Anne E. Rea

ANNE E. REA, a member of the firm’s Management Committee and Executive Committee, is the global leader of Sidley’s ERISA Litigation practice area team. Chambers USA recognizes Sidley’s ERISA Litigation practice as a leading practice. Chambers also awarded Sidley’s ERISA Litigation team the exclusive “Recommended for Client Service” recognition in 2012 and “Recommended for Commercial Awareness” recognition in 2013.

Anne concentrates her practice in complex class action litigation with a special focus on ERISA and fiduciary lawsuits as well as corporate, securities, and tax matters. Anne represents companies, plans and fiduciaries in ERISA class action lawsuits challenging the design and administration of employee benefit plans. Anne also represents companies in securities fraud class actions, derivative suits, and other complex litigation.

Anne served as counsel for the defendants in prevailing in both the district court and court of appeals in Pender v. Bank of America Corp. (4th Cir.), Hurlic v. Southern California Gas Co. (9th Cir.), Fry v. Exelon Corp. Cash Balance Pension Plan (7th Cir), Thomas M. Cooley Law School v. American Bar Association (6th Cir.) and In re Tyson Foods, Inc. Securities Litigation (3d Cir.) Anne also has represented pharmaceutical companies in antitrust and products liability suits. She has handled complex arbitrations and mediations and argued numerous appeals, including Doe v. Northwestern University, 183 Ill. 2d 407 (1998), and Pluto v. G.D. Searle, 690 N.E.2d 619 (1997), affirming a jury verdict in which Anne was a trial counsel.

Anne is a member of the American Law Institute, which is responsible for formulating the Restatements of the Law and updating the Uniform Commercial Code and other model codes. She is listed as a leading lawyer in ERISA litigation by Chambers USA and Legal 500, and is quoted in financial and mutual fund publications in ERISA developments. She is a Fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago, and a member of the American Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association and Chicago Bar Association.