Sidley Austin LLP Named Top Law Firm for Hedge Funds by Alpha Magazine for Second Consecutive Year

CHICAGO & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the second consecutive year, Institutional Investor’s Alpha Magazine has ranked Sidley Austin LLP (www.sidley.com) the number one legal adviser to the hedge fund industry among onshore law firms. Additionally, Sidley placed first in almost every sub-category, including “business planning,” “client service,” “hedge fund expertise” and “regulatory and compliance.”

“We are particularly gratified by the results of this year’s Alpha Awards™ because we have once again been chosen by our clients”

“We are particularly gratified by the results of this year’s Alpha Awards™ because we have once again been chosen by our clients,” explained Thomas A. Cole, chair of the firm’s Executive Committee. “We have been privileged to work with some of the most respected hedge funds and alternative asset managers and we are very proud of the performance of our team, which this ranking acknowledges.”

The Alpha Awards™ are tabulated from the responses of nearly 1,000 hedge fund firms, representing roughly $1.4 trillion in assets under management. The list of respondents include Alpha’s 2007 Hedge Fund 100 list of the top-performing firms. Additionally, this year Alpha introduced a new ranking showing which providers best serve hedge fund firms with assets $1 billion or more; Sidley was ranked first in this new category.

For more information on the Alpha Awards™ and Alpha Magazine, the authoritative publication of the hedge fund industry from Institutional Investor, please visit www.alphamagazine.com.

About Sidley Austin LLP

Sidley’s hedge fund and investment management practice comprises approximately 95 lawyers in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Hong Kong and London. The team, led by Michael Schmidtberger and John MacKinnon in New York and William Kerr in Chicago, provides a full range of legal services to hedge fund manager clients, including advice on legal structure and other formation issues, securities and derivatives regulatory and compliance matters, capital markets and corporate finance transactions, "seed capital" transactions, hedge fund manager mergers and acquisitions, marketing arrangements, trading documentation, exchange listing, and tax and ERISA matters. Sidley was also named Investment Funds Law Firm of the Year in the 2007 Asian Legal Business Awards.

Sidley Austin LLP is one of the world's largest full-service law firms, with more than 1,800 lawyers practicing in 16 U.S. and international cities including Beijing, Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. Every year since 2003, Sidley has been named to Legal Business’ Global Elite, their designation for "the 15 finest law firms in the world." Sidley was again named the number one law firm for overall client service by BTI, a Boston-based consulting and research firm, in 2007. BTI has also named Sidley to their Client Service Hall of Fame as one of only two law firms to rank in the Client Service Top 10 for six years in a row.

For purposes of the New York State Bar rules, this press release may be considered Attorney Advertising and the headquarters of the firm are Sidley Austin LLP 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019, 212.839.5300 and Sidley Austin LLP One South Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60603, 312.853.7000. Prior results described herein do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Sidley Austin LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership which operates at the firm’s offices other than Chicago, London, Hong Kong, 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, 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.