Sidley Austin LLP Elevates 11 to Partnership in Chicago, 34 throughout Firm

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Eleven lawyers in the Chicago office of Sidley Austin LLP are among the 34 lawyers elevated to partnership in the firm. Effective July 1, the firm will have 681 partners in offices in the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia. The new Chicago partners will be Bobbi O. Anderson, Insurance; Mark Borrelli, Investment Funds, Advisers and Derivatives; Kara L. McCall, Products Liability; Robert P. O'Keefe, Insurance; Patricia M. Petrowski, Litigation; John T. Schaff, Tax; Elizabeth M. Schubert, Investment Funds, Advisers and Derivatives; Amanda M. Todd, Insurance; Dennis M. Twomey, Bankruptcy/Corporate Reorganization; Scott R. Williams, Corporate; and Ami N. Wynne, Labor, Employment and Immigration.

“Welcoming this new group of talented lawyers to our partnership is a great privilege,” said Thomas A. Cole, chair of the firm’s Executive Committee. “Each of these lawyers embodies our firm ideals and our commitment to excellence, integrity, diversity and collegiality.”

“Our new partners are among the highest caliber lawyers in the world,” added Charles W. Douglas, chair of the firm’s Management Committee. “It is particularly rewarding to continue to strengthen Sidley’s much respected capacity to provide exceptional legal services and client service in the U.S., Europe and Asia.”

Bobbi O. Anderson, 32, will be a partner in the Insurance practice. She represents insurance companies, investment banks and other financial institutions in connection with mergers and acquisitions, insurance securitizations, structured finance solutions, alternative risk transfer transactions, the issuance of insurance-linked securities and other financial transactions.

Ms. Anderson, currently an associate, received her J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and her B.S., with distinction, from Purdue University.

Mark Borrelli, 44, will be a partner in the Investment Funds, Advisers and Derivatives practice. He represents clients, including broker-dealers, investment advisors, commodity pool operators, commodity trading advisors, and clearing agencies, on transactional, compliance and enforcement matters relating to securities and commodities, including organization and operation of hedge funds and broker-dealers. Mr. Borrelli previously clerked for the Honorable George M. Marovich of the U.S. District Court, N.D. of Illinois and served as an Assistant Regional Director in the Midwest Regional Office of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Mr. Borrelli, currently a counsel, received his J.D., summa cum laude, Order of the Coif, from University of Illinois College of Law, where he was a Harno Fellow and on the Dean's List. He received his B.S., with highest honors, from University of Illinois, Bronze Tablet, Beta Gamma Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi.

Kara L. McCall, 32, will be a partner in the Products Liability practice. She has worked on complex litigation matters involving claims for wrongful death, personal injury, emotional distress, property damage and subrogation arising out of catastrophic fires and explosions, as well as the defense of pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in class actions and multi-district proceedings. She has also handled several consumer fraud class actions, including class actions in arbitration proceedings. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. McCall clerked for Judge Diane P. Wood of the U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit.

Ms. McCall, currently an associate, received her J.D., Order of the Coif, from The University of Chicago Law School. She received her B.A. from Butler University.

Robert P. O'Keefe, 33, will be a partner in the Insurance practice. He represents insurance companies and other financial institutions, including hedge funds, investment banks, commercial banks and financial advisors, in connection with various types of corporate and regulatory matters relating to the insurance industry. Mr. O’Keefe’s areas of focus include the structuring and regulation of alternative risk transfer mechanisms targeted to both the property and casualty industry and the life insurance industry and the structuring and regulation of complex reinsurance arrangements.

Mr. O’Keefe, currently an associate, received his J.D., with honors, from The University of Chicago Law School and his B.A., with honors, from the University of Notre Dame.

Patricia M. Petrowski, 35, will be a partner in the Litigation practice. She has worked on a diverse range of complex civil litigation matters in both state and federal courts, as well as a wide variety of arbitrations and other alternative dispute resolution proceedings. Ms. Petrowski has tried five cases and has also represented several parties in appellate matters. Her areas of practice include False Claims Act litigation, reinsurance disputes, trust and estate litigation, and white-collar defense and internal corporate investigations.

Ms. Petrowski, currently an associate, received her J.D. from The University of Michigan Law School and her B.S., with high honors, Phi Beta Kappa, from Michigan State University.

John T. Schaff, 33, will be a partner in the Tax practice. He represents domestic and foreign entities involved in a variety of transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, partnerships and joint ventures, spin-offs and other divisive transactions, securitizations and securities offerings. He also has experience advising clients in connection with contested federal tax matters, matters involving federal income tax credits, deferred compensation arrangements and state and local tax matters.

Mr. Schaff, currently an associate, received his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School and his B.S. from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

Elizabeth M. Schubert, 41, will be a partner in the Investment Funds, Advisers and Derivatives practice. She provides advice to hedge funds and other end users of derivative products. Ms. Schubert’s experience includes over the counter derivatives contracts like ISDA Master Agreements and Master Repurchase Agreements and also spans to other arrangements, including prime brokerage and futures agreements.

Ms. Schubert, currently an associate, received her J.D., with honors, from The George Washington University Law School, her M.P. from University of Virginia and her A.B. from Bryn Mawr College.

Amanda M. Todd will be a partner in the Insurance practice. She provides counsel to various institutions, including insurance companies, investment banks and registered and unregistered investment vehicles and advises both SEC registered and non registered corporations with respect to their disclosure obligations under applicable securities laws.

Ms. Todd, currently an associate, received her J.D., cum laude, from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and her B.A. from University of Michigan.

Dennis M. Twomey, 32, will be a partner in the Bankruptcy/Corporate Reorganization practice. His practice encompasses all areas of corporate reorganization and bankruptcy matters, focusing on the representation of various parties in complex Chapter 11 cases.

Mr. Twomey, currently an associate, received his J.D., with honors, from The University of Chicago Law School and his B.S., with highest honors, from University of Illinois.

Scott R. Williams, 33, will be a partner in the Corporate practice. He represents both buyers and sellers in public and private acquisitions, issuers and underwriters in public and private offerings and debtors and creditors in reorganizations both in and out of bankruptcy. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Williams clerked for the Honorable Cornelia Kennedy of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Mr. Williams, currently an associate, received his J.D., magna cum laude, from Notre Dame Law School, where he served as Articles Editor for the Notre Dame Law Review, and his B.S.S. from Cornell College.

Ami N. Wynne, 32, will be a partner in the Labor, Employment and Immigration practice. She litigates various employment discrimination, restrictive covenant, breach of fiduciary duty and other employment-related cases in state and federal courts and handles employment and labor matters in arbitrations and before various administrative agencies. She also counsels employers of all sizes with respect to various employment-related agreements and policies, issues surrounding reductions in force and facility closings, termination and other personnel decisions, and numerous other employment-related matters.

Ms. Wynne, currently an associate, received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her B.A., cum laude, from Harvard University.

Sidley also named the following to partnership in its other offices: Beijing – Chen Yang; Brussels – Ken Daly and Kristina Nordlander; Frankfurt - Werner Geißelmeier; Geneva – Nicolas J.S. Lockhart; Hong Kong – Jason T. Kuo and Scott Dennis Peterman; London - David Howe; Los Angeles – Joshua E. Anderson, Stephen D. Blevit, Alycia A. Degen and Mitchell Poole; New York – Jonathan P. Brose, Nicholas H. De Baun, Bindu Donovan, Stuart S. Koonce, Todd L. Krause, Michael Madigan and Xiaowen Qiu; San Francisco - Theodore W. Chandler; Sydney - Bruce Dailey; Washington, D.C. – Karl F. Kaufmann and Robert D. Keeling.

Sidley’s Chicago office, with more than 500 lawyers, traces its origins back to 1866. Chicago office lawyers work on a broad range of litigation, transactional and regulatory matters. Lawyers in the litigation practice have trial and appellate experience in virtually all areas of litigation, including antitrust, bankruptcy, class action litigation, white collar, criminal, corporate takeovers, directors' and officers’ liability, employment, environmental, government contracts, immigration, insurance coverage, intellectual property, lender liability, products liability, real estate, regulated industries, securities litigation and tax. The office’s corporate lawyers advise clients on corporate and related areas, including mergers and acquisitions, banking and commercial finance, corporate governance, corporate finance, investment funds, hedge funds, private equity funds and other pooled investment entities, insurance, securities regulatory and enforcement, broker dealer regulation, bankruptcy and restructuring, commodities, real estate and REITs, intellectual property, project finance and tax. Highlights of the regulatory practice include representation of insurance companies, life sciences companies, utilities, telecoms and banking and financial institutions.

Sidley Austin LLP is one of the world's largest full-service law firms, with more than 1800 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." BTI, a Boston-based consulting and research firm, has 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 seven 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.