Sidley Austin LLP > Palo Alto, United States > Firm Profile
Sidley Austin LLP Offices
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1001 PAGE MILL ROAD, BUILDING 1
PALO ALTO, CA 94304
CALIFORNIA
United States
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Sidley Austin LLP > The Legal 500 Rankings
M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism Tier 1
Clients appreciate the ‘extremely nuanced‘ advice from the team at Sidley Austin LLP, which handles the gamut of shareholder activism matters for board members. One client dubs leadership duo Kai Liekefett and Derek Zaba ‘two of the best lawyers in America‘, lauded for ‘their ability to see around all dangerous corners and guide corporate strategy to the most successful outcome‘. Liekefett is based in New York and focuses exclusively on shareholder activism and takeover defense. In two decades of practice, he has worked in the UK, Germany, Hong Kong, and Japan, and is one of the most prolific advisors on proxy contests, including a high percentage of the market’s late-stage contests. Zaba, who is based at the Palo Alto office, also fully dedicates his practice to shareholder activism and has quickly established himself as one of the go-to lawyers in the field. Beth Berg (Chicago) is a senior figure with broad corporate law expertise, younger partners Leonard Wood (Houston) and Jessica Wood (New York) are also active in the shareholder activism space, and the New York office was further bolstered in January 2024 by the promotion to partner of Reuben Zaramian, who focuses on shareholder activism and corporate governance.Practice head(s):
Kai Liekefett; Derek Zaba
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Kai Liekefett and Derek Zaba are two of the best lawyers in America. Not only because of their knowledge of the law as it relates to shareholder activism, but also because their ability to see around all dangerous corners and guide corporate strategy to the most successful outcome is second to none.’
‘The advice from the Sidley team in managing shareholder activism issues is extremely nuanced, and their communications with me, other executive officers, and directors are top-notch: very responsive, at the appropriate level of detail, and delivered always with an eye toward the specific business issues we are facing and how that impacts both the advice and the timing of actions.’
‘Derek Zaba and Leonard Wood are very responsive and also helpful in creating a record of board action in case the activists take us down a different path than the one we’re trying to follow. They always have an eye toward anticipating litigation and a potential full-on proxy fight, while trying to avoid those outcomes.’
‘High-quality, tailored advice. Always available. They are part of the team, not only outside advisors.’
‘The team stand out for their skill, experience and practicality.’
Key clients
The New York Times Company
Nordstrom, Inc.
Emerson Electric Co.
Alkermes plc
Freshpet, Inc.
LivePerson, Inc.
Splunk, Inc.
Rogers Corporation
Texas Pacific Land Corporation
Pitney Bowes, Inc.
Purple Innovation, Inc.
Cutera, Inc.
Avantax, Inc.
Enhabit, Inc.
Global Net Lease, Inc./The Necessity Retail REIT
Warner Music Group Corp.
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.
UBS Puerto Rico Family of Funds
On24, Inc.
Work highlights
- Represented The New York Times Company in its defense against an activist campaign by celebrity activist hedge fund ValueAct Capital Partners.
- Advised Freshpet in defense of a proxy contest launched by JANA Partners and related litigation.
- Represented biopharmaceutical company Alkermes against activist hedge fund Sarissa Capital.
Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)
Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco) Tier 3
Environment > Environment: transactional Tier 3
Finance > Structured finance: securitization Tier 3
Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection) Tier 3
The privacy and cybersecurity team at Sidley Austin LLP leverages its data breach incident response experience to offer proactive breach counseling, compliance advice and support in government investigations. The Washington DC-based team is co-headed by David LashwayPractice head(s):
David Lashway; Alan Charles Raul
Other key lawyers:
John Woods; Jennifer Seale; Jonathan Wilan; Colleen Theresa Brown
Key clients
ABB
AT&T
Fidelity family of companies
AutoZone
DXC Technology Co.
Hilton Worldwide
Palo Alto Network, Inc
Marriott International, Inc.
OneMain Holdings, Inc.
SES Space & Defense
Work highlights
- Acting as outside privacy and cybersecurity counsel for numerous leading global clients.
- Representing multiple clients on their exposure to the recent MOVEit data breach (a hydra-headed breach centered on a single American software maker compromising data at more than 600 organizations worldwide).
- Serving as lead counsel to multinational industrial technology giant ABB on cybersecurity matters with respect to the investigation and response to a global ransomware matter impacting systems directly or indirectly associated with critical infrastructure in 130 countries.
Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
India > Foreign firms
Manoj Bhargava leads Sidley Austin LLP’s India group, which draws on the firm’s broader resources and international reach to provide a full-service offering with a notable emphasis on capital markets, banking and finance, and private equity. Bhargava, in Singapore, leads the capital markets practice and advises on high-value IPOs as well as equity and debt capital markets offerings. Also in the core Singapore team is Parthiv Rishi, who is recommended for his private equity expertise, while Palo Alto’s Andrew Harper has a broad corporate practice with a focus on advising US firms operating in the Indian market.Practice head(s):
Manoj Bhargava
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Manoj Bhargava heads this practice. I draw lots of comfort from Manoj. He is solution-oriented and not only identifies problem areas but also tries to find solutions for the problems.’
‘The team at Sidley are very experienced in India. They know the market well and have a great global network to leverage. They are always responsive and really try to go the extra mile for us.’
‘Parthiv Rishi is a great partner to work with. He is approachable and easy to deal with, responsive, hands on, manages and leverages his team and the Sidley network well and can be counted on to get deals done and find solutions to complex matters or difficult issues. He is very good technically but also commercial and applies good judgment when needed. He is versatile and has experience across the investment lifecycle. He always delivers and I go to him when things are complex or difficult.’
‘Manoj Bhargava and his team have been absolutely proactive in not only identifying legal matters for discussions, but also suggesting practical legal solutions for the same. Proactive, solutions oriented and understand the client’s business.’
‘Key strengths include the attention to detail, solution-oriented approach to working and the direct involvement of the senior partners on the transaction.’
‘Manoj Bhargava as the senior partner from the Sidley team is a stand-out professional. His ability to maintain long-term relationships, his hands-on approach to the transaction and his ability to deliver well within timelines makes him a cut above the rest of the competition.’
Key clients
ChrysCapital
KKR
Lightspeed India Partners
Apollo Capital Management
Jungle Ventures
EE Capital
Dream Sports Inc.
Rephrase.AI
Zuddl
QX Global
Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited
Axis Capital Limited
IIFL Securities Limited
Jefferies India Private Limited
J.P. Morgan India Private Limited
ICICI Securities Limited
BofA Securities India Limited
Morgan Stanley India Company Private Limited
BNP Paribas
Edelweiss Financial Services Limited
Work highlights
- Acted as international counsel to the lead managers in India’s largest IPO in 2023 to date – the INR43bn IPO of equity shares of Mankind Pharma Limited, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in India.
- Represented Kotak Mahindra and Jefferies on the US$430m QIP of equity shares of Macrotech Developers Limited, the first-ever, purely secondary QIP of equity shares in the history of Indian capital markets.
- Represented ChrysCapital in the highly complex acquisition of Xoriant Corporation, a digital product engineering, software development, and technology services firm.
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)
Firm Rankings
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- India > Foreign firms