Sidley Austin often acts for a lucrative client base of blue-chip clients, Chinese corporates and state-owned enterprises on major bet-the-company multi-jurisdictional mandates. Yan Zhang regularly represents multinational clients across a wide variety of industries, including healthcare, TMT and financial services, while Desmond Ang has a growing restructuring and insolvency practice, representing both debtors and creditors. Friven Yeoh left the firm in October 2024.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘The Sidley team has always been a well-known and leading team in the market. It is also highly sensitive to the latest industry developments and can provide high-quality services in the first place for emerging industries.’

  • ‘Desmond Ang has a high sensitivity to both law and business, and is good at using legal analysis to resolve business disputes or facilitate business transactions. In normal cooperation, he always responds to clients' questions in the first place, winning high praise from clients.’

  • 'The team has strength in depth with three talented and active partners.’
  • 'Yan Zhang combines a charming manner with deep arbitration expertise.'
  • 'Desmond Ang is serious and knowledgeable.’
  • ‘Zhang Yan has extensive experience in dispute resolution and his service attitude and quality are excellent.’

  • ‘Very responsive, smart, solution-oriented, good language skills.’

Key clients

  • I-Mab Biopharma Co., Ltd.
  • Ting Chuan (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp
  • China Evergrande Group

Work highlights

  • Successfully defeated damages claims for a global biotech company, I-Mab Biopharma, in a US$340 million New York-seated ICC arbitration against its U.S. clinical research partner.
  • Represented Ting Chuan (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp (Applicant) in a privy council decision. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council handed down its judgment in the case of Ting Chuan (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp v FamilyMart China Holding Co Ltd on September 20, 2023.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Desmond Ang, Yan Zhang