Sidley Austin - Notable Alumni

Notable Alumni

• James L. Connaughton Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) under President George W. Bush was a partner in Sidley Austin's Environmental Practice Group, covering a wide range of environmental policy issues.
• Christopher DeMuth, former president of the American Enterprise Institute, worked at the firm in the 1970s.
• Bernardine Dohrn, the former Weatherman leader.
• Alan Gura, litigator, represented Dick Heller in the United States Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller.
• Mike Lee, son of Rex E. Lee and current United States Senator from Utah.
• Rex E. Lee, former Solicitor General of the United States.
• Chris Lu, Cabinet Secretary and assistant to the President of the United States
• Newton Minow, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission under former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, was a partner in the Chicago office from 1965–1991 and continues to serve as senior counsel to the firm.
• U.S. President Barack Obama was a summer associate in the Chicago office, but never joined the firm as a full-time associate. He met his wife, Michelle Obama (who was an associate at Sidley Austin at the time) during his time at the firm.
• David Otunga, graduate of Harvard Law School and presently a professional wrestler working with World Wrestling Entertainment.
• Daniel M. Price was appointed Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs by former U.S. President George W. Bush. In this role, Mr. Price served as the principal advisor to the President on international economic issues and was responsible for coordinating U.S. Administration policy on international trade and investment, foreign assistance to developing countries, and the international aspects of energy security and climate change. In 2009, he returned as a senior partner for global issues to the firm's Washington, D.C. office.
• David S. Tatel, a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, began his legal career at Sidley Austin.
• John D. Zeglis, the former Chief Executive Officer of AT&T Wireless, was an associate (1973–1978) and partner (1978–1984) in the Chicago office, where he spent a significant amount of time helping AT&T navigate through the Federal Communications Commission's orders to breakup the company, before leaving to join AT&T as a corporate vice president.