Courtney Hauck

COURTNEY HAUCK focuses her practice on public mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and shareholder activism.

Courtney has significant experience in mergers and acquisitions and other complex corporate transactions, including representing public company targets and acquirers across a range of industries in competitive sales processes, contested deals, and hostile takeover defense. She also counsels public companies on governance matters, including board composition and evaluation, risk oversight, and leadership transitions, as well as shareholder activism matters ranging from preparedness to proxy contest defense. She has particular experience advising boards on AI governance and related oversight, topics on which she writes regularly.

While attending Columbia Law School, Courtney served as a member of the Columbia Law Review. She was also a Hamilton Fellow (2018–2021) and a recipient of the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Prize (2021).

Courtney is fluent in Mandarin.

Mergers and Acquisitions

• Prologis, Inc. in its US$23 billion acquisition of Duke Realty.
• Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. in its sale of a majority stake in its Worldpay business to GTCR, which valued Worldpay at approximately US$18.5 billion.
• Jacobs Solutions Inc. in connection with its Reverse Morris Trust transaction with Amentum, resulting in an estimated US$13 billion in combined company revenue.
• The AZEK Company Inc. in its US$8.75 billion merger with James Hardie.
• Associated Banc-Corp in its approximately US$604 million acquisition of American National Bank.
• A technology company in its acquisition of a strategic target.
• A public company founder in connection with a spin-off and subsequent sale of the spun-off entity.

Corporate Governance and Shareholder Activism

• A public real estate company in connection with its evaluation of board composition and function, including interviews of individual board members and executive management and development of governance recommendations.
• Multiple companies in their evaluation of governance policies and practices, including in response to proxy adviser and significant shareholder views, securities law changes, and other developments.
• An insurance company in connection with the development of a board-level AI governance framework and advice on oversight structure and risk management.
• Multiple companies in connection with shareholder activism preparedness, including development of a framework for response to potential activist situations.
• A transportation company in its defense against a proxy contest, resulting in a cooperation agreement.
• Multiple companies in connection with successful leadership transitions.

The above matters were handled prior to joining Sidley.

Courtney maintains an active pro bono practice, including reproductive health and civil rights matters and work with Her Justice.