Christina Prusak Chianese

CHRISTINA PRUSAK CHIANESE is a litigator with more than 15 years of experience guiding clients through high-stakes commercial disputes and reputational crises in courts and arbitral forums across the United States and around the globe. Christina’s matters are frequently multidisciplinary in nature, and she regularly coordinates parallel proceedings across domestic and foreign jurisdictions, drawing on more than a decade of cross-border experience to craft integrated litigation and crisis-management strategies. Her matters have implicated disputes in the United Kingdom, Asia, emerging markets in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and the Caribbean.

Christina is best known for steering global asset-management firms, financial institutions, family offices and founders, sovereign investors, and technology and consumer-facing companies through matters that test both balance sheets and brand value. While much of her work involves defending clients in pending or threatened suits, she also maintains a substantial plaintiff-side practice, representing corporate and family office clients and their founders in pursuing recovery and relief in a wide range of business and reputational disputes. She has particular experience litigating defamation and high-stakes reputational matters, both as plaintiff and as defendant.

In addition to her active defamation practice, Christina also represents clients in contract and investment disputes, actions involving a wide array of business tort, fraud, and civil RICO claims, corporate governance matters, fiduciary duty litigation, judgment enforcement matters, and bankruptcy litigation, as well as in matters involving regulatory and white collar criminal issues. Furthermore, Christina defends public and private companies in consumer class actions, including in suits raising privacy-related claims involving data-tracking pixels. Christina’s results-oriented approach has helped clients secure complete dismissals at the pleading stage and favorable settlements at a fraction of claimed damages as defendants, and recoveries valued at twice the amount sued for as plaintiffs.

Benchmark Litigation USA recognized Christina as a “Litigation Star” in Commercial Litigation in its 2026 list. In 2025, Christina was recognized by Crain’s New York Business as a “Notable Litigator & Trial Attorney.” The list celebrates the market leaders who “demonstrate involvement in significant litigation and trial proceedings.” That same year, she was also recognized as a finalist in the “Best Mentor” category by the New York Law Journal.

Prior to joining Sidley, Christina clerked for The Honorable Karen Nelson Moore of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Christina earned her J.D., magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, from New York University School of Law—where she was a Pomeroy Scholar, an Allen Scholar, and a notes editor for the New York University Law Review—and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University.

• Representing the founder of a multibillion-dollar hedge fund as plaintiff in pursuing defamation claims in New York state court, after securing appellate reversal of the trial court's dismissal of the client's claims on forum non conveniens grounds.
• Represented a family office as plaintiff in litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery arising from a dispute over an investment in a real estate fund, securing a favorable settlement after uncovering additional claims in discovery.
• Defended a multibillion-dollar asset management firm and related investment professionals from claims asserted by a former business partner in multiple forums in the United States and abroad.
• Defended a multibillion-dollar asset management firm and its investment professionals from breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference of contract and other claims arising from a portfolio company investment asserted in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York and in New York State Supreme Court.
• Defended a multibillion-dollar asset management firm from claims asserted by its joint venture partner relating to an emerging markets-based portfolio company investment.
• Defended the founder of a multi-billion dollar hedge fund against civil RICO claims filed in the Southern District of New York, securing a complete dismissal at the pleading stage.
• Defended a foreign investment firm and its founder and principals in litigation in New York State Court and before the Appellate Division First Department, securing a dismissal on forum non conveniens grounds at the pleading stage.  
• Advised a multibillion-dollar asset management firm on corporate governance issues related to a portfolio company investment.
• Defended a multibillion-dollar asset management firm in an international ICC arbitration regarding an emerging markets-based portfolio company investment.
• Represented a global technology company in proceedings related to enforcement of a judgment.
• Defended a financial services company in successfully resisting Section 1782 discovery litigation in U.S. federal court.
• Defended an asset management firm and one of its investment professionals in Section 1782 discovery litigation in the Southern District of New York and before the Second Circuit.
• Defended a multinational company against contract, fraud and civil RICO claims allegedly giving rise to nearly US$2 billion in damages, and securing a complete dismissal at the pleading stage.
• Defended a multibillion-dollar hedge fund and its principal in successfully dismissing a securities class action alleging fraud and breach of fiduciary duty claims.
• Represented an international bank and its professionals in connection with an investigation by FINRA.
• Represented a multibillion-dollar hedge fund and its founder in connection with inquiries arising out of an SEC examination.
• Defended a multinational company in successfully resisting a multi-billion dollar turnover petition.
• Represented a creditor in ICC arbitration arising out of a borrower’s default on restructured loan obligations.
• Represented a joint venture owned by two prominent international companies in parallel ICSID and ICC arbitrations against a foreign sovereign and one of its political subdivisions.

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

• Christina serves as New York Inclusion Committee Partner Co-Chair.
• Christina serves as a New York co-leader of the SidleyWomen committee.
• Christina currently serves on the board of the Brooklyn Ballet and on the board of Central American Legal Assistance (CALA), a non-profit organization that provides legal services to New York’s low-income immigrant community.