TIM TREANOR is global co-leader of Sidley’s White Collar Defense and Investigations practice. He is a former federal prosecutor who brings a practical, problem-solving approach and more than 25 years of experience to investigations and the defense of leading companies and executives in federal court proceedings and before federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other federal civil enforcement agencies, banking regulators, and state attorneys general. Tim represents clients in a variety of industries, including financial services, insurance, life sciences, energy, and technology, and often manages parallel criminal and civil proceedings and multijurisdictional matters involving foreign government agencies. He has helped many clients avoid adverse consequences in enforcement actions and has negotiated favorable dispositions with a range of agencies. Tim advises companies on the development of internal compliance programs and counsels clients on compliance issues, particularly in the financial services industry, or where there are national security implications, including in the areas of anti-money laundering (AML) and anti-corruption. Tim also has significant experience managing civil litigation under RICO and the Anti-Terrorism Act.
“Tim should be on speed dial for any bet-the-firm situation.”
Chambers USA 2023
Tim has been recognized by numerous industry publications, including Law360’s 2022 list of five “White Collar MVPs.” He is ranked by Chambers Global (2022–2023) for FCPA – USA and Chambers USA (2021–2023) for both Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations – New York and FCPA – Nationwide. The 2021 edition of Chambers USA describes Tim as a “big thinker who is measured in his approach and dogged in his approach to helping his clients.” In the 2022 edition of Chambers Global, clients remarked that he “stands out as an exemplar of both extraordinarily thoughtful counseling grounded in deep prosecutorial experience, and has an ability to marry the compliance needs of the client with the need to run the business.” Tim is also recognized in The Best Lawyers in America from 2020–2022 for his work in Criminal Defense: White-Collar Law and in the 2015–2023 editions of Who’s Who Legal: Business Crime Defence. He has also been listed in The Legal 500 US; in Ethisphere among its “Attorneys Who Matter;” in Latinvex as an “FCPA and Fraud Leader” for Latin America; in the Irish Legal 100 as a leading lawyer of Irish heritage; and in Super Lawyers as a top-rated white collar crimes lawyer in New York. Sidley’s White Collar Defense and Investigations practice is highly regarded as one of the premier practices in the industry. In 2022, Global Investigations Review ranked the practice in the top five globally for investigations and related representations of corporations and individuals. The practice is also regularly recognized by Chambers Global (2016–2023) and Chambers USA (2013–2022) for its strength in White Collar and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) matters.
Prior to joining the firm in 2008, Tim was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York for more than eight years, serving as Deputy Chief of the Organized Crime Unit, and at times, as Acting Chief of the Violent Crimes and Narcotics Units. For several years, he was a member of the Organized Crime and Terrorism Unit, and in that capacity, participated in the DOJ’s response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Tim worked closely with other prosecutor’s offices in New York. He was appointed Special Assistant Deputy Attorney General for the State of New York. Tim also served as a student prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, he served as a law clerk to The Honorable W. Harold Albritton III, U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Alabama.
During his tenure in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Tim established himself as one of the government’s most experienced and successful trial lawyers. He tried a dozen criminal cases and led the government teams in three major multi-month, multi-defendant trials. Tim also briefed and argued numerous cases before the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Tim was a founding partner of Law Preview LLC, an educational services company.