The 2020 edition of Chambers USA ranked Sidley in 95 practice areas. The firm received 18 Band 1 rankings, including:
- Appellate Law (Nationwide)
- Banking & Finance (Illinois)
- Capital Markets: Securitisation (Nationwide)
- Corporate/M&A & Private Equity (Illinois)
- Environment (District of Columbia)
- Financial Services Regulation: Broker Dealer (Compliance & Enforcement) (Nationwide)
- Healthcare: Pharmaceutical/Medical Products Regulatory (District of Columbia)
- Healthcare: Pharmaceutical/Medical Products Regulatory (Illinois)
- Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Reinsurance (Illinois)
- Insurance: Transactional & Regulatory (Illinois)
- Intellectual Property (Illinois)
- International Trade: Customs (Nationwide)
- International Trade: Trade Remedies & Trade Policy (Nationwide)
- Investment Funds: Hedge Funds (Nationwide)
- Litigation: General Commercial (Illinois)
- Litigation: Securities (Illinois)
- Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (Illinois)
- Transportation: Rail (for Railroads) (Nationwide)
In addition, the guide included 219 lawyer rankings, 36 of which were in Band 1. Two Sidley partners received commendations above “Band 1” for excellence in their respective practice areas. Carter G. Phillips was named a “Star Individual” in Nationwide Appellate Law for his “widely lauded” supreme court and appellate practice, and Michael J. Schmidtberger was named an “Eminent Practitioner” in Nationwide Investment Funds: Hedge Funds for his leadership of the firm’s Executive Committee and his work on credit fund formations.
The annual Chambers USA guide provides objective analyses of legal practitioners in the United States based on in-depth interviews with clients and in-house counsel.