Interesting selling points

• Chambers and Partners has awarded the firm Band 2 rankings for its Banking & Finance: Borrowers: Big-Ticket, Competition Law and Capital Markets: Debt departments. 
• Unlike many US competitors, the firm’s history in London - setting up only three years after opening in the US - implies that employees join a global team rather than a mere subsidiary practice. However, the firm also has the advantage of a prominent position in the US market, providing a truly global platform to facilitate cross-border deals (a competitive advantage lacked by the majority of large London practices).
• The firm is particularly flexible in its approach to training, offering trainees the opportunity to continue on projects from initial instruction to completion without an arbitrary cut-off point (whereas at many firms, trainees would simply drop their projects at the end of a particular seat). 
• Small trainee intake in London might result in more responsibility on deals and cases.
• Notable clients include Coca-Cola, Sony, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Google, Accor, Citi and the Republic of Senegal. 
• It supports a variety of pro bono projects in the UK including Toynbee Hall,  National Literacy Trust and Refugee Legal Support.
• Cleary Gottlieb has a number of diversity and inclusion working groups within the firm including the Well-being Working Group, LGBTQ+ Working Group  and BAME Working Group.

We cover these selling points in more detail below, alongside other relevant firm facts and characteristics.

Practice areas / services

Cleary Gottlieb is a full-service law firm, with a broad range of practice areas including:

• Antitrust 
• Banking & Financial Institutions 
• Bankruptcy & Restructuring 
• Capital Markets 
• Corporate Governance 
• Derivatives
• Energy 
• Environmental 
• Financial Technology 
• Global Crisis Management 
• Intellectual Property 
• Investment Funds 
• International Arbitration 
• Litigation 
• Mergers, Acquisitions & Joint Ventures 
• Private Equity 
• Private Funds 
• Project Finance & Infrastructure 
• Real Estate 
• Structured Finance 
• Tax 
• White-Collar Defense & Investigations

Chambers and Partners, a leading analyst of the legal market, has awarded Cleary Gottlieb ‘Band 2’ ranking for the following departments: Banking & Finance: Borrowers: Big-Ticket, Competition Law and Capital Markets: Debt. See here for more information 

Key sectors / industries

Cleary Gottlieb services a broad range of industries, with some of its highest-value clients operating in the following sectors:

• Banking and Financial Institutions
• Financial Technology
• Insurance
• Private Funds

In addition, Cleary Gottlieb services the following industries: airlines, aviation and aerospace; automotive; consumer products and retail; energy; information technology; manufacturing and industrial services; media and advertising; metals and mining; pharmaceuticals and biotechnology; private equity; pulp and paper; real estate; sovereign governments and international institutions; sports; and telecommunications. 

Work

Cleary Gottlieb consistently advises on high-profile, cross border matters. Some examples of its recent work include:

• Republic of Senegal: The firm represented the Republic of Senegal in an international sovereign bond offering of €775 million and concurrent cash tenders offers. 
• Google: Cleary Gottlieb represented Google in its acquisition of Fitbit for $2.1 billion. 
• Accor: The firm helped to advise Accor on a strategic investment from LVMH into Accor’s Orient Express brand to help accelerate its growth. Accor acquired the Orient Express in 2022 with a view to reviving it.

Offices / global footprint / expansion

Headquarters: New York, One Liberty Plaza

Offices: Cleary Gottlieb has a total of 16 offices spread across 4 continents, with offices in locations including Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Cologne and Rome.

Insights, internships and other opportunities

Cleary Gottlieb offers a number of opportunities for individuals wishing to gain experience in the legal industry and learn more about life at the firm. Opportunities for interested applicants include: a ‘Spring Insight Day’, which is designed to offer both law and non-law students an insight into the firm’s culture and work; and vacation schemes, open to penultimate and final year law students, final year non-law students, and graduates (the firm recruits most of its trainees from these schemes).

Training contract

Cleary Gottlieb offers a four-seat training contract, with each seat lasting six months. The firm’s trainee intake is relatively small, with 12 to 16 trainees recruited annually. The firm is particularly flexible in its approach to training, offering trainees the opportunity to continue on projects from initial instruction to completion without an arbitrary cut-off point (whereas at many firms, trainees would simply drop their projects at the end of a particular seat). All trainees will be assigned an experienced lawyer as a mentor, who is intended to supplement the wider, day-to-day mentoring provided by all the firm’s lawyers.

Secondments

Cleary Gottlieb sometimes offers trainees the chance to travel during their training contracts, whilst also offering certain international secondments. Previous secondment locations have included Hong Kong, New York and Paris.

Corporate social responsibility

Cleary Gottlieb is ‘fully committed to the duties of good global citizenship’, and this dedication to helping others is reflected by the firm’s pro bono commitments to date, including:

• Toynbee Hall: The firm sponsors and helps to provide staff to Toynbee Hall, a women-only free legal advice clinic. It is one of the oldest free legal advice clinics in the world. 
• National Literacy Trust: Cleary Gottlieb runs an annual virtual internship for young people aged 16-19 from diverse socio-economic backgrounds in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust. 
• Refugee Legal Support: The firm works in partnership with Refugee Legal Support to represent Afghan families seeking to be reunited in safety. 

Diversity and inclusion

Cleary Gottlieb, as ‘home to an eclectic group of people’, regards inclusion as ‘central’ to its ‘ongoing identity’. To that end, the firm has introduced a number of initiatives to foster and maintain diversity. Some examples include:

• Well-being Working Group: This group is committed to creating an environment which is inclusive and accessible for all staff. It focuses on the recruitment process, supporting staff with disabilities in the workplace, and developing awareness activities to promote the wellbeing of staff. 
• LGBTQ+ Working Group: Cleary Gottlieb’s LGBTQ+ working group organises events to build interest, raise awareness and educate on topics related to the LGBTQ+ community. It also runs charity collections for the Terrence Higgins Trust. 
• BAME Working Group: This group provides a platform to promote equality and address BAME-related concerns. It runs office-wide events, celebrations to mark religious or culturally significant dates and supports a mentoring programme created by the Black Solicitors Network.