Sidley Austin has hired the co-head of Cravath Swaine & Moore’s venture capital and growth equity and digital assets practices in New York, as it continues to hit rivals for senior talent on both sides of the Atlantic.
Scott Bennett, a Cravath lifer, has joined Sidley as head of its technology capital markets group and a partner in its 260-lawyer capital markets practice.
He represents issuers, investors and investment banks in public and private securities offerings and has particular experience advising venture capital‑backed companies and investors in the tech, fintech, digital assets and AI spaces. His practice also covers M&A transactions, corporate governance and general strategic advisory work.
“Scott is exactly the kind of capital markets partner we want to bring into the firm,” said Yvette Ostolaza, Sidley’s management committee chair. “His practice sits squarely at the intersection of venture, growth equity and traditional capital markets, and he also serves several of our existing clients whose representation will be consolidated across our global network.
“Just as importantly, his expertise in digital assets and emerging technologies enhances our reputation among clients at the forefront of innovation, areas where we are committed to expanding globally.”
Bennett is the latest in a string of senior partners to join Sidley in New York this year, among them Debevoise & Plimpton’s finance chair, Jeffrey Ross, the co-heads of Clifford Chance’s US funds practice, Cliff Cone and Michael Sabin, and Crowell & Moring’s New York antitrust chair, Juan Arteaga.
The firm’s hiring streak also saw it add James Inness, co-head of Latham & Watkins’ UK equity capital markets group, in London earlier this month – the 12th partner move from Latham to Sidley in the City over the past year and a half. Among them were capital markets partners Vladimir Mikhailovsky and David Stewart, who had been co-chair of Latham’s corporate practice in London.
For his part, Bennett has been a partner at Cravath since 2014, having joined the firm as an associate in 2006. He has advised on numerous IPOs, including leading Jose Cuervo’s almost $1bn IPO in 2017 and Robinhood’s $1.9bn IPO in 2021, as well as pre-IPO venture financings such as Quibi’s $750m Series C private financing.
He has also advised on equity and debt offerings and spinoffs for companies including Qualcomm, Novartis and TimeWarner, and BitDeer and eToro on SEC issues related to SPAC combinations.
“What stands out about Scott is not just the quality of his capital markets experience, but the breadth of his relationships and the platform-building potential he brings,” said Sam Gandhi, global head of Sidley’s capital markets group. “He is well positioned to help us capture the next wave of IPOs and growth-company relationships while driving cross-practice collaboration across the firm.”
Bennett’s move will reunite him with David Perkins, the former co-head of private equity at Cravath, who joined Sidley last year. The Wall Street firm used to be virtually immune to partner departures but has seen rainmakers exit in recent years amid intense competition for talent among leading law firms.
There have been nine departures in 2026, according to Bloomberg Law. Among them was John Buretta, who joined Paul Hastings as litigation co-chair in January, while in the same month financial institutions group head Jelena McWilliams exited for the general counsel role at Plaid. George Schoen, Cravath’s former global M&A co-chair, joined US building materials supplier Martin Marietta as GC in February.
A Cravath spokesperson said of Bennett’s move: “We wish Scott well in his future endeavours.”
Elad Roisman, who was acting SEC chair before joining Cravath in 2022 and last year led the team that secured SEC approval for the Texas Stock Exchange to operate, will continue to head the firm’s digital assets practice, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. Nick Dorsey will continue to lead the firm’s venture capital and growth equity practice.
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