Sidley Austin LLP Elevates 9 to Partnership in Washington D.C., 37 throughout Firm

12 July 2006

Nine lawyers in the Washington D.C. office of Sidley Austin LLP are among the 37 associates and counsel elevated to partnership in the firm, which now has 575 partners in offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. As of July 1, the new Washington, D.C. partners are Steven T. Cottreau, Litigation - Civil, Criminal & Constitutional; Coleen Klasmeier, Litigation - Regulatory and Economic; Colleen M. Lauerman, Litigation - Civil, Criminal & Constitutional; Jennifer Haworth McCandless, International Trade & Dispute Resolution; Stephen M. Nickelsburg, Litigation - Civil, Criminal & Constitutional; Christopher T. Shenk, Litigation - Regulatory and Economic; Leslie A. Shubert, Litigation - Civil, Criminal & Constitutional; David A. Steffes, Intellectual Property; and Rebecca K. Wood; Litigation - Civil, Criminal & Constitutional.

"These new partners are exceptional lawyers, and we are proud to have them represent the firm," said Thomas A. Cole, chair of the firm's Executive Committee. "Each new partner meets our exacting standards of quality and collegiality."

"I am proud to welcome each and every one of these lawyers to our partnership," said Carter G. Phillips, head of the Appellate Practice and Managing Partner of the firm's Washington, D.C. office. "They have made significant contributions to the success and growth of our firm."

Steven T. Cottreau, 35, is a partner in the Litigation - Civil, Criminal & Constitutional Practice. His practice principally involves civil litigation and criminal defense. In the civil context, Mr. Cottreau represents clients in complex civil litigation involving claims of securities and civil fraud, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) violations, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, antitrust violations and other civil claims.

Mr. Cottreau, who had been an associate, received his J.D., magna cum laude, from New York University School of Law. He received his B.S., with honors, from the University of Wisconsin.

Coleen Klasmeier, 34, is a partner in the Litigation - Regulatory and Economic Practice. Before joining the firm in January 2005, Ms. Klasmeier served as Special Assistant to the Chief Counsel of FDA, providing advice on the constitutional and statutory limitations on FDA authority and on policy matters to the Chief Counsel and to senior agency executives.

Ms. Klasmeier, who had been counsel, received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Boston University School of Law, where she was an Edward F. Hennessey Distinguished Scholar, a Melville Madison Bigelow Scholar and staff and editorial board member of The Boston University Law Review. She received her B.A., summa cum laude, from McDaniel College (formerly Western Maryland College), where she was a College Scholar and recipient of the United States History Prize.

Colleen M. Lauerman, 38, is a partner in the Litigation - Civil, Criminal & Constitutional Practice. Her practice focuses on representing individuals and corporations in all phases of criminal and complex civil litigation, including internal investigations, grand jury proceedings, congressional investigations and trial court proceedings.

Ms. Lauerman, who had been a senior associate, received her J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center. She received her B.S. from Georgetown University.

Jennifer Haworth McCandless is a partner in the International Trade & Dispute Resolution Practice. She focuses her practice in the area of international dispute settlement with particular emphasis on matters regarding the World Trade Organization and all areas of domestic court litigation involving federal trade practice, including classification, countervailing duty and antidumping law.

Ms. McCandless, who had been an associate, received her J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She received her M.Ed. from Harvard University and her B.A. from Whitman College.

Stephen M. Nickelsburg, 38, is a partner in the Litigation - Civil, Criminal & Constitutional Practice. His practice involves complex civil and criminal matters, including internal investigations, agency investigations, and trial and appellate litigation.

Mr. Nickelsburg, who had been an associate, received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. He received his Master of Engineering from Northeastern University and his B.S., magna cum laude from Duke University.

Christopher T. Shenk, 35, is a partner in the Litigation - Regulatory and Economic Practice. He principally represents telecommunications firms in a variety of matters involving litigation, economic regulation and legislation. Prior to joining Sidley, Mr. Shenk taught Microeconomics at the University of Virginia.

Mr. Shenk, who had been an associate, received his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Virginia and his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University.

Leslie A. Shubert is a partner in the Litigation - Civil, Criminal & Constitutional Practice. She represents individuals and corporations in both civil and criminal litigation and has significant experience advising clients regarding the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Ms. Shubert, who had been an associate, received her J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center. She received her B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame.

David A. Steffes, 34, is a partner in the Intellectual Property Practice. His practice focuses on advising clients on technology transfer and licensing matters, preparing and prosecuting patent applications before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and performing investigations regarding patent validity, infringement and product clearance.

Mr. Steffes, who had been an associate, received his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School. He received his B.S., with honors, from the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse.

Rebecca K. Wood, 34, is a partner in the Litigation - Civil, Criminal & Constitutional Practice. Ms. Wood's practice encompasses the representation of clients in complex civil and appellate litigation. A significant focus of her practice is product liability and mass tort litigation, as well as representing corporations, religious institutions and states in appellate matters.

Ms. Wood, who had been an associate, received her J.D. from New York University School of Law. She received her B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University.

Sidley also named the following to partnership in our other offices: Chicago - David B. Barlow, Donald B. Bingham, Paul S. Caruso, Marc A. Cavan, Matthew A. Clemente, Kurt R. Gearhart, David A. Gordon, Eric H. Grush, Bradley D. Howard, Mark R. Kirsons, Kevin R. Pryor, Courtney A. Rosen and Scott D. Stein; Los Angeles- Jeffrey E. Bjork, Max C. Fischer, Brian C. Flavell, Jonathan M. Kaplan and Amy P. Lally; New York - Jacob J. Amato III, R. J. Carlson, Nicholas P. Crowell, Angelica Kwan, Prabhat K. Mehta, James C. Munsell and Gabriel Saltarelli; Hong Kong - Jason T. Elder; and London - Leonard W. Ng and Jonathan Wallace.

Sidley Austin LLP is one of the world's largest full-service law firms, with more than 1,600 lawyers practicing in 15 U.S. and international cities including Beijing, Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo. Sidley was named the Number One-Ranked U.S. Law Firm for Overall Client Service in 2002 and 2004 in surveys of Fortune 1000 executives by BTI, a Boston-based consulting and research firm. In 2005, BTI 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 five years in a row. Sidley received the 2005 Catalyst Award in recognition of the firm's initiative to recruit, retain and advance diverse talent.

Source: prnewswire

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