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Sidley Austin
Sidley Austin LLP is an American multinational law firm with approximately 2,300 lawyers in 21 offices across the world, including North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It was established in 1866 and its headquarters is at One South Dearborn in Chicago's Loop. It is one of the largest law firms in the world in terms of revenue.
In 1866, Norman Williams and John L. Thompson founded the law firm of Williams & Thompson in Chicago, Illinois. In 1876, the firm organized the Western Electric Company and Illinois Bell, and the Bell System became a longtime client. Mary Todd Lincoln was another early client, seeking counsel following her husband Abraham Lincoln's death.
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. 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.
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. Initial clients included the Advertising Mail Marketing Association.
In 1972, Sidley & Austin, with 100 lawyers, merged with the 50 lawyers of Chicago firm Leibman, Williams, Bennett, Baird & Minow. Additional offices were then established in London in 1974 and in Singapore and New York in 1982. Day, a chair of the firm's Washington, D.C., office prior to the merger, sued Sidley & Austin in response to the relocation of the merged firm's Washington office and being asked to share chairmanship of the office, although Day had approved and signed the merger agreement and amended partner agreement. A U.S. District Court judge dismissed the suit, and all appeals were denied. The case is sometimes cited in discussions of partnership law.
In 1975, Charles E. Lomax joined the firm, later becoming its first black partner. His clients included Don King and Muhammad Ali, for whom the firm arranged fights. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Sidley & Austin represented AT&T in the time leading up to and during United States v. AT&T.
In 1985, Sidley & Austin became the first law firm to establish a standalone appellate practice for U.S. Supreme Court cases, recruiting Benjamin W. Heineman Jr. to lead it, as well as former U.S. Solicitor General Rex E. Lee. By 2012, the firm had argued 106 Supreme Court cases and was involved in approximately 40% of the cases the Court heard each year. The head of Sidley's D.C. office, Carter Phillips, had argued 76 cases before the Supreme Court by June 2012, more than any other active lawyer.
Sidley & Austin was among several law firms involved in the Savings & Loan Crisis; the firm paid $7.5 million in 1991 to settle legal malpractice claims stemming from its representation of the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association.
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Sidley Austin
Sidley Austin LLP is an American multinational law firm with approximately 2,300 lawyers in 21 offices across the world, including North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It was established in 1866 and its headquarters is at One South Dearborn in Chicago's Loop. It is one of the largest law firms in the world in terms of revenue.
In 1866, Norman Williams and John L. Thompson founded the law firm of Williams & Thompson in Chicago, Illinois. In 1876, the firm organized the Western Electric Company and Illinois Bell, and the Bell System became a longtime client. Mary Todd Lincoln was another early client, seeking counsel following her husband Abraham Lincoln's death.
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. 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.
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. Initial clients included the Advertising Mail Marketing Association.
In 1972, Sidley & Austin, with 100 lawyers, merged with the 50 lawyers of Chicago firm Leibman, Williams, Bennett, Baird & Minow. Additional offices were then established in London in 1974 and in Singapore and New York in 1982. Day, a chair of the firm's Washington, D.C., office prior to the merger, sued Sidley & Austin in response to the relocation of the merged firm's Washington office and being asked to share chairmanship of the office, although Day had approved and signed the merger agreement and amended partner agreement. A U.S. District Court judge dismissed the suit, and all appeals were denied. The case is sometimes cited in discussions of partnership law.
In 1975, Charles E. Lomax joined the firm, later becoming its first black partner. His clients included Don King and Muhammad Ali, for whom the firm arranged fights. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Sidley & Austin represented AT&T in the time leading up to and during United States v. AT&T.
In 1985, Sidley & Austin became the first law firm to establish a standalone appellate practice for U.S. Supreme Court cases, recruiting Benjamin W. Heineman Jr. to lead it, as well as former U.S. Solicitor General Rex E. Lee. By 2012, the firm had argued 106 Supreme Court cases and was involved in approximately 40% of the cases the Court heard each year. The head of Sidley's D.C. office, Carter Phillips, had argued 76 cases before the Supreme Court by June 2012, more than any other active lawyer.
Sidley & Austin was among several law firms involved in the Savings & Loan Crisis; the firm paid $7.5 million in 1991 to settle legal malpractice claims stemming from its representation of the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association.