© 2014 The Texas Lawbook.
By Mark Curriden – (October 2) – Prominent M&A and corporate governance lawyer Gilbert Friedlander watched last year as eight of his partners at Weil, Gotshal & Manges in Dallas left for Sidley Austin.
On Monday, he will join them as senior counsel.
Friedlander, who was general counsel at EDS from 1991 to 2004, turned 68-years-old in September. He says he would be forced to leave from Weil at the end of the year under the firm’s mandatory retirement policy.
“I’m not ready to retire,” he said in an interview with The Texas Lawbook. “I talked to a lot of law firms and Sidley has by far the best platform for my practice and expertise.”
A 1971 graduate of the University of Texas Law School, Friedlander spent the past decade at Weil. He played a lead role in taking two Dallas based companies – Chuck E. Cheese and 7-Eleven – private. He represented Southwest Airlines and Fossil in separate internal investigations.
Friedlander said he worked on several internal investigations with Yvette Ostolaza, the managing partner of Sidley’s office who led the group of lawyers that left Weil last year. The fact that he knew Ostolaza and several of his former colleagues at Weil made the decision to go to Sidley much easier.
“Sidley has been looking to expand its corporate governance and M&A practices and Gil’s experience and contacts are invaluable,” Ostolaza said. “I’ve known Gil and worked with Gil for 10 years, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with him again.”
Friedlander’s time as general counsel at EDS gives him instant credibility with clients, Ostolaza said.
“One of my strongest selling points in talking with corporate boards and executives is my GC experience,” Friedlander said. “Once you have been in-house at a company like EDS, you understand the pressures that company executives face.”
Sidley’s Dallas office, which opened in 1996, now has 61 lawyers. The firm now has 33 lawyers in its Houston office, which opened in 2012.
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