Profile

Yvette Ostolaza

Sidley Austin LLP

My Contact Information

Sidley Austin LLP
Dallas, TX
Phone 1: 214-981-3401

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Chapter Location

Dallas

Bio

YVETTE OSTOLAZA is a member of Sidley’s Management and Executive Committees, the managing partner of the Dallas office, global co-leader of the Litigation practice and a member of the firm’s COVID-19 Task Force. She has developed a national reputation as a versatile lawyer who excels in all aspects of complex disputes and investigations.

Yvette litigates matters in U.S. state and federal trial and appellate courts on behalf of global clients. She coordinates and tries proceedings in a variety of arbitration venues, serves on the Roster of Neutral Arbitrators for the AAA for commercial litigation matters and on the CPR Panel of Distinguished Neutrals as an arbitrator for the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution. She served as the Vice Chair, Ethics and Investigations Subcommittee of the ABA Corporate Governance Committee. She regularly leads complex internal investigations on behalf of companies, board committees, and individual directors and defends companies/directors in shareholder and securities class actions.

Yvette’s range, experience and results have earned her extensive recognition. From 2009–2019, Yvette has been ranked as a leading General Commercial Litigator by Chambers USA, which has noted that clients call her “a force of nature” with “every arrow in her quiver that you would want,” who “doesn’t look for the usual cookie-cutter, classic legal responses,” who has particular “expertise in whistleblower and investigation matters,” and is “so dynamic, her command of a room and her ability to get what she needs for a client is unmatched.” She has been recognized as one of America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators and in the inaugural Benchmark Labor & Employment guide in 2018. Yvette has been selected as one of the “Best Lawyers in Dallas” 2016–2019 in the Business/Commercial Litigation category, 2018 in the Security Litigation/Enforcement category and featured on DCEO’s “Dallas 500” list from 2015–2019. She received  the 2015 Texas Lawyer Lifetime Achievement Award and the “Thought Leadership” award by Corporate Counsel and Inside Counsel’s 2019 Women, Influence & Power in Law Awards. In 2013, she was named a “Rainmaker” by Diversity and The Bar magazine and honored in 2012 as one of the 20 “Most Powerful and Influential Women” in Texas by the Texas Diversity Council, and in 2012–2020 as one of the “Top 250 Women in Litigation” in the United States by Benchmark Litigation. One enthusiastic client added: “In litigation no matter what your circumstances, she can put you in the position—no matter what happens she’ll be there with you.” She has also been selected as one of 20 “Women of Excellence” honored nationwide by Hispanic Business Magazine. Yvette has been selected to appear in Latino Leaders Magazine 2018 and 2020 as a Top Latino Lawyer and is listed as one of the Most Powerful Latinas in Law. Finally, she served on the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas.

She also is recognized for her community involvement in charitable activities. In 2016, Yvette was named a recipient of The Girls Inc. Women of Achievement Award. She has received the prestigious Dallas ADL Schoenbrun Jurisprudence Award for her outstanding leadership and exemplary contributions to the community.

Her significant experience managing multijurisdictional disputes, including class actions, business tort, securities/shareholder, consumer fraud, financial services, constitutional, contract, employment, fiduciary duty, advertising/sweepstakes, insurance, fraud, good faith and accounting malpractice litigation, arbitrations, simulations and mediations, leads her to the top. Other aspects of her practice include counseling clients on reducing risks from consumer and advertising-related claims and representing clients in negotiations with state agencies on such claims and advising private equity firms on litigation risks facing their portfolio companies. She is involved in the coordination and argument of appeals in courts across the U.S., which includes the U.S. Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals, the Texas Supreme Court and the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas.

Her clients include Airbus, MGM Resorts, Celanese,  Deutsche Bank, Chuck E. Cheese Entertainment, Tuesday Morning Corporation, EnLink Midstream, Neiman Marcus, SM Energy, Sally Beauty, HMS Holdings, Michaels, Best Buy, Sterigenics, Forterra, SAExploration, JPMorgan, Regus, McAfee, Inc., Darling Ingredients, and Hunt Oil. She has advised many Board Special Committees, including Southwest Airlines, Fossil, Key Energy and NPR.

Publications

Yvette regularly speaks and publishes on class action, investigations and arbitration issues.

  • “In Times of Uncertainty, Texas Law Firm Leaders Should Focus on What They Can Control,” The Texas Lawbook (May 13, 2020)
  • “How To Position Your Company To Address Supply Chain Disruptions,” Chief Executive Magazine (April 24, 2020)
  • “What Spanish Flu-Era Contract Fights Tell Us about Pandemics and Contractual Performance,” The AmLaw Litigation Daily (April 1, 2020)
  • “Managing Through Crisis: How Boards Can Navigate COVID-19,” The Sidley Podcast (March 2020)
  • “Analyzing Removals,” Texas Bar Journal (February 2020)
  • “Appealing a Federal District Court’s Remand Is Not a Lost Cause,” The Texas Lawbook (June 1, 2019)
  • “Avoiding Risk When Navigating Global Employee Restructuring,” Texas Lawyer (March 25, 2019)
  • “Coverage Hurdles for Companies Facing Fracking Litigation Risk,” Dallas Bar Association Headnotes (January 1, 2019)
  • “Considerations in Selecting Special Committee Member,” Texas Lawyer (November 30, 2018)
  • “Tips for Being Successful in Your New Role as Partner,” Texas Lawyer (March 2017)
  • “The Contours of the Texas Allied-Litigant Privilege,” Headnotes (October 2016)
  • “‘Common Interest’ Is Not Enough — The Contours of the Texas Allied-Litigant Privilege,” Headnotes (September 2016)
  • Featured in, “Women Execs' Humble Beginnings,” DCEO Magazine (June 2016)

Events

Outside of her active practice, Yvette regularly speaks on class actions, investigations and arbitration issues. She has been featured in Time magazine and as a speaker on “Internal Investigations Best Practices” in America’s Most Influential Women, and broadcast in American Airlines, Northwest Airlines and on CNN’s national airport edition. Her speaking engagements include:

  • Leading Practices in Assessing Your Ethics & Compliance Program, SMU Cox School of Business (Dallas, February 262–7, 2020)
  • Ethical Considerations and Privilege in Tax Matters, Tax Executives Institute State and Local Tax Seminar (Nevada, March 27, 2019)
  • Leading Practices in Assessing Your Ethics and Compliance Program, SMU Cox School of Business (Dallas, February 27, 2019)
  • Molehills from Mountains: How to Utilize Effective Internal Reporting Systems to Prevent the Escalation of Internal Corporate Disputes, ABA Section of Litigation (San Antonio, February 15, 2019)
  • Planning for and Navigating the Storm: Crisis Management and Board Governance, Co-presenter, National Association of Women Lawyers (Dallas, TX, May 2018) 
  • Leveraging Tools and Technologies to Modernize Compliance, Speaker, SMU Cox School of Business (Dallas, February 22, 2018)
  • Redefining Diversity, The 9th Annual Law Firm Survey Results, Speaker, The Dallas Diversity Task Force (Dallas, TX, October 9, 2014)
  • Breaking News: An Interview with the Press on the Role of the Legal Department during Times of Corporate Crisis, Dallas Women Lawyers Association luncheon (Dallas, TX, June 25, 2013)

Admissions & Certifications

  • S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit
  • S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
  • S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit
  • S. District Court, District of Colorado
  • S. District Court, E.D. of Texas
  • S. District Court, W.D. of Texas
  • S. District Court, N.D. of Texas
  • S. District Court, S.D. of Texas
  • New York
  • Texas

Education

  • University of Miami School of Law (J.D., 1992, magna cum laude)
  • University of Miami (B.A., 1985, with honors)

Practice Areas

  • Complex Commercial Litigation
  • Corporate Governance
  • Government Investigations
  • Internal Investigations