Sidley Austin LLP

Praised for its ‘high-quality, commercially driven advice’, Sidley Austin LLP bolstered its bench strength with the hires of James MacArthur and Ed Freeman from Weil, Gotshal & Manges (London) LLP in April 2023; both MacArthur and Freeman are noted for their expert knowledge of international markets. Alongside their global finance colleagues, the duo handle the full range of M&A, PE, joint venture, and debt finance mandates, working for both distinguished players and newly established funds. Further names to note include Ramy Wahbeh, who joined the firm from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in June 2023. Wahbeh is an experienced private equity specialist who regularly works with financial sponsors across a range of infrastructure-related M&A mandates. Emilie Stewart and James Crooks are both noted for their extensive debt finance expertise, as is Ben Thompson, who joined the practice in May 2024 from Travers Smith LLP.