Incident Response and Process Safety

Sidley regularly protects global businesses across industries by advising companies, boards, and executives on strategic incident responses, as well as navigating compliance with process safety rules. Our deep bench includes senior lawyers with prior career experience in senior positions in several government regulatory agencies. Our team delivers invaluable insights to benefit clients in effectively foreseeing hurdles, and when necessary, has repeatedly defended companies in criminal investigations and high-stakes civil enforcement actions arising from industrial incidents.

Our lawyers help clients comply with an increasingly complex web of chemical safety and worker safety requirements, including Process Safety Management regulations, the Risk Management Program (RMP), and the General Duty Clause. We have significant experience aiding clients with safety inspections by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA) personnel. Our accident response work often involves high-profile incidents that spur overlapping investigations by EPA, OSHA, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, and state authorities.

Our team proactively identifies and mitigates risks before they become crisis scenarios. When difficult situations arise, Sidley supports clients with our understanding of regulatory obligations, management of multifaceted government investigations, handling of physical and electronic evidentiary issues, and advising on Congressional inquiries and public relations. Alongside this multidisciplinary approach, we also assist clients by developing complementary strategies on related civil litigation issues, ranging from wrongful death to property damage.

• Ranked Band 1 in Crisis Management — Chambers Crisis & Risk Management Guide 2025: USA – Nationwide
• Ranked Band 1 in Environmental Law — Chambers USA 2025: District of Columbia
• Highly Ranked in Environmental Law — Chambers USA 2025: USA – Nationwide