Sidley Austin, capping off 2024 as the country’s most active big law firm helping companies fend off shareholder activism campaigns, expects an even bigger surge this year.
“The vast majority of activists were popping champagne, and Trump got elected,” said Kai Liekefett, a Sidley partner who helps lead the firm’s shareholder activism practice. “We are expecting activism to explode in 2025. Make no mistake, it will explode—we’re already seeing signs of that.”
Sidley has maintained the No. 1 ranking for three years in a row in defending companies against activist investors, keeping its lead over Vinson & Elkins LLP, new Bloomberg data show.
The likelihood for more activist campaigns strongly correlates to a forecast of increased corporate profits, Liekefett said. And investors are bullish on President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals to boost bottom lines with tax cuts and deregulation.
Sidley helped companies handle 44 activist campaigns in 2024—only four engagements shy of its 2023 year-end tally of 48. Its clients included human resources company Alight Inc. and restaurant conglomerate BJ’s Restaurants, that it defended from Starboard Value and PW Partners Capital Management LLC.
Sidley advised the companies’ activist engagements with shareholder stakes totaling $11.3 billion, a figure that represents the value of shares that investors held in the public companies facing campaigns.
Globally, the number of campaigns declined nearly 11% last year to 745 from 833 in 2023, and the value of campaigns fell to $69 billion from $79 billion in the same period, according to the data.
Activism saw growth in the Asia-Pacific region and declines in Europe and North America, especially Canada, which fell by more than half. The decline was steepest in the fourth quarter of 2024, with campaigns falling 33% to 165 from 248 year over year.
Vinson & Elkins
Vinson & Elkins edged out Latham & Watkins LLP for a second year to snag the No. 2 position in 2024. V&E’s 34 engagements last year were three more than Latham’s 31.
V&E in 2024 helped defend
The firm assisted Southwest in the airline’s fight with Elliott Investment Management over the company’s leadership. Elliott requested a December shareholder vote on new board nominees, after saying Southwest underperformed for years under CEO Bob Jordan. Southwest announced a deal with Elliott in October to avert the vote and keep Jordan in place, with the airline agreeing to put six new directors on its board.
V&E continues to advise Vera Bradley and BuzzFeed on activist campaigns launched against the companies last year.
Fund 1 Investments is pushing Vera Bradley to sell or become a private company. The designer bag maker “can be a much more valuable” business under a larger company or in the private markets, the activist said in a December letter to the company’s board.
Vivek Ramaswamy, the activist investor helping lead President-elect Donald Trump’s government efficiency initiative with
Patrick Gadson, a co-head of V&E’s shareholder activism practice, declined to comment on any steps Vera Bradley or BuzzFeed may take in response to the Fund 1 and Ramaswamy campaigns. But Ramaswamy’s public attacks on BuzzFeed have receded, and he may have moved on, Gadson said.
“If you follow social media, apparently, he’s a very busy guy,” Gadson said.
A Fund 1 spokesperson declined to comment beyond the investor’s December letter. Efforts to reach Ramaswamy were unsuccessful.
No Activist Slowdown
On the opposite side, Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP continued its dominance representing more activists than any other law firm in 2024, extending its top-ranking streak to six years in a row.
The top 10 activist-side legal firms represented 327 activist investors. Of those, Olshan represented 136 investors with stakes valued at $28 billion, up from $15.6 billion in 2023, though the number of campaigns during that year was slightly higher at 139.
The data doesn’t capture the full picture, said Meagan Reda, a partner at Olshan focusing on shareholder activism and proxy contests. A lot of campaigns end amicably between investors and companies without formal written agreements.
Last year was busy for the firm, which helped Starboard Value LP install board members at Alight and Bloomin’ Brands Inc., the parent company of restaurant chains like Outback Steakhouse.
Olshan also helped a shareholder and former board member Mallika Srinivasan of global farm-equipment seller AGCO Corp. purchase about $500 million of shares of the company—disclosed in an August regulatory filing—representing about 16% of the AGCO’s shares.
Srinivasan bought the shares to correct what’s described in the filing as “calculated and protectionist actions” that the company’s management has taken, specifically pointing out AGCO’s “sudden and ill-advised announcement of the cancellation of the commercial relationship” between the company and India-based heavy-equipment manufacturer TAFE Motors and Tractors Ltd, where Srinivasan also works as chairwoman and managing director.
Olshan also expects to see higher activism activity, Reda said, as mergers and acquisitions tick up in a more-friendly M&A environment and investors attention turning to “underperforming CEOs that have outsized pay-packages and submissive boards.”
A lot of the firm’s work is behind the scenes, Reda added, engaging with companies and boards. Sometimes, issues are resolved amicably without a formal written agreement. But sometimes companies and their boards employ costly “aggressive maneuvers.” In 2024, Olshan helped with a number of those cases, she said.
“I would expect to see the same in 2025 in terms of both some fights going the distance and others continuing to settle earlier on in the process,” Reda said. “Companies that continue to underperform, ignore the concerns of their shareholders and/or employ aggressive defense tactics should expect increased pressure from shareholders.”
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