Sidley Austin has hired a team of 11 finance lawyers in New York from Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, as the Chicago-headquartered firm continues its hiring spree.
The team is led by fund finance partners Brian Foster and Patrick Calves and includes three counsel and six associates. Foster had been at legacy Cadwalader since 2010 and co-led its fund finance practice before becoming co-practice area head for banking and loan finance at Hogan Lovells Cadwalader.
Meanwhile, Calves made partner at legacy Cadwalader in 2023, having joined the firm a decade earlier at the beginning of his legal career.
The move reunites the duo with former legacy Cadwalader fund finance partner Leah Edelboim, who moved over in New York in February at the helm of a team of nine counsel and associates.
Those teams form part of a hiring spree by 2,300-lawyer Sidley Austin that has seen it repeatedly hit elite rivals for talent across global finance, private capital, restructuring and capital markets, backed by rising revenue and double-digit profit-per-equity-partner growth.
Sidley noted it had added 40 finance partners globally over the past three years through lateral hires and internal promotions, with Debevoise & Plimpton's former finance head, Jeffrey Ross, and Cliff Cone and Michael Sabin, the former heads of Clifford Chance's US fund and investment management practice, among recent hires in New York.
Last month, the firm also added Lee Askenazi, who co-led Clifford Chance’s financial markets team, as part of a wider group hire from the Magic Circle firm, which saw four more finance and tax partners move over in New York and Washington, DC.
Yvette Ostolaza, chair of Sidley’s management committee, said the hire of Foster and Calves was "a deliberate step in our multi-year build-out of a global finance platform with premier sponsor-side and lender-side finance capabilities".
She added: “Private capital is reshaping global finance, and client demand for sophisticated counsel in fund finance, derivatives and structured products has never been greater."
Foster’s practice focuses on complex financings, including fund finance, derivatives and structured products transactions involving financial institutions and investment funds. Before joining legacy Cadwalader, he worked in the global fund derivatives group at Deutsche Bank and at Lehman Brothers in connection with the unwinding of its derivatives book.
Meanwhile, Calves advises on bilateral and syndicated financing structures, including NAV facilities, subscription and hybrid facilities, margin loans, and prime brokerage and other trading and financing arrangements, with particular experience in asset-based financings to private equity and private credit funds. He also counsels financial institutions and buy-side market participants on securities and derivatives regulatory matters.
Sidley grew revenue 9% in 2025 to $3.7bn, according to data published by Law.com, fuelled by a surge in transactions in the second half and strength in capital markets and litigation, as well as the firm's lateral hiring push. PEP partner jumped 16% to $6m.
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