パートナー

Kai H.E. Liekefett

Shareholder Activism
Corporate Governance
M&A

kliekefett@sidley.com

ニューヨーク +1 212 839 8744

- Letter
- A4

KAI LIEKEFETT is a partner in New York and co-chairs Sidley’s Shareholder Activism and Corporate Defense practice. He has over 20 years of experience in corporate law and spends 100% of his time on shareholder activism campaigns, proxy fights and hostile takeovers. In the past five years, Kai has defended over 150 proxy contests globally and approximately 25% of all U.S. late-stage proxy fights, more than any other defense attorney in the world.

Under Kai’s leadership, Sidley rose to the top of all activism defense league tables since 2020, 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.

The American Lawyer named Kai “2019 Dealmaker of the Year” for the Wynn Resorts proxy contest. Since 2017, Chambers USA has recognized Kai individually as leading lawyer for “Takeover Defense,” ranking him in Band 1 for Corporate/M&A: Takeover Defense in New York (2024–2025) and noting that “Kai is a pioneer in the field of shareholder activism defense” (2024). Kai has also been named one of the leadings lawyers for “Shareholder Activism – Advice to Boards” Legal 500 since 2023, calling him and his partner Derek Zaba “two of the best lawyers in America.” He was selected for the NACD Directorship 100 as a “Governance Professional” in 2022 and 2023. In 2020, Kai was elected to the American College of Governance Counsel, the honorary association of lawyers widely recognized for their achievements in governance. Kai was selected as one of the Lawdragon 500 “Leading Dealmakers in America” (2021–2023). He was ranked No. 6 among the “Top 50 Attorneys of New York for 2023” by Attorney Intel.

Kai serves on the board of the New York Chapter of the NACD and served on the Law360 Mergers & Acquisitions Editorial Board for several years. He speaks regularly on panels and at universities around the world (including Harvard and Frankfurt). He is frequently interviewed and quoted as a thought leader by the media, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, The Economist, TIME, Bloomberg, Reuters, Financial Times, CNN, USA Today, Forbes, Law360, and The Deal.

Kai holds a Ph.D., magna cum laude, from Freiburg University; an Executive MBA, summa cum laude (best of class), from Muenster Business School; and an LL.M., James Kent Scholar, from Columbia Law School. He was in the top 0.1% nationwide in his First Legal State Exam (J.D. equivalent) and in the top 1.5% nationwide in his Second Legal State Exam in Germany.

経験

Kai has been opposite of all major activists, including Starboard, Elliott, Carl Icahn, ValueAct, JANA Partners, Trian, Third Point, Macellum, Ancora, Sachem Head, Engaged Capital, Saba Capital, and Engine Capital. While many shareholder activism matters remain private, past representative engagements of Kai’s include:

BlackRock in its proxy contest defense against Saba Capital.
Texas Instruments in its activism campaign defense against Elliott.
Beacon Roofing Supply in defense of the unsolicited tender offer and proxy contest by QXO.
Matthews International Corporation in its proxy contest against Barington Capital Group.
BlackRock in its proxy contest defense against Saba Capital.
The New York Times in respect of an activist investment by ValueAct.
Emerson Electric in respect of its unsolicited takeover bid for National Instruments.
Gildan in its proxy contest defense Browning West (U.S. counsel).
Hasbro in its proxy contest defense against Alta Fox and Ancora.
Box in its proxy contest defense against Starboard.
US Foods in its proxy contest defense against Sachem Head.
Matthews International Corporation in its proxy contest against Barington Capital Group.
Alight in its proxy contest defense against Starboard.
Texas Pacific Land Trust in its activism defense against Horizon Kinetics and SoftVest.
Crown Castle in its activism defense campaign against Elliott and Boots Capital.
Nordstrom in its activism campaign defense against RC Ventures/Ryan Cohen.
Alkermes in its proxy contest defense against Sarissa.
Freshpet in its proxy contest defense against JANA Partners.
Pitney Bowes in its proxy contest defense against Hestia Capital.
Rogers in its proxy contest defense against Starboard.
SpartanNash in its proxy contest defense against Macellum and Ancora.
Peloton in its activism campaign defense against Blackwells Capital.
Zendesk in its proxy contest defense against JANA Partners.
NiSource in its activism campaign defense against Elliott.
TreeHouse in its proxy contest defense against JANA Partners.
CytoDyn in its proxy contest defense against the Rosenbaum group.
Cubic in defense of an unsolicited takeover bid by Elliott and Veritas.
Big Lots! in its proxy contest defense against Macellum and Ancora.
UBS Puerto Rico funds in their proxy contest defense against Ocean Capital.
AMG funds in their proxy contest defense against Friess Associates.
Royce funds in their proxy contest defense against Saba Capital.
Delek US in connection with a potential unsolicited takeover bid by Carl Icahn and CVR Energy.
Knowles in its proxy contest defense against Caligan Partners and Falcon Edge.
MiMedx Group in its proxy contest defense against Prescience Point and Parker Petit.
Argo Group International in its proxy contest defense against Voce Capital.
Elaine Wynn in her proxy contest against Wynn Resorts.
Fujifilm in its proxy contest-related litigation against Xerox, Carl Icahn, and Darwin Deason.
HomeStreet in its proxy contest defense against Roaring Blue Lion Capital.
Cigna in its proxy contest defense of its merger with Express Script against Carl Icahn.
AmTrust Financial in its proxy contest defense against Carl Icahn.

Kai is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a member of the American Bar Association and the New York City Bar Association. He also sits on the advisory board of the New York Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). Kai also served on the Law360 Mergers & Acquisitions Editorial Board for several years.

資格

弁護士資格・登録

ニューヨーク州

学歴

Columbia Law School, 法学修士, 2006 (James Kent Scholar)
Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf, Second Legal State Exam, 2004
State Judicial Examination Office Hanover, First Legal State Exam, 2000 (magna cum laude)
University of Freiburg, Ph.D., 2004 (magna cum laude)
University of Münster, MBA, 2003 (summa cum laude, best of class)

言語

German