CECILIA Y. CHAN is in the Litigation group in Sidley’s Palo Alto office, where she represents clients in a wide range of litigation matters, including employment litigation and investigations, complex commercial litigation, securities litigation, and government investigations. She works with clients in a wide range of industries, including technology, biopharmaceutical, financial services, energy, and accounting firms.
In the employment arena, Cecilia has defended employers and investigated complaints in matters alleging discrimination and harassment, wrongful termination, failure to accommodate, employee misclassification, and trade secret theft, in a variety of forums including federal and state administrative agencies, arbitrations, and the courts. Cecilia also conducts independent investigations involving allegations of wrongdoing in the workplace.
Cecilia also represents companies in government investigations, including by the SEC and DOJ. She also has extensive experience in defending issuers, officers, and directors in shareholder class actions and derivative actions in state and federal courts throughout the United States.
Prior to joining the firm, Cecilia worked as an associate at two prominent international law firms. Before that, she clerked for the Honorable Edward R. Korman of the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York.
Prior to attending law school, Cecilia spent several years working as a cancer research specialist at the School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Cecilia is fluent in Cantonese.
Representative Engagements
- Represent employers in employment litigation and arbitrations
- Represent employers before the EEOC and the California Labor Commissioner’s Office
- Represent public companies, professional services firms, and individuals in SEC and DOJ investigations
- Investigated gender discrimination allegations made against a publicly-traded technology company and members of its C-suite
- Arbitrated allegations of age and gender discrimination and retaliation made by a senior executive against the CEO of a publicly-traded company
- Represented pharmaceutical company in a DOJ investigation relating to potential off-label marketing
- Represented a professional services firm in a multinational insider trading inquiry by the SEC and the DOJ
- Represented issuers and directors and officers in nationwide securities fraud class actions and derivative actions in a wide range of industries
- Before joining Sidley, represented numerous public companies in SEC investigations of stock option backdating and in related securities class actions and state and federal derivative litigation
- Before joining Sidley, represented accounting firm in numerous state and federal lawsuits, including a multi-district securities class actions, relating to the merger of AOL and Time Warner
- Before joining Sidley, represented former investment bank executive in one of the high profile Enron-related criminal trials
- Before joining Sidley, represented electric utility in litigation relating to the California energy crisis