Sidley partners Holly J. Gregory, Kai H.E. Liekefett, and Sonia Gupta Barros have been named to the 2024 National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) 100 Governance Professionals list. Every year, the NACD recognizes leading directors and governance professionals who are considered to be the most influential in the boardroom and in the corporate governance community. This is the 18th year in a row that Holly has made the list — every year that the recognition has been given — and the third year in a row that Kai has been listed. This is the first year that Sonia Gupta Barros has been named.
Holly co-leads Sidley’s global Corporate Governance practice as well as both its Chambers-recognized Crisis Management and Strategic Response practice and its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practice. She is a founding trustee, chair, and the immediate past president of the American College of Governance Counsel and a former chair of the ABA Corporate Governance Committee. In 2021, Holly received Corporate Secretary’s “Lifetime Achievement Award.” Sidley’s Crisis Management and Strategic Response practice is the only firm to be ranked Band 1 on both the Global and USA tables in Chambers Crisis & Risk Management 2024.
Kai co-chairs Sidley’s Shareholder Activism and Corporate Defense practice. He has defended around 150 proxy contests, more than any other defense attorney in the world, and approximately 25% of all late-stage U.S. proxy fights in recent years. Under Kai’s leadership, Sidley has risen to the top of all activism defense league tables, including No. 1 rankings by Bloomberg, FactSet, Diligent, and LSEG. Kai is ranked in Band 1 for Takeover Defense by Chambers USA and for Shareholder Activism – Advice to Boards by The Legal 500. He has been selected as one of the Lawdragon 500 “Leading Dealmakers in America” every year since 2021. The American Lawyer named Kai “Dealmaker of the Year” in 2019.
Sonia co-leads Sidley’s Public Companies practice as well as its Chambers-recognized ESG practice. Formerly the Chief Corporate Governance Counsel in the Division of Corporation Finance at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Sonia was the Division’s senior advisor on corporate governance policy and disclosures. Her experience includes a number of leadership roles at the SEC over 17 years and more than a decade in the private sector. Sonia is a recognized thought leader on SEC reporting and disclosure, and she chairs the ABA’s Federal Regulation of Securities Public Reporting and Compliance Subcommittee. She is listed among Lawdragon’s 2023 “Green 500: Leaders in Environmental Law.”
