Teresa Wilton Harmon

TERESA WILTON HARMON is co-managing partner of Sidley’s Chicago office, a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, and a partner in the firm’s Global Finance practice. Teresa is a go-to advisor and frequent speaker on financial transactions, commercial law, digital assets, and legal ethics. She is also a trusted board leader, who channels the strength and spirit of Sidley's 1400-person Chicago office to support our clients and community.

Teresa’s financial transactions experience includes secured and unsecured loans, workouts, restructurings, structured finance, and securitization. For several years, Teresa’s practice has placed particular emphasis on financial transactions involving regulated and emerging industries, including derivatives, clearing organizations, exchanges, financial market utilities, student loan companies, electric utilities, digital asset market participants, and fintech companies. Her experience and knowledge allow her to bridge the gap between complex legal regimes and sound financial principles. Teresa takes an active role in counseling on liquidity solutions, collateral and risk management methods, default scenarios, counterparty risk, netting, and adapting to new legal regimes and technologies — including distributed ledger technology.

Teresa’s commercial law practice includes all articles of the Uniform Commercial Code. Teresa has honed her UCC knowledge as an active participant in UCC drafting committees including the drafting committee for the 2022 UCC Emerging Technology Amendments, as a member of the Permanent Editorial Board for the UCC, and as an adjunct professor teaching Secured Transactions at The University of Illinois College of Law. She is a nationally recognized speaker on UCC and other commercial law issues.

Teresa’s practice includes using the tools of commercial law and finance to help clients build platforms, navigate changing laws, and engage in transactions involving blockchain, cryptocurrency, stablecoin and tokenized securities, and other real-world assets. She is an active member of Sidley’s global FinTech and Blockchain group.

Teresa is named in Crain’s Chicago Business’s “Who’s Who in Chicago Business” (2023–2026), which recognizes “the people driving decisions, setting agendas, and leading change across the region.” Crain’s Chicago Business has also recognized Teresa and included her in their “Notable Women in Law” (2022), “Notable Women Executives Over 50” (2020), and “Notable Gen X Leaders in Law” (2019) lists. The American Lawyer named Teresa a “Midwest Trailblazer” (2022) for her work in the fintech area. Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and Chicago Lawyer jointly honored Teresa at the inaugural “50 Women in Law Awards” (2020). She was also named a “Trailblazer in Finance and Banking” by The National Law Journal (2019).

Teresa’s representative matters during her over 25 years of practice include:

• Representing financial institutions and commercial paper conduits in over $50 billion in student loan financing transactions
• Representing financial institutions and borrowers in secured and unsecured lending facilities
• Handling workouts and defaults in credit facilities and securitization transactions
• Advising financial market participants on legal issues relating to securities lending, repurchase agreements and cleared transactions
• Representing electric utilities in stranded cost and storm recovery securitizations
• Analyzing complex lien perfection and enforcement issues in a broad range of financial transactions and portfolio acquisitions
• Structuring custodial agreements and escrow arrangements to safeguard collateral
• Counseling clients on the applicability of the insolvency laws, the Dodd-Frank Act, the Orderly Liquidation Authority and bank capital rules to financial transactions and collateral management including netting arrangements and bankruptcy remoteness
• Advising clients on loan documentation and procedural steps required to comply with Article 9 of the UCC
• Briefing UCC issues in Federal Courts of Appeals
• Counseling financial institutions on lender liability risks and risk management techniques
• Advising a digital securities exchange and a virtual currency exchange on commercial law tools to address legal and practical challenges 
• Counseling clients on electronic signatures, electronic promissory notes and electronic chattel paper

As co-managing partner of Sidley’s Chicago office, Teresa leads a team of 1,400 professionals, including over 450 lawyers. Teresa is committed to continuing Sidley’s 155-year track record of excellence and civic engagement. Teresa’s civic and professional leadership roles include:

• The Executives’ Club of Chicago Board of Directors
• The Chicago Network 
• The Civic Consulting Alliance Board of Directors
• United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Board of Directors
• Chicago Corporate Coalition
• Vice President, a member of the Executive Committee, and a member of the Council of the American Law Institute
• Leadership Greater Chicago Board of Directors (former) and Daniel Burnham Fellow
• Fellow and Regent of the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers
• Fellow of the American Bar Foundation
• Member of the Permanent Editorial Board for the Uniform Commercial Code
• Active member of the Study Committee on the UCC and Emerging Technologies
• Illinois Editorial Advisory Board, Law360
• Past chair of the Chicago Bar Association Commercial Finance and Transactions Committee
• Past chair of the American Bar Association Securitization and Derivatives Subcommittee

Teresa has exhibited her love of teaching as a lecturer in Law at The University of Chicago Law School, where serves on The Law School Council and teaches professional responsibility and legal ethics, and The University of Illinois College of Law, where she taught secured transactions. She is a frequent speaker at client training programs and at legal and industry conferences, including those sponsored by the Illinois Bankers Association, the American Bar Association, ALI-CLE, PLI, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association. Teresa earned the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, Executive Leadership Program Certification, 2025 by participating in the 2025 Built to Lead 2.0 program. Teresa co-chairs the Firm’s New Business Committee and serves on the Firm’s UCC Committee, Legal Opinions Committee, and Office of General Counsel.

Teresa is a member of the Board of Visitors of the Culverhouse College of Commerce at The University of Alabama. Teresa has been a board member or active volunteer in several community organizations, including the Field Associates of the Field Museum, the Young Leaders Fund of the Chicago Community Trust, Sarah’s Inn, the Oak Park/River Forest Infant Welfare Society, and the Girl Scouts.