Airbus was facing what it calculated to be more than $10 billion in annual harm due to the U.S. government's subsidies of competitor Boeing. When it went to the World Trade Organization for relief, it brought along Sidley Austin lawyers from Geneva and Washington, D.C.

The team succeeded in obtaining a WTO finding that will allow the European Union to take countermeasures against the U.S. government on Airbus' behalf. The result didn't come as a surprise to Karl Hennessee, Airbus' vice president and head of litigation and regulatory affairs. Sidley's global arbitration, trade and advocacy team, along with other U.S.-based litigators, often represent Airbus in a way he says outperforms the hundreds of other lawyers he's worked with over the years, both in terms of client service and results.

"What I deeply appreciate about the firm and which sets them apart from all of the competitors I've worked with over nearly 25 years is a can-do spirit that achieves excellent settlements and verdicts alike by combining deep insight into case strengths and weaknesses with strategic vision and harder work than the other guy," Hennessee says.

The successful result before the WTO wasn't new for Sidley either. The firm has been involved on behalf of a party in about half of the last 550 disputes brought before the WTO, it says, representing the likes of China, Russia and Japan as well as corporations such as Airbus and AT&T.

The practice area isn't one many of its competitors have. In fact, there are a number of specialty areas within Sidley that other firms have moved away from. And it's that investment, the firm says, that allows it to deliver for clients in ways others can't, and make good on the department's tagline: "built to win." That includes housing more than 100 former government officials from a slew of agencies, whether it be the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, the European Commission or the People's Republic of China.

For Yvette Ostolaza, global co-leader of the litigation practice, it's about investing in anything that helps the client to win, wherever the dispute is and whatever it is about.

Partners: 280 Associates: 364 Other: 112 Department as Percentage of Firm: 39% Percentage of Firm Revenue: 37%

"Clients don't have to piecemeal it all over the place," she says, adding that the firm's compensation system allows for its lawyers to pass on matters to the appropriate Sidley expert. It also makes it easier for the firm to bring in new business. 

"When we hunt in a group to get the business, we can bring those specialties that are nonlitigators but add value, which I think distinguishes us," Ostolaza says.

When a client has a major investigative matter or crisis on its hands, the first lawyers to catch wind of it can often be the regulatory lawyers, who get the call when a client hears from an agency, Mark Hopson, co-leader of the litigation team, says. For Sidley to have those lawyers among their teams is a boost to the litigation department.

In the landmark antitrust battle over AT&T and Time Warner's merger, Sidley was one of several large firms working together on behalf of the two media companies. It was Sidley partner Peter Keisler, a former acting U.S. attorney general, who led the successful appeal on behalf of both companies.

The firm's work in the past two years hasn't just been for major corporations, however. A Sidley team in Geneva represented South African runner and Olympic champion Caster Semenya in her arbitration battle with the International Association of Athletics Federations, which had challenged her ability to compete given naturally high testosterone levels.

The firm also represented a class of individual Texans with intellectual and developmental disabilities who were unnecessarily institutionalized in nursing homes. Sidley's litigation team handled more than 74,000 hours of pro bono work in 2018 alone, representing 62% of the overall firm's pro bono efforts that year.

Hopson credits Ostolaza for her vision in leading the department into the future. She is as focused on developing new talent as she is on bringing new clients into the firm. Ostolaza has a particular focus on diversity and has seen how Sidley's diverse teams have helped it win work.

"Our investment in litigators that reflect our community, juries, clients and judges positions us uniquely to attract new matters," Ostolaza says.

The firm has several noteworthy new engagements on its books. In one public example, the firm has entered its appearance on behalf of Huawei and its chief financial officer over the indictments filed against them.

For Ostolaza, the past two years have been standouts in terms of the number of wins across so many different jurisdictions and forums. And she sees that momentum continuing.

"Where we see other firms withdrawing in the number of litigators they have, our firm is not," Ostolaza says. "Now that the recession is coming, everyone is running around trying to hire people, and we have the grownups in the room."