Sidley Austin has elected a partnership class of 29 and promoted 15 lawyers to counsel, a year end set of leadership moves that will take effect January 1, 2026. The new appointments span multiple U.S. offices as well as key European markets and cover a wide mix of transactional, finance, disputes, regulatory, and investigations practices.
New Partners Effective January 1, 2026
Century City
Shayona Schiely — Focus: debt finance for private equity sponsors, portfolio companies, corporates, and lenders; also restructuring-related matters
Jonathan M. Westreich — Focus: tax structuring for M&A and investments, with a strong emphasis on sports, entertainment, and media; also REITs/real estate-related transactions
Chicago
Anika Hermann Bargfrede — Focus: public and private M&A and public company advisory, including governance and shareholder activism matters
Katie LaVoy — Focus: corporate governance, SEC disclosure, and executive compensation advisory for public companies
Abigail B. Molitor — Focus: disputes and regulatory matters involving accounting/professional services and securities/financial reporting issues
Takayuki Ono — Focus: white collar defense and investigations for companies, boards, and executives, including cross-border matters
John White — Focus: major transactions for insurance companies and private equity, including M&A and reinsurance-related work
Caroline A. Wong — Focus: securities and shareholder litigation, including ERISA class actions and related investigations
Dallas
Jeri Leigh Miller — Focus: restructurings across retail, life sciences, financial services, media, energy, and technology
London
Florian N. Kamp — Focus: cross-border private equity transactions across Europe (broad industry coverage)
Jonathan Lafferty — Focus: complex commercial disputes, including matters tied to pharma and technology licensing
Azeem Sulemanji — Focus: structured finance and securitization, especially European CLOs and related UK/EU regulation
Los Angeles
Caleb J. Bowers — Focus: environmental regulatory and litigation matters for e-commerce, industrial businesses, transportation/logistics, and infrastructure development
Alexandria V. Ruiz — Focus: complex business disputes and consumer class actions/consumer fraud defense
Munich
Thomas Komanek — Focus: private equity and M&A, plus emerging companies and venture capital work (broad industry coverage)
New York
Dustin R. Anderson — Focus: tax for REITs (equity and mortgage), alternative investments, and registered fund structures
Rachel Fridhandler — Focus: complex M&A and strategic investments for public companies and financial sponsors (broad industry coverage)
MK (Mee Kyung) Han — Focus: private equity deals with emphasis on healthcare and industrials
Emily A. Hunter — Focus: private equity transactions across asset/wealth management, financial services, professional services, consumer products, healthcare, and technology
Luke Maiman — Focus: structured credit, including CLOs and debt fund financings
Jon Muenz — Focus: bankruptcy and distressed situations (broad industry coverage)
Michael T. Sweeney — Focus: structured products tied to commercial real estate (CMBS and CRE CLO)
Alena Q. Thomas — Focus: leveraged finance for acquisition financings, cross-border deals, and liability management (broad industry coverage)
Patrick Venter — Focus: complex restructurings across healthcare, retail, media, technology, energy, and financial services
San Francisco
Lauren C. Freeman — Focus: antitrust/competition investigations and enforcement matters, including work involving agencies such as DOJ/FTC/FERC/FDA
Washington, D.C.
Aaron M. Applebaum — Focus: customs and trade compliance and enforcement, including forced labor-related import restrictions
Ameneh Bordi — Focus: complex restructurings and Chapter 11 matters
Stanley J. Boris — Focus: banking, payments, and fintech regulatory and transactional work
Erin N. Kauffman — Focus: securities enforcement/regulatory work with emphasis on securities lending programs for asset managers and broker-dealers
New Counsel Effective January 1, 2026
Chicago
John M. Ekblad — Focus: registered investment funds (open-end, closed-end, BDCs, ETFs) and Investment Company Act/Advisers Act matters
Stephen W. McInerney — Focus: privacy, cybersecurity, and national security issues, including incident response and deal diligence
Hannah Posen — Focus: environmental counseling and defense, including Clean Air Act/Clean Water Act matters
Dallas
Daniel F. Burkhart — Focus: leveraged finance and debt restructurings for borrowers, sponsors, and direct lenders (broad industry coverage)
Geneva
Michail Dekastros — Focus: international arbitration, including commercial and investment treaty disputes across sectors such as life sciences/medical devices, energy, construction, and partnerships
London
Taniel Akay — Focus: capital markets with emphasis on high-yield debt and cross-border financing/LBO structures
Los Angeles
Victoria A. Anglin — Focus: investment adviser regulatory compliance (Advisers Act) for advisers, hedge funds, and private equity firms
Alexandria Daugherty — Focus: investigations and enforcement defense across sectors including automotive, technology, telecom, retail, financial, healthcare, and accounting
Jonathan H. Koh — Focus: real estate transactions across hospitality, retail, office, healthcare, multifamily, industrial, and mixed-use
Miami
Axel Miranda — Focus: cross-border M&A and private investment work, including acquisitions/investments involving professional sports teams
New York
Peter J. Mardian — Focus: antitrust and securities litigation, plus related commercial disputes
Alexandros Roussos — Focus: securitization work, including CMBS and other ABS transactions
Washington, D.C.
Keturah A. Brown — Focus: energy and infrastructure regulatory and transactional matters spanning natural gas and wholesale power
D’Juan B. Jones — Focus: securities enforcement and investigations (SEC/FINRA/DOJ and state regulators)
Miriam Carroll Silvestri — Focus: antitrust counseling and enforcement matters across industries, including software/tech, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, retail, insurance, and manufacturing
The promotions come as Sidley continues to position itself as a global firm with a broad platform across transactional, restructuring, investigations, regulatory, and litigation matters, supported by a multinational footprint and a large bench of lawyers serving clients in major commercial and financial centers.
KEY QUOTES:
“This is an exceptional group of lawyers that have been elected to partner and promoted to counsel,” said Yvette Ostolaza, Chair of Sidley’s Management Committee. “Each of them has demonstrated the attributes that are necessary to practice at the highest levels of our profession. Whether representing clients in the courtroom, leading significant transactions, or advising them in the boardroom, each of them have earned the trust and respect of our partnership and our valued clients. Congratulations on this extraordinary accomplishment during an exciting time in the legal profession.”
Yvette Ostolaza, Chair, Sidley’s Management Committee
“This newly promoted class of highly regarded partners and counsel indicates our sustained growth as an elite firm,” said Brian Fahrney, Chair of Sidley’s Executive Committee. “We continue to foster the growth of talented lawyers who meet the needs of their clients day in and day out. Thank you for your commitment to Sidley, and we celebrate your success.”
Brian Fahrney, Chair, Sidley’s Executive Committee
