Sidley Austin is bringing on a 10-lawyer group of fund finance attorneys led by former Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft partner Leah Edelboim, as it continues to bolster its finance practices. In a series of lateral moves since the start of the year, Sidley has picked up a number of corporate and finance partners, such as King & Spalding M&A partner Timothy FitzSimons, Latham & Watkins investment funds partner Ivana Rouse, and Clifford Chance investment funds trio Cliff Cone, Michael Sabin, and Dan Drabkin. Sidley also announced that it hired O’Melveny & Myers corporate finance partner Ike Chidi in Los Angeles. “We’ve been growing in the finance space and, in particular, in New York with a lot of additions. Clients are active in this area, and it’s logical for us to continue to make sure clients are served in the areas they need,” Sidley management committee chair Yvette Ostolaza said. “We already have a global practice in this area and when we find talented lawyers like Leah who are known to our team, it’s an easy decision to bring them to our firm.” Funds-related practices, however, have been especially popular in terms of lateral additions as of late. King & Spalding added on former Cadwalader fund finance partner Chris Montgomery as well as former McDermott Will & Schulte funds partner Brian Donnelly; Gibson Dunn & Crutcher hired investment funds partner Blake Estes from Alston & Bird; and a group of roughly 15 to 20 attorneys from Cadwalader and Haynes and Boone recently joined Paul Hastings to launch the firm’s new office in Charlotte, North Carolina, itself a hub for funds work. Sidley does not currently have a Charlotte office, although it does have two attorneys living in the area according to the firm’s website. Edelboim indicated that several members of her team—which includes one counsel and eight associates—will also reside in the city. “Members of our team sit in Charlotte, and we have a number of clients who sit in Charlotte. It’s a huge epicenter for funds finance and a really important place to have a presence for this practice area,” Edelboim said. The increase in hiring in the fund finance practice is intertwined with a surge of demand in the funds space. Paul Hastings chair Frank Lopez estimated that the fund finance market was worth roughly $1.2 trillion in the press release announcing his firm’s new Charlotte office, with Lopez expecting the value of the fund finance market to more than double to more than $2.5 trillion in 2030. A spokesperson for Cadwalader, meanwhile, indicated that the firm hired 20 fund finance attorneys in 2025 and that the group saw 25% growth in its year-over-year performance in 2025 and expects similar double-digit growth in the practice in 2026. “Fund finance has never been a more exciting practice area—it’s growing at an exponential rate,” Edelboim said. “Structures are getting more innovative and financial institutions that are providing liquidity solutions to funds are meeting funds where they are and coming up with creative and market-leading transactions as we speak.” Edelboim stressed that the key to a successful fund finance practice depends on the strength of complementary practices, adding that Sidley’s bench strength in areas such as regulatory and securitization enticed her to join the firm. “To be really successful, a fund finance practice demands a platform with a number of complementary practice areas to really serve the clients that are executing these transactions, and Sidley has incredible strength in the complementary areas that funds finance demands right now,” she explained. “The really strong leadership and collaborative culture of the firm was another huge draw.” In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for Cadwalader said "Leah is a valued colleague, and we are grateful for her many contributions to the firm. We wish her the very best."