Sidley Austin LLP is pleased to announce that Karen Cottle, former General Counsel of Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ: ADBE), has joined its Palo Alto office as Senior Counsel. Ms. Cottle will bring her years of on the ground experience to the legal issues that are of most concern to management and in-house lawyers at global technology and other growth companies.

Ms. Cottle’s arrival marks the continued expansion of Sidley’s Palo Alto office with seasoned Silicon Valley lawyers who understand how to effectively serve the complex and unique needs of emerging and mature technology and growth companies.

“The strength of Sidley’s global practice, coupled with the opportunity to bring my experience and insight as a public company General Counsel to the firm’s clients were key factors in choosing to join Sidley,” said Ms. Cottle. “I look forward to collaborating with my colleague to provide the best service possible to our clients.”

“We are extremely excited Karen has joined our team of talented lawyers in Northern California,” said Tom C. DeFilipps, managing partner of Sidley’s Palo Alto office. “Having served in senior management roles in technology businesses, including most recently for 10 years as General Counsel of Adobe, one of Silicon Valley’s leading technology companies, Karen is uniquely positioned to help our technology clients and their in-house lawyers address the unique and complex issues facing global technology and other growth companies today.”

Ms. Cottle brings years of legal experience to her role with Sidley. From 2002 to 2012 she served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Adobe, a global digital media and digital marketing company. As a member of the senior management team, Ms. Cottle was involved in all aspects of Adobe’s business and managed Adobe’s global legal function with responsibility for all matters including corporate governance, securities, M&A, compliance, intellectual property, licensing, product support, litigation, public policy, privacy and anti-piracy enforcement.

Prior to joining Adobe, Ms. Cottle was General Counsel of Vitria Technology, Inc., a public software company, where she had responsibility for all of the company’s legal issues and played an active role in its international expansion. Before joining Vitria she was the General Counsel of Raychem Corporation, a global manufacturing company, where she was responsible for managing its worldwide legal and intellectual property operations.

“Karen’s years of experience serving at the executive level in global technology companies will be an asset to our clients facing some of today’s most complex challenges involving governance, securities, compliance, IP and privacy issues,” said Thomas A, Cole, co-chair of Sidley’s executive committee. “We look forward to leveraging her skills and knowledge of corporate best practices on behalf of our clients.”

In 2012 Ms. Cottle received Corporate Board Member Magazine’s Top General Counsel Award, and a Transformative Leadership Award from Inside Counsel magazine. Ms. Cottle speaks at industry events regarding issues of concern to technology companies, most recently as the keynote speaker at the Silicon Valley Association of General Counsels All Hands Meeting. Additionally, she is a member of the first class of the DirectWomen Institute, part of the DirectWomen Initiative, an effort by the American Bar Association, the ABA Section of Business Law and Catalyst., Inc. to increase the number of women lawyers serving as independent directors on boards of large public companies. She is also a member of the Board of Housing Choices Coalition, a non-profit organization that creates housing opportunities for the disabled.

www.sidley.com