Debevoise Finance Chair Ross Jumps to Sidley Austin in New York

Debevoise & Plimpton finance leader Jeffrey Ross is heading to Sidley Austin, marking the latest departure from the elite Manhattan firm.

Ross is joining Sidley as partner in its global finance practice, the firm announced Monday. He spent more than 20 years at Debevoise, where he helped grow the firm’s finance practice, and focuses on complex acquisitions and leveraged financings.

“We’re building a world class private equity offering, and one of the important parts and inputs to that is a world class finance offering. Jeff brings that,” Brian Fahrney, the chair of Sidley’s executive committee, said in an interview.

Ross is at least the third partner to exit Debevoise this year. That’s as many partners that left the firm in each of 2023 and 2024, according to data from Sure Point Legal Systems, formerly known as Leopard Solutions.

“I loved the firm that I left,” Ross said, “but when I started talking to Brian and others, it became clear that the opportunities and the platform were just a great chance for me to do something new and exciting.”

Sidley, among the country’s 10 largest law firms by revenue, has a broader footprint than Debevoise. Ross said he wants to help build the firm’s already strong leveraged finance practice into a “world class, top tier” operation.

He has advised on major deals such as the $15 billion merger of Envision Healthcare with AMSURG, the $5.9 billion acquisition of King Digital by Activision Blizzard, and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice’s $3.2 billion acquisition of Emergency Medical Services Corp. He also helped steer the Tribune Company’s $2.7 billion purchase of Local TV Holdings.

Ross was part of the Debevoise team that advised Warner Bros. Discovery on its scuttled sale to Netflix Inc. The firm’s lawyers are now representing the company in its pending sale to Paramount Skydance.

Ross is “top of the market” and has worked on “cutting edge deals,” Fahrney said. “We can’t wait to plug him in and have him work with our clients and prospective clients.”

Sidley embarked on an ambitious plan to build its private equity practice several years ago, seeking to rival that of Big Law peers long steeped in the space. The firm’s worldwide private equity sponsor-related revenue last year reached $1.3 billion, marking its third straight year of double-digit revenue growth in this area.

Fahrney, who took the helm of Sidley’s executive committee last year, is one of the chief architects of the firm’s private equity build. He said the practice is “firing on all cylinders” as it looks to continue to grow its work in funds and across asset categories.

Sidley also wants to expand its restructuring, liability management, and capital markets practices to serve clients through their life cycles across all market conditions, Fahrney said.

Debevoise Departures

Debevoise, like Manhattan corporate mainstays Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Cravath Swaine & Moore, has seen an increase in partner exits after long being immune to lateral poaching.

John Neukom, co-chair of Debevoise’s technology practice, jumped to Davis Polk & Wardwell in February. He rejoined Michael Diz, who helped lead Debevoise’s M&A group before joining Davis Polk last year.

Debevoise adopted a non-equity partner tier about three months after Diz’s departure, becoming one of the last remaining Big Law firms to drop its single-tier partnership model. The firm has held onto a lockstep compensation model, which pays equity partners based on seniority.

Ross’ move to Sidley comes after another finance partner, Michael McGuigan, left Debevoise for Ropes & Gray in January.

Ross’ hire was brokered by CenterPeak LLC’s Jen Moss and Sabina Lippman.