Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Encyclopedia
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is an international law firm
headquartered at One Liberty Plaza
in New York City. The firm currently has offices in Washington DC, Hong Kong, Beijing, London, Rome, Milan
, Brussels
, Moscow, Frankfurt
, Cologne
, Paris, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo. It employs over 900 lawyers worldwide, with its largest office being located in New York. Cleary's international practice is well established: it was the first U.S. firm qualified to practice law in Japan, and it has represented governments throughout Latin America. Cleary became one of the first foreign firms to leave the Japanese market while it opened its first Chinese office in Beijing.
—from the firm of Root, Clark, Buckner & Howland (which became Dewey Ballantine
in the 1950s and which is now Dewey & LeBoeuf
) left Root, Clark to found a firm which they initially called "Cleary, Friendly, Gottlieb & Steen." Friendly's name was removed from the firm's name after he was appointed as a judge
on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
in 1959.
New York (1946) Washington, D.C.
(1946)
, Capital Markets, Employee Benefits, Real Estate
, and Income Tax
.
On October 10, 2007, Cleary Gottlieb was included in a ranking of law firms by the national law student group Building a Better Legal Profession
. The organization ranked firms by billable hours, demographic diversity, and pro bono participation. The results can be found on the organization's website, http://www.betterlegalprofession.org. Cleary scored the highest overall in the New York market for demographic diversity.
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
headquartered at One Liberty Plaza
One Liberty Plaza
One Liberty Plaza, formerly the U.S. Steel Building, is a skyscraper in lower Manhattan, New York City, at the location of the former Singer Building . 1 Liberty Plaza is currently owned and operated by Brookfield Properties. The building is tall and 54 floors. It was built in 1973...
in New York City. The firm currently has offices in Washington DC, Hong Kong, Beijing, London, Rome, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Moscow, Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Paris, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo. It employs over 900 lawyers worldwide, with its largest office being located in New York. Cleary's international practice is well established: it was the first U.S. firm qualified to practice law in Japan, and it has represented governments throughout Latin America. Cleary became one of the first foreign firms to leave the Japanese market while it opened its first Chinese office in Beijing.
History
The firm was founded in 1946 when six partners—including Henry FriendlyHenry Friendly
Henry Jacob Friendly was a prominent judge in the United States, who sat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1959 through 1974 and in senior status until his death by suicide in 1986.- Before the bench :Judge Friendly graduated from...
—from the firm of Root, Clark, Buckner & Howland (which became Dewey Ballantine
Dewey Ballantine
Dewey Ballantine LLP was a white shoe corporate law firm headquartered in New York City. In 2007, Dewey Ballantine merged with LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae to form Dewey & LeBoeuf...
in the 1950s and which is now Dewey & LeBoeuf
Dewey & LeBoeuf
Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP is a prominent global white shoe law firm, headquartered in New York City. Originally founded in 1909, the firm currently has over 2400 lawyers spread throughout 26 offices in 15 countries on 4 continents, and is known primarily for its corporate, insurance, litigation, tax and...
) left Root, Clark to found a firm which they initially called "Cleary, Friendly, Gottlieb & Steen." Friendly's name was removed from the firm's name after he was appointed as a judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals...
in 1959.
Offices
The New York office is situated on the 34th-46th floors of One Liberty Plaza, across the street from the World Trade Center site. Several members of the firm sit on the advisory committee for the development of that site.New York (1946) Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
(1946)
Paris (1949)
BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
(1960)
London (1971)
Hong Kong (1980), now 
Frankfurt (1991)
Moscow (1991)
Rome (1998)- MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
(2001) - Cologne (2004)
Beijing (2006)
Buenos AiresBuenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
(2009)
São PauloSão PauloSão Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
(2011)
Awards
The firm is consistently rated as one of the top ten most prestigious law firms by Vault.com. Chambers and Partners gives the firm high marks in the following practice areas: Corporate, Litigation, M&A, Private Equity, AntitrustAntitrust
The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
, Capital Markets, Employee Benefits, Real Estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
, and Income Tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
.
On October 10, 2007, Cleary Gottlieb was included in a ranking of law firms by the national law student group Building a Better Legal Profession
Building a Better Legal Profession
Building a Better Legal Profession is a national grassroots organization founded by students at Stanford Law School in January 2007. The group collects and publicizes employment data at large private law firms as a way of encouraging workplace reform at these companies...
. The organization ranked firms by billable hours, demographic diversity, and pro bono participation. The results can be found on the organization's website, http://www.betterlegalprofession.org. Cleary scored the highest overall in the New York market for demographic diversity.
Notable Mandates
- IssuerIssuerIssuer is a legal entity that develops, registers and sells securities for the purpose of financing its operations.Issuers may be domestic or foreign governments, corporations or investment trusts...
counsel to the Government of Malaysia in its $750 million eurobondEurobondA Eurobond is an international bond that is denominated in a currency not native to the country where it is issued. It can be categorised according to the currency in which it is issued. London is one of the centers of the Eurobond market, but Eurobonds may be traded throughout the world - for...
offering in 2002. - Counseled Crédit LyonnaisCrédit LyonnaisCrédit Lyonnais is a historic French bank. In the early 1990s it was the largest French bank, majority state-owned at that point. Crédit Lyonnais was the subject of poor management during that period which almost led to its bankruptcy in 1993...
in its €19.5 billion acquisition by Crédit AgricoleCrédit AgricoleCrédit Agricole S.A. is the largest retail banking group in France, second largest in Europe and the eighth largest in the world by Tier 1 capital according to The Banker magazine. It is also part of the CAC 40 stock market index....
SA in December 2002. The entity is now known as LCL (Le Crédit Lyonnais)LCL (Le Crédit Lyonnais)LCL S.A. is a major French financial services company, with its registered office in Lyon, France and its administrative head office in Paris, France. LCL is an abbreviation which means Le Crédit Lyonnais, the former name of the bank...
. - In 2003, the firm advised Deutsche TelekomDeutsche TelekomDeutsche Telekom AG is a telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is the largest telecommunications company in Europe....
in its €2.3 billion bond offer. - Advised ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
in the 2005 restructuring of its $81.8 billion global debt. - Retained as legal counsel by EuronextEuronextEuronext N.V. is a pan-European stock exchange based in Amsterdam and with subsidiaries in Belgium, France, Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom. In addition to equities and derivatives markets, the Euronext group provides clearing and information services...
NV in its €15 billion merger of equals with the New York Stock ExchangeNew York Stock ExchangeThe New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
in 2006. - In 2007, Cleary Gottlieb served as legal adviser to T-MobileT-MobileT-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
in its $2.4 billion merger with SunComSunComSunCom Wireless Holdings, Inc. was a wireless carrier that operated in the Southeastern United States since 1999 and in parts of the Caribbean since 2004. From the "About Us" section of the company's website:...
Wireless. - Defended the Republic of Congo in litigation in the United States arising from attempts to garnish Congo's oil royalties.
- Represented Mittal Steel Czech subsidiary in ICCInternational Chamber of CommerceThe International Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its hundreds of thousands of member companies in over 130 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise....
arbitrationArbitrationArbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound...
claim brought by Dutch contractor. - Advised GoogleGoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
in its acquisition of Motorola MobilityMotorola MobilityMotorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. , formerly the Mobile Devices division of Motorola Inc. until January 2011, is a communications corporation headquartered in Libertyville, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. Motorola's networks division pioneered the flip phone with the StarTAC in the mid-1990s...
.