Joshua Hill

Weeks before trial was scheduled to begin in a criminal case alleging a fraudulent real estate scheme, Hill and his team from Sidley Austin decided to reveal information that a key government witness actually supported their client's version of what occurred.

Based upon the newly discovered information, the government dismissed the case of James Ross.

"When you have this type of evidence, the question is often, 'Do I reveal this now or do I save it for cross examination at trial?'" Hill said. "Based on my experience with this U.S. Attorney's office - knowing them to be principled and reasonable people - my instinct was that if I provided this information pretrial the government would do the right thing and seriously consider dismissing the case."

Hill defends white-collar clients with a particular knowledge about the prosecution side of the courtroom. He spent four years working in the Northern District of California, trying seven cases to verdict, and working on matters ranging from wire fraud to human trafficking to bank robberies.

"One of the things I really enjoyed about my work as an assistant U.S. attorney was the breadth of experience, and the opportunity to try cases," Hill said.

Hill moved to Sidley Austin in June 2012 as a litigation partner, and has specialized in white-collar defense and commercial litigation. He represents George William "Billy" Hunter, the former executive of the National Basketball Players Association in a breach of contract case against his former employer. He defeated an anti-SLAPP motion brought by the player's union in Los Angeles County Superior Court last year.

An affinity for problem solving drove Hill to practice law.

"My practice as a white-collar lawyer is by and large helping clients solve large and small problems," he said.

- Hadley Robinson