Christopher Lock

CHRISTOPHER LOCK advises clients on their most complex regulatory challenges arising out of international trade, including sanctions and export controls, foreign investment screening, trade remedies and tariffs, supply chain regulations, WTO law, and trade-related aspects of UK sustainability regulations.

Chris has particular experience in helping clients understand the fast-evolving nature of UK sanctions and export control measures, including representing companies before the relevant UK authorities in relation to licensing, voluntary disclosures, government investigations, and penalty settlements. He has experience liaising on behalf of clients with HM Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation; HM Revenue and Customs; the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; the Cabinet Office; and the Department for Business and Trade’s Export Control Joint Unit and Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation. Chris’ advisory work focuses on appropriate, risk-based compliance across a wide range of sectors, including advanced manufacturing, defense, finance, life sciences, insurance, private equity, technology, and transportation. He regularly gives talks and training in this area, including working with the pilot program at NATO’s Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), an accelerator for dual-use innovation capacity across NATO member states.

In addition to providing direct trade regulatory support to clients, Chris is also experienced in providing supplementary counseling to clients working through transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, contract review, and capital investment. He has been involved in a multitude of matters assisting businesses to expand cross borders both through investment and establishment.

Chris advises clients on UK trade remedies investigations and representations to the UK’s Trade Remedies Authority and is actively involved in some of the first standalone investigations since the UK’s exit from the EU.

Chris counsels clients on compliance with the UK’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, as well as other emissions reduction regulations, such as the UK SAF mandate.

Between 2017–2022, Chris advised the UK Department for Business and Trade on UK and international trade and public laws, including acting as a Deputy Director (Legal). He has also worked in Brussels, advising on EU trade law both in private practice and within the legal department of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Trade.

Chris is a part of Sidley’s global team of international trade lawyers covering law, economics, and policy across Brussels, Geneva, London, and Washington, D.C. Sidley’s international trade team is consistently recognized as a top tier practice across all regions. Sidley has been ranked as a Band 1 firm for “International Trade” in every major jurisdiction, including global-wide, Europe-wide, Asia-Pacific, and Chambers Global/USA (2017–2024).

Chris draws on his background as a litigator and solicitor advocate, both in his investigations work and in assisting clients on trade-related elements of matters before the English Court and other fora. Examples of reported trade-related litigation include:

• Ongoing actions in relation to UK-Russia sanctions.
• Fortenova Grupa DD v. LLC Shushary Holding, [2023] EWHC 1165 (Ch).
• World Uyghur Congress, R (On the Application Of) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department & Ors, [2023] EWHC 88 (Admin).
• Western Sahara Campaign UK v. Secretary of State for International Trade & Anor, [2022] EWHC 3108 (Admin).
• British Sugar Plc, R (On the Application Of) v. Secretary of State for International Trade, [2022] EWHC 393 (Admin).

Some of the above matters were handled prior to joining Sidley.

Examples of Chris’ transactional work include:

Life Sciences

• Great Hill Partners on its pending strategic majority investment in a newly formed organization comprising Vivup, a leading provider of health and well-being benefits, and Perkbox, an award-winning global benefits and reward platform, which will offer a market-leading solution for the UK’s public and private employee benefits sectors.
• ShoreView Industries in its sale of portfolio company Avidity Science.
• Savillex Corporation, a portfolio company of private equity fund Thompson Street Capital Partners, in its strategic acquisition of ONFAB from Foresight Capital Partners.

Insurance

• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in its agreement to acquire AssuredPartners for US$13.45 billion.
• Westfield in its acquisition of the Lloyd’s operations of Argo Group (Argo), including Argo’s Lloyd’s managing agency and Argo’s members supporting Syndicate 1200.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in its acquisition of the treaty reinsurance brokerage operations of Willis Towers Watson plc for US$3.25 billion.
• Stonepeak on its agreement with the AA, the leading provider of roadside assistance services in the UK and a successful insurance business, and the AA’s majority shareholders, TowerBrook Capital Partners and Warburg Pincus. Per the agreement, Stonepeak will invest £450 million in AA through a combination of common and preferred equity at an enterprise value of approximately £4 billion.

Restructuring

• Sunac China Holdings Limited in its US$10.2 billion offshore debt restructuring.
• China Fortune Land Development Co., Ltd. in US$4.96 billion offshore debt restructuring.
• Coupang, Inc. in the completion of its acquisition of the business and assets of Farfetch Holdings plc via a pre-pack administration.

Retail 

• STORY3 Capital Partners, the Los Angeles based private equity firm, on its significant minority investment in Adanola, a leading UK-based athleisure and activewear brand.

Sports

• Bilkul Football in its acquisition of West Bromwich Albion Football Club.
• Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. in its acquisition of Chelsea Football Club and related affiliates in a consortium co-led with Todd Boehly, Chairman and CEO of Eldridge (pending). The acquisition was named “Private Equity Deal of the Year” at The Deal Awards 2022.

Technology

• EQT Private Equity and Verdane Capital in their sale of Forsta to Press Ganey (pending).
• Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. in its acquisition of Discovery Education, Inc., a worldwide edtech leader (pending).
• Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. portfolio company Discovery Education, Inc. in its acquisition of UK-based DoodleLearning (pending).
• Thompson Street Capital Partners portfolio company BCM One in its acquisition of Pure IP, a UK-based global provider of cloud-based voice services with offices in London, Auckland, and San Francisco.