and commercial disputes. Natalie maintains a dynamic hybrid practice that includes litigating, counseling, conducting internal investigations, leading trainings and advising on corporate transactions. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, she has extensively counseled on COVID-19 compliance and workplace-related issues.
Natalie litigates on behalf of clients before government agencies and in federal and state court in class and collective actions, as well as single- and multi-plaintiff cases. Her litigation practice involves a broad array of employment and labor matters, including employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, contract disputes and restrictive covenant issues. Natalie has experience drafting position statements, pleadings, discovery requests and responses, dispositive motions and appellate briefs. She also has experience conducting direct and cross examinations of witnesses in court, taking and defending depositions of fact and expert witnesses, and related witness preparation.
Natalie regularly counsels on a range of employment matters and drafts and reviews employment-related agreements and policies, including employee handbooks, severance agreements and restrictive covenant agreements. She also assists employers in conducting internal investigations of employee complaints and providing training on topics such as workplace culture, anti-harassment and anti-discrimination. In addition, Natalie advises clients on a range of employment and labor-related issues that arise in mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions.
Natalie earned her law degree, magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, from Washington University School of Law. While in law school, Natalie served as managing editor of the Washington University Law Review and co-taught an undergraduate course on “Women and the Law.” Natalie was a recipient of the Scholar in Law Award, Excellence in Oral Advocacy Certificate and Legal Practice Excellence Award for exemplary first-year writing.
Prior to joining Sidley, Natalie served as a judicial extern at the Cook County Circuit Court in the Law and Chancery Divisions. She graduated magna cum laude from Northwestern University with a B.S. in Journalism.
Natalie was recognized as an “On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyer” by the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division in 2018. Natalie has also been recognized as a leading lawyer in the 2021, 2022, and 2023 editions of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in the area of Labor and Employment Law – Management.
Firm Leadership
Natalie is committed to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession. At Sidley, Natalie serves as the Chicago Associate Co-Leader of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee and Co-Chair of Sidley’s Chicago Associate Diversity Council, through which she leads efforts to advance the firm’s diversity and inclusion goals. Natalie has been involved in various firm-sponsored diversity initiatives, including the 1L Diversity Mentorship Program, Sidley Scholars Program and other pipeline programs. Natalie is also actively involved in the firm’s recruiting efforts both on and off campus and has served on the firm’s Summer Associate Program Committee. In addition, Natalie is a member of the Chicago Associate Relations Committee and formerly led a mentoring group as part of SidleyWomen's efforts to foster personal and professional growth for female lawyers.