The firm is very active in representing its financial institution clients in litigation. This representation includes defending financial institution clients in business torts, RICO, securities class actions, fraud, and related litigation. Sidley also represents financial institutions in a broad range of complex disputes and investigations, including False Claims Act matters, internal investigations, privacy and cybersecurity disputes, fiduciary duty and contract claims, asset recovery matters, bankruptcy-related litigation, anti-money laundering matters, and audit committee investigations.
In addition to representing financial institutions in these traditional types of commercial and business litigation, Sidley has a national practice in litigation involving consumer finance businesses and the laws and regulations governing financial services. The approach to these matters is integrated on several levels, across practice areas and across the firm’s offices. The approach begins with helping clients manage litigation risk through pre-litigation counseling, and a team approach to litigation engagements that combines both litigators who have specific experience in financial services disputes, class action defense, and defense of complex litigation with regulatory lawyers who provide ongoing compliance and technical advice in this area. The practice is multi-jurisdictional and international and draws on lawyers across Sidley’s U.S. offices in major financial and business centers, including Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Palo Alto, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., as well as London. On any matter, lawyers from one, two, or more of the offices may form a team to best represent the client in the particular engagement.
The firm also represents clients in a broad range of retail financial disputes involving mortgage lending, credit cards, automobile lending, and leasing and other consumer financial products. Sidley lawyers represent clients in the retail financial services industry in both state and federal courts throughout the country and at all levels from the trial courts to the highest appellate courts. The issues that the firm has handled for clients include the federal laws and regulations applicable to this area—such as the Truth-in-Lending Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act—as well as state and federal laws of more general applicability that apply to this industry as well. Such representation has included defending financial institutions in lawsuits involving deceptive trade practice statutes, federal and state RICO laws, antitrust laws, and other matters. The firm has also represented clients regularly in seeking to enforce arbitration agreements in the context of consumer financial services.
Sidley also has a distinguished record representing financial institutions and financial services companies in precedent-setting matters before the United States Supreme Court. The firm has secured significant victories in cases involving arbitration, consumer finance and banking law, including Green Tree Financial Corp. v. Bazzle, 539 U.S. 444; Green Tree Financial Corp. v. Randolph, 531 U.S. 79; and Beach v. Ocwen Federal Bank, 523 U.S. 410, in which the Court unanimously adopted the position advocated by the firm. Sidley has also filed numerous amicus briefs in cases of importance to the financial services industry, including Wachovia Bank v. Schmidt, 546 U.S. 303, and Smiley v. Citibank (South Dakota), 517 U.S. 735.
The firm's Supreme Court and appellate experience continues today. Most recently, Sidley successfully opposed a petition for certiorari following a significant Second Circuit victory for Citigroup and Citibank concerning the enforcement of bankruptcy discharge injunctions and is currently representing the Royce Funds in a United States Supreme Court appeal involving shareholder voting rights under the Investment Company Act.
