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Sidley Austin – Best North American Law Firm

Sidley Austin has a premier global practice in advising investment funds and advisers. Sidley’s lawyers serve virtually every type of investment fund and investment manager as well as other market participants. More than 120 corporate, securities and derivatives lawyers serve investment fund, investment management and derivatives work worldwide.

Sidley’s principal strengths are its deep and sophisticated knowledge as well as breadth and geographical reach. The firm serves its clients in every substantive investment management and fund discipline.

“In supporting our hedge fund manager clients, we are able to utilise our knowledge across practice areas such as tax, employment and market regulation, to address a variety of matters,” says Michael J Schmidtberger (pictured), co-head of Sidley’s investment funds, advisers and derivatives group.

“Our clients also benefit from our experience across the investment management spectrum, from hedge funds to committed capital funds to registered funds, as the lines of investment management are increasingly becoming blurred.”

With the recent and continuing changes in the financial markets, Sidley’s breadth and reach enable the firm to assist clients with regard to regulatory requirements across numerous jurisdictions and areas of focus. Over the past year, the focus of Sidley’s investment funds, advisers and derivatives practice group has been on the regulatory initiatives impacting the investment management industry in the US, Europe and Asia and the increased levels of activity by regulatory authorities in those jurisdictions.

Sidley has been counselling clients regarding the significance of new global regulation, including the Dodd-Frank Act and related SEC, CFTC and state regulations. Both the firm’s US and European clients have been particularly focused on the European Union’s Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, as well as recently EU regulation on OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories, and the MiFID review. Sidley has counselled industry groups such as the Managed Funds Association in relation to recent regulatory developments.

The firm assists clients in developing new fund structures and optimising advisory structures. For example, its experience enables Sidley to provide investment solutions for clients such as the structuring and documentation of bespoke structured derivative products to finance exposure to an asset or a basket of assets.

Providing exceptional service to clients is one of Sidley’s top priorities. Its practice has been recognised by numerous publications, including first-tier national rankings for its private funds/hedge funds, derivatives & futures and mutual funds practices in the 2010 inaugural Best Law Firms survey by U.S. News & World Report; Best Onshore Law Firm in HFM Week’s 2009 US Service Provider Awards and highly commended in the same category at the publication’s 2010 European awards; Investment Funds Team of the Year for the US from Chambers and Partners in 2008; top onshore (US) hedge fund law firm in 2006 and 2007 and second overall in 2008 and 2009 at Institutional Investor’s Alpha Awards; and Best Law Firm for Alternative Assets in the AsianInvestor 2010 and 2008 Service Provider Awards.

“Sidley is honoured to be recognised by Hedgeweek, its clients and its peers for the firm’s client service and sophisticated knowledge of the issues facing the investment management industry today,” Schmidtberger says. “The firm believes this recognition is a testament to the range of Sidley’s substantive capabilities in a diverse array of practices relevant to the hedge fund world.”

Please click here to download a copy of the Hedgeweek special report Hedgeweek Awards 2011

Disclaimer

Sidley Austin LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership which operates at the firm’s offices other than Chicago, London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney, is affiliated with other partnerships, including Sidley Austin LLP, an Illinois limited liability partnership (Chicago); Sidley Austin LLP, a separate Delaware limited liability partnership (London); Sidley Austin LLP, a separate Delaware limited liability partnership (Singapore); Sidley Austin, a New York general partnership (Hong Kong); Sidley Austin, a Delaware general partnership of registered foreign lawyers restricted to practicing foreign law (Sydney); and Sidley Austin Nishikawa Foreign Law Joint Enterprise (Tokyo). The affiliated partnerships are referred to herein collectively as Sidley Austin, Sidley, or the firm.

 

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