JESSICA WOOD focuses her practice on shareholder activism, hostile takeovers, public M&A, corporate governance, and strategic investor relations. Jessica has represented dozens of public companies in shareholder activism and hostile takeover matters over the past 10 years, advising on issues ranging from advance preparation for activism to full proxy contest defense. She also has significant public M&A experience, including representing public company targets and buyers in highly competitive sales processes, hostile takeover attempts, and topping bid situations.
As a leading member of Sidley’s Shareholder Activism and Corporate Defense practice, Jessica has helped Sidley rise to the top of several prominent shareholder activism defense league tables, including No. 1 rankings by Bloomberg, FactSet, Diligent, and LSEG (formerly Refinitiv/Thomson Reuters). Chambers USA has ranked Sidley in Band 1 in New York for Corporate/M&A: Takeover Defense (2022–2024), noting in 2024 that “Sidley Austin is the best in the business at activism defence work.” Sidley has been ranked in Tier 1 for “Shareholder Activism – Advice to Boards” by Legal 500. The firm was also recognized by The Deal as “Activist Defense Law Firm of the Year” two years in a row.
Jessica was named a finalist for The American Lawyer’s “Young Lawyer of the Year – Corporate” in 2024. She was also named one of the leading lawyers for “Shareholder Activism – Advice to Boards” by Legal 500 in 2025.
Jessica regularly speaks on shareholder activism, M&A and related matters at conferences and events hosted by the National Association of Corporate Directors, Society for Corporate Governance, The Deal, and others. She has also written extensively on these topics.
Jessica received her J.D., with honors, from Emory University School of Law, where she was an articles editor for the Emory Law Journal. She also holds an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and a B.A. from Vanderbilt University, where she graduated magna cum laude.