Sidley partners Holly J. Gregory and Kai H. E. Liekefett have been named to the 2023 National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) 100 Governance Professionals list. Every year, the NACD recognizes leading directors and governance professionals who are considered as the most influential in the boardroom and in the corporate governance community. This is the 17th year in a row that Holly has made the list — every year that the recognition has been given — and the second year in a row that Kai has been named.
Holly co-leads Sidley’s Global Corporate Governance practice as well as its Crisis Management and Strategic Response and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) teams. She is a founding trustee, chair-elect, 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 ranked Band 1 on both the Global and USA tables in Chambers Crisis & Risk Management 2023.
Kai co-chairs Sidley’s Shareholder Activism & Corporate Defense practice. In the past five years, Kai has defended over 100 proxy contests, more than any other defense attorney in the world, and approximately 25% of all late-stage U.S. proxy fights. Under Kai’s leadership, Sidley rose to the top of all activism defense league tables, including No. 1 rankings by Bloomberg, FactSet, and Refinitiv. Sidley is ranked Band 1 for “Takeover Defense” by Chambers USA and in Tier 1 for “Shareholder Activism – Advice to Boards” by The Legal 500. The firm was also recognized by The Deal as “Activist Defense Law Firm of the Year (Large Cap)” in 2021 and 2022.
