Expanding Our Global Impact

Example H2

In 2024, our global offices contributed substantially to pro bono work in a variety of impactful ways.

Our London office devoted more than 8,000 hours to assist over 75 individuals under the firm’s access to justice projects, which focus on serving people with disabilities, asylum seekers and refugees, women, and children. We continued to support the most vulnerable in society by helping mothers in prison to see their children and by representing individuals in appeals to obtain disability benefits. Through our charities and nonprofits program, we provided over 70 organizations with free legal advice and support, enabling them to focus on their important work of delivering essential public services to those in need.

Our Brussels, Geneva, and Munich offices contributed more than 1,900 hours to pro bono matters and continued to make important strides on behalf of clients who we represent through the firm’s Emerging Enterprises Program and Trade for Development Initiative.

Our Asia Pacific offices dedicated more than 200 hours to pro bono matters in 2024 and continue to seek new opportunities to provide pro bono support to our global communities.

Emerging Enterprises

BioLite Energy

BioLite is an energy company operating in Kenya, Uganda, and the U.S. that works in niche technologies for fuel-independent cooking and charging, aimed at off-grid households in emerging markets and at outdoor recreation users. BioLite follows a unique business model that it calls “parallel innovation,” involving development of core energy technologies that are applicable to both markets in these different use cases, and turns them into products that are specific to emerging markets and outdoor recreation. Their products include clean burning stoves that replace smoky, open fires, and solar lighting as a replacement for kerosene wick lamps. A client since 2019, BioLite most recently sought Sidley’s help with a business agreement with a clean energy equipment distributor.

“Sidley’s counsel helped BioLite close a debt facility that allowed us to make our clean energy products meaningfully more affordable to lower-income Kenyan households. Having Sidley in our corner also leveled the playing field when closing financing with well-capitalized investment funds, represented by leading lawyers.”
— Erik Wurster, Vice President, Environmental Markets and Sustainability

CassVita Inc.

CassVita has invented a novel biotechnology for increasing the shelf-life of cassava from three days to 18 months, enabling them to offer cassava-based alternatives to flour and starch at scale to food businesses while providing sustainable livelihoods to smallholder farmers. CassVita sources raw cassava from smallholder farmers in Cameroon and sells the finished products to food businesses globally. Sidley’s lawyers have supported CassVita with corporate restructuring, drafting financing agreements, and establishing board governance, as well as facilitating the close of their financing rounds.

“I truly have a renewed sense of hope in the goodness of institutions after our encounter with Sidley. Our work at CassVita hinges on creating prosperity for vulnerable farming communities. Given the amount of heavy lifting that we need to do to make these farmers’ dreams a reality, we usually do not have as much leeway to afford sound legal services. Services like Sidley’s pro bono offering make all the difference!”
— Pelkins Ajanoh, Founder and CEO, CassVita

260th Client Joins Sidley’s Emerging Enterprises Program

Sidley’s Emerging Enterprises Pro Bono Program reached a significant milestone in 2024, onboarding its 260th client, including the 100th women-owned/led business. Over the past four years, at least 40% of all new clients that the EE Program have onboarded have been women-owned/led businesses. Among these clients is Airee Felt, a woman-led startup dedicated to combating severe air pollution in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The city has some of the worst suspended particulate matter levels globally, and Airee Felt addresses this issue through its proprietary and biodegradable wool-based air filter.

“We are incredibly proud of the strides the Emerging Enterprises Pro Bono Program has made over the past 12 years,” said Nicolas Lockhart, a partner in Sidley’s Geneva office. “From the beginning, it was crucial to develop a program that serves the diverse communities in which our clients operate. Onboarding 260 clients who are fostering prosperity by reducing poverty, improving health and education, and enhancing resilience underscores our commitment to making a lasting, global impact. Additionally, our focus on gender inclusivity ensures that our efforts benefit all members of these communities.”

Trade for Development

UN Special Rapporteur on Torture

A team of International Trade lawyers assisted the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture with her work promoting a convention to end trade in implements of torture. In her report to the UN General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur highlighted regulation of trade in items used for torture as a gap in the prohibition of torture in international law and acknowledged Sidley’s support.

Export Guides with the International Trade Centre SheTrades Initiative

In collaboration with the ITC SheTrades Initiative, the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, and UK International Development, Sidley lawyers prepared Export Handbooks for Ghanaian women-led businesses in the cosmetics sector.

2024 Select Events and Speaking Engagements

Sidley representatives participated in a high-level event on women and trade at the World Trade Organization’s Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi. The forum launched a global fund for women exporters in the digital economy, with the goal of helping women women-led businesses and women entrepreneurs in developing economies and least-developed countries adopt digital technologies and expand the online presence of their enterprises.

Sidley also contributed to a panel discussion on women exporters in the digital economy and delivered a presentation on the topic of “Navigating the regulatory maze to green your business and ensure EU market access.” The event was attended by policymakers and entrepreneurs.

Additionally, the firm partnered with the Youth Ecopreneur Award Programme, which is designed to help young green entrepreneurs scale their businesses for a more sustainable future, in collaboration with the G20 Global Land Restoration Initiative. Sidley participated in a variety of activities during the program, including one held at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Asia Pacific

As part of the firm’s Emerging Enterprises Pro Bono Program, our Singapore office has worked together with Asian Women Development Plan International (AWDPI) on a variety of legal matters. AWDPI aims to promote equality and diversity by eliminating sex-based discrimination against Asian women, aiding domestic violence victims, and conducting research on discrimination and domestic violence. Most recently, our work with AWDPI has included advising them on corporate governance matters in a dispute in which the original trustees required assistance replacing another trustee. Collaborating with lawyers in our UK office, we reached out to the UK Charity Commission for assistance in changing the trustee list on the Charity Commission website, advising them on how to handle unauthorized outreach by the replaced trustee to their help seekers, and providing guidance on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Additionally, our Hong Kong office’s pro bono work in 2024 included successfully advising the Hong Kong chapter of an internationally recognized charity organization on its incorporation in Hong Kong and obtaining registered status as a charity under Section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112).

London

KIND UK

We are proud to partner with Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) UK and the Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit to help families apply for British citizenship on behalf of their children. In 2024, we dedicated nearly 400 hours to assisting clients in filing applications to obtain UK citizenship.

In one matter, a Sidley team represented a child who was born in the UK and had lived there his entire life. The Sidley team prepared an application for a citizenship, based on his birth in the UK and his continuous residence for the first 10 years of his life, and was able to secure citizenship for him.

QLEGAL

Through qLegal, a commercial law clinic, postgraduate law students at Queen Mary University of London provide advice to startups and entrepreneurs, covering issues relating to commercial law, data privacy, and IP. Sidley volunteers supervise the students as they interview the clients and provide advice.

Sidley teams have supervised students in advising, among others, medical technology startup companies, in each case providing advice about a variety of corporate law issues and data privacy issues. The clients benefitted from an interview with the students, and a formal letter of advice provided after that meeting.

“Oftentimes, law students think they must choose between working at a law firm and working on issues they’re passionate about. Sidley turns that assumption on its head by giving associates the pro bono fellowship opportunity, and countless other opportunities, to provide meaningful pro bono work.”

Keanu Balani, Century City
Private Equity
ACLU of Southern California

“My legal fellowship at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty was an incredible experience. I was immediately given substantive legal work to do, and I also learned so much about religious liberty legal work and made connections that have allowed me to continue to take on religious liberty pro bono projects, and even participate in multiple Supreme Court amicus briefs that touch on the same themes, during my time at Sidley.”

Levi Brown, Washington, D.C.
Commercial Litigation and Disputes

“Working with Bet Tzedek’s Impact Litigation team allowed me to gain substantive experience quickly, develop litigation skills, and most importantly, to advocate for and to help those in need of legal assistance. Starting my legal career at Bet Tzedek instilled in me that pro bono work is interesting, rewarding, and vitally important.”

Jamie Cappell, Los Angeles
Commercial Litigation and Disputes

“Sidley’s pro bono fellowship exemplifies the exceptional opportunity provided by the firm’s pro bono practice to gain diverse experience while making a meaningful impact. As a pro bono fellow, I had the opportunity to support the investigative work of the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), a nonpartisan independent watchdog. The fellowship was a fantastic way to support a cause I care about while preparing to begin my journey as an associate at Sidley.”

Anna Carney, Washington, D.C.
Commercial Litigation and Disputes

“Participating in Sidley’s pro bono fellowship helped me fulfill a longtime personal goal of working with the ACLU. The best part of my time with the ACLU of DC was getting to file suit in a high school free speech case. It was one of the most meaningful professional experiences of my life. I am very grateful to Sidley for making it happen!

Ellie DeGarmo, Washington, D.C.
Healthcare

“Sidley’s PILI Fellowship gave me the opportunity to hone real-world litigation skills while contributing to an organization that connects people to critical legal services. With the guidance of the talented attorneys at Legal Aid Chicago, I helped an elderly tenant remain stably housed in the face of a wrongful eviction.”

Anne Driscoll, Chicago
Commercial Litigation and Disputes

“I had the privilege of spending my summer fellowship at the National Veterans Legal Services Program. I worked mainly on disability claims and litigation with respect to two sets of client groups: veterans who were exposed to burn pits during service and full-time caregivers of disabled veterans. My fellowship was finding ways to tell our clients’ stories through our filings. And I was consistently blown away by these stories of hardship in training, combat, and in readjusting to civilian life. I learned so much, and I would like to think I helped some of the most deserving individuals in our country.”

Ish Farooqui, Washington, D.C.
Commercial Litigation and Disputes

“My fellowship at Bet Tzedek in their preventing and ending homelessness practice was a profoundly rewarding experience. Working diligently to ensure that tenants were treated fairly not only allowed me to give back to the community, but also reinforced my commitment to pro bono work as an associate at Sidley.”

Max Gordon, Los Angeles
Commercial Litigation and Disputes

“My fellowship at the Public Defender Service taught me the skills necessary to become a great litigator. But most important to my professional growth as an aspiring defense attorney, when working with clients whose liberty was at stake, I learned to put away all biases I may have had and advocated for my client to the best of my ability.”

Dominique Hall, Washington, D.C.
Commercial Litigation and Disputes

“Getting the opportunity to assist emerging nonprofit organizations at the beginning of my legal career was a powerful reminder that, at its heart, lawyering is about helping others. I am grateful to be at a place like Sidley that cares about creating a culture of service by providing opportunities to support those less fortunate and make a meaningful impact in our community.”

Robert Hogan, Chicago
Investment Funds
Loyola Business Law Clinic

“Through my fellowship with Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, I learned about the essential role that legal advocacy plays as part of a broader framework, including political advocacy and social services, in protecting people from falling through the frayed and precarious net of housing benefits.”

Priya Kareddy, Washington, D.C.
Commercial Litigation and Disputes

“During my pro bono fellowship at the Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission, I had the privilege of advocating for individuals living with mental health disorders. Our focus was to ensure that every person received the due process they are entitled to when facing involuntary admission for mental health treatment. This experience not only deepened my understanding of the legal protections afforded to vulnerable populations but also reinforced my commitment to upholding justice and dignity for all.”

Madeleine Larock, Chicago
M&A

“My experience with the Brooklyn Defender Services reinforced my belief in the importance of creative and compassionate advocacy, which I practiced firsthand helping clients navigate immigration law, an ever-changing, and often confusing, area of law. I am grateful to Sidley’s pro bono fellowship program for providing me with the opportunity to not only hone my legal skills but also to use those skills to make a positive impact.”

Stephanie Lim, New York
Privacy and Cybersecurity

“Having the opportunity to draft federal appellate court amicus briefs and receive direct feedback on my writing was an invaluable experience. It has made me feel more confident taking on similar challenges at Sidley and becoming more involved in our pro bono work.”

Scott Lowder, Washington, D.C.
Commercial Litigation and Disputes
Americans United for Separation of Church and State

“During my fellowship with the Project on Government Oversight, I helped draft model legislation for states seeking to expand their data privacy protections. The experience helped me think about statutory interpretation from a drafter’s perspective — a viewpoint I draw on regularly as an associate as we seek to interpret new statutes and regulations for our clients.”

Lloyd Lyall, Washington, D.C.
Global Arbitration, Trade and Advocacy

“Working as a fellow for Legal Aid Chicago was incredibly rewarding. I got to work with such a talented and dedicated group of attorneys who made it an exciting and collaborative place to work and especially to learn. Now that I am a practicing attorney myself, I try every day to emulate that spirit and passion for client advocacy.”

Kate McCue, Chicago
Investment Funds

“My fellowship with Quality Trust afforded me the opportunity to see on-the-ground efforts to increase the autonomy rights of people with disabilities. I contributed to a project aiming to propose a Bill of Rights for individuals under guardianship in D.C. by conducting a 50-state review on parallel statutes in other states and identify guaranteed rights that are most developed and supported by existing law. In doing so, I learned the value of exploring outside my jurisdiction to find creative ways to address novel questions of law.”

Melisa Olgun, New York
Commercial Litigation and Disputes

“During my fellowship at the Institute for Justice, I experienced firsthand the incredible work that the organization does to protect the freedoms enshrined in our Constitution and fight against governmental abuse.”

Jorge Pereira, Washington, D.C.
Commercial Litigation and Disputes

“My clients at Amica Center were caring, funny, whip smart, and loved by so many people in the D.C. area and beyond. Getting to know them and their families, and getting to work together towards their release, was a great honor.”

Bridget Pranzatelli, Washington, D.C.
Food, Drug and Medical Device

“Working with Ascend Justice as a fellow was profoundly impactful, as it provided the invaluable opportunity to offer direct legal services to domestic abuse survivors, empowering them to protect themselves and their loved ones. Additionally, it was wonderful to receive such strong support from Sidley before even starting as an associate.”

Claire Ramsey, Chicago
Insurance

“As part of Sidley’s pro bono fellowship, I worked with LA28 on a variety of transactional matters to help prepare Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympic Games. It was a great experience to work with cross-functional teams, build my drafting skills, and understand the Olympic Movement. Thanks Sidley and LA28 for giving me the opportunity to be a part of history!”

Alex Sirota, Century City
M&A

“As part of the fellowship program, I worked with client intakes, which meant many times I was the first person to speak with individuals about getting legal assistance. Through these interactions, I learned that sometimes the first thing people need to see is that someone cares, that someone is willing to listen. That alone can make a big difference.”

Christina Strohmann, Los Angeles
Commercial Litigation and Disputes
Bet Tzedek Legal Services

“As a fellow with Legal Aid Chicago, I was proud to help Chicagoans navigate the complex public benefits landscape to obtain the financial assistance they’re entitled to and deserve. I will always cherish my time working with such dedicated and justice-oriented professionals at Legal Aid Chicago, and I’m grateful for such an enriching experience.”

Andrew Watkins, Chicago
Commercial Litigation and Disputes

Posthumous Honorable Discharge For Vietnam Veteran

Sidley Associate Makes History

Protecting Prisoners’ Rights

Justice for Veterans

Capital Litigation

Political Asylum and Immigrants’ Rights

Protecting Civil and Constitutional Rights

Expanding Our Global Impact

Supporting Our Communities