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{{Short description|U.S.-based corporate law firm}}
{{Infobox_Company |
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}}
company_name = Sidley Austin|
{{Advert|date=October 2022}}{{Infobox Law Firm
company_logo = [[Image:Sidleylogo.jpg|210px]]|
| firm_name = Sidley Austin LLP
company_type = [[Limited liability partnership]]|
| firm_logo = Sidley Austin logo.svg
foundation = [[1866]] |
| headquarters = [[One South Dearborn]]<br />[[Chicago, Illinois]], U.S.<ref name="Chicago">{{cite web |url=http://www.sidley.com/chicago/ |title=Chicago |publisher=Sidley Austin |access-date=December 17, 2009}}</ref>
location = Headquarters in Chicago, 15 offices worldwide|
| num_offices = 21 Worldwide <ref name=autogenerated2>{{Cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidley-austin|title=Sidley Austin LLP}}</ref>
key_people = Thomas Cole, Managing Partner |
| num_attorneys = 2,300<ref name="bestlawfirms.usnews.com">{{cite web|url=http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/firms/sidley-austin-llp/overview/3701/|title=Sidley Austin LLP|work=U.S. News & World Report}}</ref>
num_employees = Over 1,700 Attorneys |
| practice_areas = General practice
industry = [[Law]] |
| revenue = {{increase}} 2.795 billion [[United States dollar|USD]] (2021)<ref>{{cite web|url= https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/sidley-names-first-female-leader-in-firms-155-year-history/title=Sidley Austin LLP|title= Archived copy|access-date= August 27, 2021|archive-date= August 27, 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210827180721/https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/sidley-names-first-female-leader-in-firms-155-year-history/title=Sidley|url-status= dead}}</ref>
products = [[Practice of law|Legal services]]|
| date_founded = 1866<ref>{{Cite web|last1=February 09|first1=Roy Strom {{!}}|last2=International|first2=2018 at 02:46 PM {{!}} The original version of this story was published on|title=Sidley Tops $2 Billion as Profits, Revenue Rise Again|url=https://www.law.com/sites/americanlawyer/2018/02/09/sidley-goes-streaking-as-profits-revenue-rise-again/|access-date=July 17, 2020|website=Law.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Dalton|first=Brian|title=The Loop Elite: The Go-To Firms Of Chicago|url=https://abovethelaw.com/2017/07/the-loop-elite-the-go-to-firms-of-chicago/|access-date=July 17, 2020|website=Above the Law|date=July 27, 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref>
revenue = N/A |
| founder = Norman Williams<ref name="Glink">{{Cite web|last=Glink|first=Ilyce R.|title=FINDING SPACE LESS OF A TRIAL FOR SMALL LAW FIRMS|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-10-04-9203310031-story.html|access-date=July 17, 2020|website=chicagotribune.com|language=en-US}}</ref><br />John Leverett Thompson<ref name="Glink" />
homepage = [http://www.sidley.com/ www.sidley.com]
| company_type = [[Limited liability partnership]]
| homepage = [http://www.sidley.com/ www.sidley.com]
}}
}}


'''Sidley Austin LLP''' is an American [[multinational corporation|multinational]] [[law firm]] with approximately 2,300 lawyers in 21 offices worldwide. It was established in 1866 and its headquarters is at [[One South Dearborn]] in [[Chicago]]'s [[Chicago Loop|Loop]].<ref name="Chicago" /> It is one of the largest law firms in the world in terms of revenue. Among its alumni are former President [[Barack Obama]] and former First Lady [[Michelle Obama]] as well as Vice President-Elect [[J.D. Vance]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top Law Firm Rankings: Vault Law 100 |url=https://firsthand.co/best-companies-to-work-for/law/top-100-law-firms-rankings |access-date=2023-01-26 |website=Firsthand}}</ref>
'''Sidley Austin LLP''', formerly known as Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP, is the sixth-largest U.S.-based corporate [[law firm]] with over 1,700 [[lawyer]]s, annual revenues of more than one billion dollars, and offices in [[Chicago]], [[New York City|New York]], [[Washington, DC]], [[London]], and 11 other cities. It is a full-service law firm, with broad experience in transaction and litigation matters. Its original predecessor firm was founded in 1866 and had [[Mary Todd Lincoln]], the widow of President [[Abraham Lincoln]], among its earliest clients.


== History ==
According to Vault, it is a formidable contender for the top spot in the über-competitive, global law firm race.
[[File:2006-03-30 1760x2640 chicago 1 south dearborn.jpg|thumb|Headquarters of Sidley Austin at [[One South Dearborn]]]]
The firm frequently appears at the top of various industry rankings. In 2005, the BTI Consulting Group named Sidley to its Client Service Hall of Fame -- one of only two law firms to rank in BTI's Client Service Top 10 for five consecutive years -- and Sidley was named No. 1 Power Elite Firm for 2005. The firm also showed up in 14 categories on The American Lawyer's Corporate Scorecard, landing in the No. 1 spot for its roles as issuer's counsel in equities offered by U.S. corporations, issuer's and underwriter's counsel for investment grade debt, and underwriter's counsel for REIT debt. Other recent honors include the 2005 Catalyst Award, conferred in recognition of the firm's impressive initiatives to retain and promote women attorneys, and its second consecutive year as No. 1 in the rankings by Thomson Financial for top issuer counsel and manager counsel for U.S. debt and equity-related activity. [http://www.vault.com/companies/company_main.jsp?product_id=417&ch_id=242&co_page=2&v=1]


=== Origins in Chicago ===
The firm was formed as the result of the merger of two firms - the Chicago-based [[Sidley & Austin]], founded in [[1866]], and the New York-based [[Brown & Wood]], founded in [[1914]]. The merger was completed in May [[2001]].
In 1866, Norman Williams and John L. Thompson founded the law firm of Williams & Thompson in Chicago, Illinois. William Pratt Sidley, who had joined the firm in 1892, was added to the firm's name in 1900 when it was renamed Holt, Wheeler & Sidley. Edwin C. Austin joined the firm in 1914.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Sidley & Austin |url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/2846.html |access-date=2023-01-19 |website=www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org}}</ref>


Among the firm's first clients were the [[Pullman Company]], the manufacturer of specialty sleeping railway cars, as well as [[Western Electric]] and [[Illinois Steel]].<ref name=":0" />
==Locations==
The firm has offices in [[Beijing]], [[Brussels]], [[Chicago]], [[Dallas]], [[Frankfurt]], [[Geneva]], [[Hong Kong]], [[London]], [[Los Angeles]], [[New York]], [[San Francisco]], [[Shanghai]], [[Singapore]], [[Tokyo]], and [[Washington, D.C.]].


=== Towards a national firm ===
==Sidley during 9/11/01==
{{Section citations needed|date=January 2023}}
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, personally affected the employees of Sidley Austin. Prior to the merger creating Sidley Austin Brown & Wood, which took place just four months before the [[September 11]], [[2001]] terror attacks, the head office of Brown & Wood was in the [[World Trade Center]], while Sidley & Austin had recently opened a small New York office on Third Avenue. Out of 600 employees who worked in the World Trade Center at the time of the attacks, one perished, a support staff worker named [[Rosemary Smith]].
In 1963, former postmaster general [[J. Edward Day]] left the administration of [[John F. Kennedy|President John F. Kennedy]] to establish the firm's [[Washington, D.C.]] office.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Chicago Tribune 27 Jul 1963, page 19 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/374682194/ |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> Initial clients included the Advertising Mail Marketing Association.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jr |first=Robert Mcg Thomas |date=1996-11-01 |title=J. Edward Day, 82, Postmaster Who Brought In the ZIP Code |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/01/us/j-edward-day-82-postmaster-who-brought-in-the-zip-code.html |access-date=2023-02-23 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The DC office later represented the [[American Medical Association]], [[American Bar Association]] and the International Minerals & Chemical Corporation. The firm developed strengths in antitrust and the representation of clients in front of the [[Federal Trade Commission]].


=== Expansion and consolidation ===
Sidley Austin reopened its New York office on Monday, September 17, [[2001]] in the old Sidley & Austin office on Third Avenue that it had planned on closing on September 16. Instead, it leased four additional floors in that location, in a deal completed less than three hours after the collapse of the World Trade Center. Sidley Austin later opened a permanent new office on Seventh Avenue in July [[2002]].
In 1972, the firm merged with the 50 lawyers of Chicago firm Leibman, Williams, Bennett, Baird & Minow. Additional offices were then established in London, Los Angeles, Singapore and New York. Following the merger, Washington D.C. partner Day resigned and later sued the firm, In a 1974 lawsuit, Day alleged that the merger represented a "breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, fraud and misrepresentation, conspiracy, wrongful dissolution or ouster of co-partner and breach of partnership agreement." The suit was later [[dismissed with prejudice]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Day v. Sidley Austin, 394 F. Supp. 986 {{!}} Casetext Search + Citator |url=https://casetext.com/case/day-v-sidley-austin |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=casetext.com}}</ref>


In 2001, the firm merged with [[Brown & Wood]], a New York-based law firm established in 1914 with 400 attorneys and additional domestic offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Los Angeles and overseas branches in London, Beijing and Hong Kong (where it practiced English law in addition to U.S. law). Brown & Wood was known for its [[securities]], [[structured finance]] and [[securitization]] practices. Brown & Wood had offices in the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] on floors 54 and 56-59.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schwartz |first=John |date=2002-07-05 |title=In Re 9/11: Law Firm Moves On, Still Recovering |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/05/business/in-re-9-11-law-firm-moves-on-still-recovering.html |access-date=2023-05-24 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
==Salary==
In the United States, the summer associate starting salary is $2,800/wk ($3,100 in New York for 2007), and the first-year associate starting salary is $145,000 ($160,000 in New York).


=== Appellate practice group ===
==Name changes==
In 1985, [[U.S. Solicitor General]] [[Rex E. Lee]] founded Sidley Austin's Appellate Practice Group to represent clients in all appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court, the federal courts of appeals, and state appellate and supreme courts. Following Lee's death, the group was led by Carter Phillips, who has argued more cases before the Supreme Court than any lawyer in private practice.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sidley.com/services/appellate|title=Supreme Court and Appellate Practice|work=Sidley Austin}}</ref>
In the 1920s, the firm was named Cutting, Moore & Sidley. Following a number of changes, it was known as Sidley & Austin for many years until it merged with the New York capital markets firm Brown & Wood in the 1990s. Its name was changed to Sidley Austin LLP on [[January 1]], [[2006]].


=== Involvement in the savings and loan crisis ===
==Famous Alumni==
Sidley & Austin was among several law firms caught up in the [[Savings & Loan Crisis]] and paid $7.5 million to settle [[legal malpractice]] claims stemming from its representation of the [[Lincoln Savings and Loan Association]]. Such legal work was profiled in the book by [[Ralph Nader]] and Wesley J. Smith, ''No Contest: Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in America''.
*[[Barack Obama]] was a summer associate in the Chicago office, but never joined the firm as a full-time associate. Reportedly, he met his wife, [[Michelle Obama]] (who actually worked at Sidley Austin at the time), as a summer associate at the firm. [http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2005/12/07/news/14049.shtml]


In 2007, Sidley Austin agreed to pay $39 million as part of a settlement with the Internal Revenue Service. The settlement allowed the firm to avoid criminal charges of alleged fraudulent tax shelter activities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chicago Tribune 24 May 2007, page Page 3-1 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/232502163/ |access-date=2023-02-12 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> The previous year, Sidley and KPMG agreed to pay $54 million to investors who bought the shelters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=- U.S. TAX SHELTER INDUSTRY: THE ROLE OF ACCOUNTANTS, LAWYERS, AND FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-108shrg91043/html/CHRG-108shrg91043.htm |access-date=2023-02-12 |website=www.govinfo.gov}}</ref>
*[[John Zeglis]], the former [[Chief Executive Officer]] of AT&T Wireless, was an associate (1973-1978) and partner (1978-1984) in the Chicago office, where he spent a significant amount of time helping AT&T navigate through the [[Federal Communications Commission]]'s orders to breakup the company, before leaving to join AT&T as a corporate vice president.


== Rankings and recognition ==
*[[Newton Minow]], the chairman of the [[Federal Communications Commission]] under President [[John F. Kennedy]], was a partner in the [[Chicago]] office from 1965-1991 and continues to serve as senior counsel to the firm.
Sidley Austin is the eleventh-largest U.S.-based corporate law firm, with approximately 2,000 [[lawyer]]s<ref name="bestlawfirms.usnews.com" /> and annual revenues of approximately three billion dollars. The firm is one of the highest-paying companies in the U.S.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2015/04/07/24-7-wall-st-americas-highest-paying-companies/70328230/|title=America's highest-paying companies|first=Thomas C.|last=Frohlich|website=USA TODAY}}</ref> (with a base salary of $225,000 for first year associates and $435,000 for eighth year associates; equity partners saw a profit per partner of more than $3.0 million in 2020).<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://abovethelaw.com/2021/06/sidley-raise-2021/ |title=Sidley|website=abovethelaw.com|date=June 21, 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url= https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/sidley-names-first-female-leader-in-firms-155-year-history |title=Sidley|website=news.bloomberglaw.com.com}}</ref> Sidley maintains offices in 21 cities worldwide, with the most recent addition being [[Miami]] in 2022.


Sidley has received the most First-Tier National Rankings a total of eight times since the inception of the ''[[U.S. News & World Report#blank|U.S. News & World Report]]'' Best Law Firms Survey in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sidley Earns Most First-Tier National Rankings for Second Consecutive Year, Eighth Time Overall|url=https://www.sidley.com/en/newslanding/newsachievements/2018/11/sidley-earns-most-first-tier-national-rankings-for-second-consecutive-year-eighth-time-overall|publisher=sidley.com}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web |title=Sidley Austin LLP - United States Firm |url=https://www.bestlawfirms.com/firms/sidley-austin-llp/3701/US |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=Best Law Firms |language=en-us}}</ref> The 2020 ''U.S. News'' Survey also named Sidley as the "Law Firm of the Year" in FDA Law and Securities Litigation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/lfoty.aspx|title="Law Firm of the Year" Awards|website=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=September 18, 2015}}</ref> As of 2019, it was the eighth largest law firm in the world (and sixth in the US) by revenue.<ref>{{cite web|last=Unsworth|first=Ryan|date=September 8, 2020|title=Sidley's Law.com Profile|url=https://www.law.com/law-firm-profile/?id=274&name=Sidley|access-date=September 8, 2020|publisher=Law.com|location=New York}}</ref>
*[[Howard Trienens]], former General Counsel of [[AT&T]] and board member of a number of large corporations, was an associate and partner in the Chicago and [[New York]] offices for many years.


The firm frequently appears at the top of various industry rankings. In 2020, the BTI Consulting Group named Sidley to its BTI Client Service A-Team—one of only three law firms to rank in BTI's Client Service Top 30 for 19 consecutive years.<ref>{{cite web |title=The 2010 BTI Client Service 30 |url=http://www.bticlientserviceateam.com/client-service-30/ |access-date=25 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113220650/http://www.bticlientserviceateam.com/client-service-30/ |archive-date=January 13, 2010 |language=en |url-status=unfit}}</ref> The firm earned the top spot in ''Asset-Backed Alert'''s 2019 league tables for most active [[underwriter]] counsel in U.S. asset- and mortgage-backed securitization transactions.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Green Street News|url=https://www.greenstreet.com/news/asset-backed-alert|access-date=September 8, 2020|website=www.greenstreet.com}}</ref> Other honors include the American Bar Association's 2019 Champions for Disability Inclusion in the Legal Profession Award,<ref>{{Cite web|title=2019 Champions Award|url=https://www.americanbar.org/groups/diversity/disabilityrights/initiatives_awards/champions/champions_2019/|access-date=September 8, 2020|website=www.americanbar.org|language=en}}</ref> conferred in recognition of the firm's measurable progress in recruiting, retaining, and advancing to leadership lawyers with disabilities, and being named a 2019 "Litigation Department of the Year" finalist by ''The American Lawyer''.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=December 29|first1=Gina Passarella Cipriani {{!}}|last2=PM|first2=2019 at 08:00|title=Built to Win: Sidley Austin, Litigation Department of the Year Finalist|url=https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2019/12/29/built-to-win-sidley-austin-litigation-department-of-the-year-finalist/|access-date=September 8, 2020|website=The American Lawyer|language=en}}</ref>
*[[Edward "Tod" Eddy, III]], frequent speaker at seminars about debt restructuring and the Asian securitization markets, currently managing partner of Singapore office.


The firm is distinguished for its securities practice<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.chambersandpartners.com/Global/Firms/3692-34953|title=Sidley Austin LLP|publisher=chambersandpartners.com}}</ref> and its international trade practice,<ref name="auto" /> both of which have consistently ranked first in the respective specialty rankings of ''Chambers and Partners''. The trade group represents the [[Airbus]]/European Communities side in the ongoing [[WTO]] dispute with [[Boeing]]/US. The group was named a 2019 International Trade Group of the Year by ''Law360''<ref>{{Cite web|title=International Trade Group Of The Year: Sidley – Law360|url=https://www.law360.com/articles/1228067/international-trade-group-of-the-year-sidley|access-date=September 8, 2020|website=www.law360.com|language=en}}</ref> and has been honored as "Law Firm of the Year" in Trade & Customs by ''Who's Who Legal'' for 15 consecutive years.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Winners – Lawyers & Law Firms|url=https://whoswholegal.com/awards/winners-lawyers--law-firms|access-date=September 8, 2020|website=whoswholegal|language=En}}</ref> Its appellate and [[US Supreme Court#blank|US Supreme Court]] practice is also particularly well known and has been featured in [[USA Today#blank|''USA Today'']], [[BusinessWeek#blank|''BusinessWeek'']], the [[American Lawyer#blank|''American Lawyer'']], the [[Legal Times#blank|''Legal Times'']], and the [[National Law Journal#blank|''National Law Journal'']].[[# blank|<sup>[28]</sup>]]
==External links==
*[http://www.sidley.com Official Firm Website]
*[http://www.lawperiscope.com/profiles/221.html LawPeriscope Profile]


In 2020, Sidley was named "Firm of the Year" in Capital Markets (Overseas); Corporate Compliance; Healthcare, Pharma and Life Sciences; and Real Estate and REIT by China Business Law Journal.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Editor|first=Vantage Asia|date=April 8, 2020|title=China Business Law Awards 2020 {{!}} China Business Law Journal|url=https://www.vantageasia.com/china-law-firms-2020/|access-date=September 8, 2020|website=Vantage Asia|language=en-US}}</ref> In 2018, Sidley was named Competition & Regulatory Team of the Year at The Lawyer Awards in London.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Winners 2018|url=https://www.thelawyer.com/event/the-lawyer-awards/winners-2018/|access-date=September 8, 2020|website=The Lawyer {{!}} Legal insight, benchmarking data and jobs|date=November 18, 2019 |language=en}}</ref>
[[Category:United States law firms]]

[[Category:1866 establishments]]
== Pro bono work ==
Sidley Austin partner George Fatheree worked [[pro bono]] on behalf of the descendants of Willa and Charles Bruce<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pequeño |first=Antonio |date=2022-07-11 |title=Unanimous Vote Returns Bruce’s Beach to Descendants of Original Owners |url=https://labusinessjournal.com/government/unanimous-vote-returns-bruces-beach-to-descendants-of-original-owners/ |access-date=2023-02-12 |website=Los Angeles Business Journal |language=en-US}}</ref> to execute the return of beachfront land which had been seized by Los Angeles authorities in the 1920s.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-12-06 |title=Lawyers use pro bono hours to step up fight for racial justice |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/bb91b973-4fcc-4140-a67f-4f89214a1e5d |access-date=2023-02-12}}</ref> The couple had lost the property, known as Bruce's Beach, when the state claimed it for public use and sold it to private investors.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bruce's Beach Property Lawyer Eyes Systematic Changes - Law360 |url=https://www.law360.com/real-estate-authority/articles/1511310/bruce-s-beach-property-lawyer-eyes-systematic-changes |access-date=2023-02-12 |website=www.law360.com |language=en}}</ref> It was officially restored to the couple's great grandsons, Marcus and Derrick Bruce, on July 20, 2022. The effort involved more than 1,000 hours of pro bono work.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Greene |first=Jenna |date=2022-07-28 |title=Black family's oceanfront land seized in 1929 returned with help from pro bono lawyer |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/black-familys-oceanfront-land-seized-1929-returned-with-help-pro-bono-lawyer-2022-07-28/ |access-date=2023-02-12}}</ref>

== Associates and alumni ==
* Katherine Adams, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at [[Apple Inc.|Apple, Inc.]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Apple Leadership - Katherine Adams |url=https://www.apple.com/leadership/katherine-adams/ |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=Apple |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[James M. Cole]], partner; former [[Deputy Attorney General of the United States]] and author of the [[Cole Memorandum]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Judge Unseals Decision Disqualifying Sidley's James Cole From Huawei Defense |url=https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/2020/02/25/judge-unseals-decision-disqualifying-sidleys-james-cole-from-huawei-defense/ |access-date=2023-01-19 |website=National Law Journal |language=en}}</ref>
* [[J. Edward Day]], former [[United States Postmaster General|postmaster general of the United States]]<ref name=":1" />
* [[George Deukmejian]], former [[Governor of California]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hafner |first1=Katie |title=George Deukmejian, 2-Term California Governor in the ’80s, Dies at 89 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/obituaries/george-deukmejian-dead-california-governor.html |website=The New York Times |date=9 May 2018}}</ref>
* [[Joseph D. Kearney]], Dean of [[Marquette University Law School]]
* [[Mike Lee]], United States Senator from [[Utah]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Opinion: Mike Lee has earned a reputation as principled conservative |url=https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2022/10/16/mike-lee-has-earned-reputation/ |access-date=2023-01-19 |website=The Salt Lake Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Rex E. Lee]], former [[Solicitor General of the United States]] and the 10th [[President of Brigham Young University]]
* [[Chris Lu]], former [[United States Deputy Secretary of Labor]], and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations for Management and Reform
* [[Victor Marrero]], Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York|Southern District of New York]]
* [[Newton N. Minow]], former Chair of the [[Federal Communications Commission]] during the Kennedy Administration
* [[Barack Obama]], former [[President of the United States]] (summer associate in the firm's Chicago office)<ref name="wsj.com">{{Cite news|title=Sidley Austin: When Barack Met Michelle|newspaper=Wall Street Journal |date=May 11, 2007 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-LB-3803|access-date=August 8, 2021}}</ref>
* [[Michelle Obama]], former [[First Lady of the United States]]<ref name="wsj.com"/>
* [[Peter James Roskam|Peter Roskam]], partner; former U.S. Representative for [[Illinois's 6th congressional district]]
* [[Andy Strenio]], former member of the [[Federal Trade Commission]]
* [[David S. Tatel]], United States Circuit Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]]
* [[JD Vance]], United States Senator from Ohio and Vice President-elect of the United States
* [[John D. Zeglis]], former Chief Executive Officer of [[AT&T Wireless]]

== See also ==
*[[List of largest United States-based law firms by profits per partner]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.sidley.com/ Official website]
* {{OpenCorp|Sidley Austin}}
* [http://www.martindale.com/Sidley-Austin-LLP/936363-law-firm-office.htm See this firm's profile on Martindale.com]

{{Clear}}
{{Illinois Corporations}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Law firms established in 1866]]
[[Category:Law firms based in Chicago]]
[[Category:Foreign law firms with offices in Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Foreign law firms with offices in Japan]]
[[Category:1866 establishments in Illinois]]
[[Category:Multinational law firms]]

Latest revision as of 22:20, 9 December 2024

Sidley Austin LLP
HeadquartersOne South Dearborn
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.[1]
No. of offices21 Worldwide [2]
No. of attorneys2,300[3]
Major practice areasGeneral practice
RevenueIncrease 2.795 billion USD (2021)[4]
Date founded1866[5][6]
FounderNorman Williams[7]
John Leverett Thompson[7]
Company typeLimited liability partnership
Websitewww.sidley.com

Sidley Austin LLP is an American multinational law firm with approximately 2,300 lawyers in 21 offices worldwide. It was established in 1866 and its headquarters is at One South Dearborn in Chicago's Loop.[1] It is one of the largest law firms in the world in terms of revenue. Among its alumni are former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as well as Vice President-Elect J.D. Vance.[8]

History

[edit]
Headquarters of Sidley Austin at One South Dearborn

Origins in Chicago

[edit]

In 1866, Norman Williams and John L. Thompson founded the law firm of Williams & Thompson in Chicago, Illinois. William Pratt Sidley, who had joined the firm in 1892, was added to the firm's name in 1900 when it was renamed Holt, Wheeler & Sidley. Edwin C. Austin joined the firm in 1914.[9]

Among the firm's first clients were the Pullman Company, the manufacturer of specialty sleeping railway cars, as well as Western Electric and Illinois Steel.[9]

Towards a national firm

[edit]

In 1963, former postmaster general J. Edward Day left the administration of President John F. Kennedy to establish the firm's Washington, D.C. office.[10] Initial clients included the Advertising Mail Marketing Association.[11] The DC office later represented the American Medical Association, American Bar Association and the International Minerals & Chemical Corporation. The firm developed strengths in antitrust and the representation of clients in front of the Federal Trade Commission.

Expansion and consolidation

[edit]

In 1972, the firm merged with the 50 lawyers of Chicago firm Leibman, Williams, Bennett, Baird & Minow. Additional offices were then established in London, Los Angeles, Singapore and New York. Following the merger, Washington D.C. partner Day resigned and later sued the firm, In a 1974 lawsuit, Day alleged that the merger represented a "breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, fraud and misrepresentation, conspiracy, wrongful dissolution or ouster of co-partner and breach of partnership agreement." The suit was later dismissed with prejudice.[12]

In 2001, the firm merged with Brown & Wood, a New York-based law firm established in 1914 with 400 attorneys and additional domestic offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Los Angeles and overseas branches in London, Beijing and Hong Kong (where it practiced English law in addition to U.S. law). Brown & Wood was known for its securities, structured finance and securitization practices. Brown & Wood had offices in the World Trade Center on floors 54 and 56-59.[13]

Appellate practice group

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In 1985, U.S. Solicitor General Rex E. Lee founded Sidley Austin's Appellate Practice Group to represent clients in all appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court, the federal courts of appeals, and state appellate and supreme courts. Following Lee's death, the group was led by Carter Phillips, who has argued more cases before the Supreme Court than any lawyer in private practice.[14]

Involvement in the savings and loan crisis

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Sidley & Austin was among several law firms caught up in the Savings & Loan Crisis and paid $7.5 million to settle legal malpractice claims stemming from its representation of the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association. Such legal work was profiled in the book by Ralph Nader and Wesley J. Smith, No Contest: Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in America.

In 2007, Sidley Austin agreed to pay $39 million as part of a settlement with the Internal Revenue Service. The settlement allowed the firm to avoid criminal charges of alleged fraudulent tax shelter activities.[15] The previous year, Sidley and KPMG agreed to pay $54 million to investors who bought the shelters.[16]

Rankings and recognition

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Sidley Austin is the eleventh-largest U.S.-based corporate law firm, with approximately 2,000 lawyers[3] and annual revenues of approximately three billion dollars. The firm is one of the highest-paying companies in the U.S.[17] (with a base salary of $225,000 for first year associates and $435,000 for eighth year associates; equity partners saw a profit per partner of more than $3.0 million in 2020).[18][19] Sidley maintains offices in 21 cities worldwide, with the most recent addition being Miami in 2022.

Sidley has received the most First-Tier National Rankings a total of eight times since the inception of the U.S. News & World Report Best Law Firms Survey in 2010.[20] [21] The 2020 U.S. News Survey also named Sidley as the "Law Firm of the Year" in FDA Law and Securities Litigation.[22] As of 2019, it was the eighth largest law firm in the world (and sixth in the US) by revenue.[23]

The firm frequently appears at the top of various industry rankings. In 2020, the BTI Consulting Group named Sidley to its BTI Client Service A-Team—one of only three law firms to rank in BTI's Client Service Top 30 for 19 consecutive years.[24] The firm earned the top spot in Asset-Backed Alert's 2019 league tables for most active underwriter counsel in U.S. asset- and mortgage-backed securitization transactions.[25] Other honors include the American Bar Association's 2019 Champions for Disability Inclusion in the Legal Profession Award,[26] conferred in recognition of the firm's measurable progress in recruiting, retaining, and advancing to leadership lawyers with disabilities, and being named a 2019 "Litigation Department of the Year" finalist by The American Lawyer.[27]

The firm is distinguished for its securities practice[28] and its international trade practice,[28] both of which have consistently ranked first in the respective specialty rankings of Chambers and Partners. The trade group represents the Airbus/European Communities side in the ongoing WTO dispute with Boeing/US. The group was named a 2019 International Trade Group of the Year by Law360[29] and has been honored as "Law Firm of the Year" in Trade & Customs by Who's Who Legal for 15 consecutive years.[30] Its appellate and US Supreme Court practice is also particularly well known and has been featured in USA Today, BusinessWeek, the American Lawyer, the Legal Times, and the National Law Journal.[28]

In 2020, Sidley was named "Firm of the Year" in Capital Markets (Overseas); Corporate Compliance; Healthcare, Pharma and Life Sciences; and Real Estate and REIT by China Business Law Journal.[31] In 2018, Sidley was named Competition & Regulatory Team of the Year at The Lawyer Awards in London.[32]

Pro bono work

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Sidley Austin partner George Fatheree worked pro bono on behalf of the descendants of Willa and Charles Bruce[33] to execute the return of beachfront land which had been seized by Los Angeles authorities in the 1920s.[34] The couple had lost the property, known as Bruce's Beach, when the state claimed it for public use and sold it to private investors.[35] It was officially restored to the couple's great grandsons, Marcus and Derrick Bruce, on July 20, 2022. The effort involved more than 1,000 hours of pro bono work.[36]

Associates and alumni

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Chicago". Sidley Austin. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
  2. ^ "Sidley Austin LLP".
  3. ^ a b "Sidley Austin LLP". U.S. News & World Report.
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from Austin LLP the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2021. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ February 09, Roy Strom |; International, 2018 at 02:46 PM | The original version of this story was published on. "Sidley Tops $2 Billion as Profits, Revenue Rise Again". Law.com. Retrieved July 17, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Dalton, Brian (July 27, 2017). "The Loop Elite: The Go-To Firms Of Chicago". Above the Law. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  7. ^ "Top Law Firm Rankings: Vault Law 100". Firsthand. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Sidley & Austin". www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Chicago Tribune 27 Jul 1963, page 19". Newspapers.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  10. ^ Jr, Robert Mcg Thomas (November 1, 1996). "J. Edward Day, 82, Postmaster Who Brought In the ZIP Code". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  11. ^ "Day v. Sidley Austin, 394 F. Supp. 986 | Casetext Search + Citator". casetext.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  12. ^ Schwartz, John (July 5, 2002). "In Re 9/11: Law Firm Moves On, Still Recovering". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  13. ^ "Supreme Court and Appellate Practice". Sidley Austin.
  14. ^ "Chicago Tribune 24 May 2007, page Page 3-1". Newspapers.com. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  15. ^ "- U.S. TAX SHELTER INDUSTRY: THE ROLE OF ACCOUNTANTS, LAWYERS, AND FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS". www.govinfo.gov. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  16. ^ Frohlich, Thomas C. "America's highest-paying companies". USA TODAY.
  17. ^ "Sidley". abovethelaw.com. June 21, 2021.
  18. ^ "Sidley". news.bloomberglaw.com.com.
  19. ^ "Sidley Earns Most First-Tier National Rankings for Second Consecutive Year, Eighth Time Overall". sidley.com.
  20. ^ "Sidley Austin LLP - United States Firm". Best Law Firms. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  21. ^ ""Law Firm of the Year" Awards". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  22. ^ Unsworth, Ryan (September 8, 2020). "Sidley's Law.com Profile". New York: Law.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  23. ^ "The 2010 BTI Client Service 30". Archived from the original on January 13, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  24. ^ "Green Street News". www.greenstreet.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  25. ^ "2019 Champions Award". www.americanbar.org. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  26. ^ December 29, Gina Passarella Cipriani |; PM, 2019 at 08:00. "Built to Win: Sidley Austin, Litigation Department of the Year Finalist". The American Lawyer. Retrieved September 8, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ a b "Sidley Austin LLP". chambersandpartners.com.
  28. ^ "International Trade Group Of The Year: Sidley – Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  29. ^ "Winners – Lawyers & Law Firms". whoswholegal. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  30. ^ Editor, Vantage Asia (April 8, 2020). "China Business Law Awards 2020 | China Business Law Journal". Vantage Asia. Retrieved September 8, 2020. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  31. ^ "Winners 2018". The Lawyer | Legal insight, benchmarking data and jobs. November 18, 2019. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  32. ^ Pequeño, Antonio (July 11, 2022). "Unanimous Vote Returns Bruce's Beach to Descendants of Original Owners". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  33. ^ "Lawyers use pro bono hours to step up fight for racial justice". Financial Times. December 6, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  34. ^ "Bruce's Beach Property Lawyer Eyes Systematic Changes - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  35. ^ Greene, Jenna (July 28, 2022). "Black family's oceanfront land seized in 1929 returned with help from pro bono lawyer". Reuters. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  36. ^ "Apple Leadership - Katherine Adams". Apple. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  37. ^ "Judge Unseals Decision Disqualifying Sidley's James Cole From Huawei Defense". National Law Journal. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  38. ^ Hafner, Katie (May 9, 2018). "George Deukmejian, 2-Term California Governor in the '80s, Dies at 89". The New York Times.
  39. ^ "Opinion: Mike Lee has earned a reputation as principled conservative". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  40. ^ a b "Sidley Austin: When Barack Met Michelle". Wall Street Journal. May 11, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
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