Cleary Gottlieb
New York, NYWashington, DCSan Francisco, CA +1
FIRM PROFILE
Clifford Chance
- Houston, TX
- New York, NY
- Washington, DC
Around the world in one firm? Pass go and take a chance with this international icon rooted in magic…
About the Firm
- 3
- National Offices
- 29
- Overseas Offices
- 277
- Associates
- 117
- Partners
Pitbull’s nickname being ‘Mr Worldwide’ reflects his global appeal and countless international hits. Fans have been known to don bald caps in appreciation of the singer at his concerts, a following many can only dream of attaining – and one that international superstar Clifford Chance has built its own version of.
“A lot of opportunities for international business travel… and a huge and diverse global client base.”
Sources raved about the firm’s “differentiator being its true global aspect,” which offers associates “a lot of opportunities for international business travel, international secondments, and a huge and diverse global client base,” (bald caps not necessary). Behind that reputation is its workforce of “friendly and approachable” people – sources only had positive things to say about their colleagues, with one noting that “people are phenomenal,” with a willingness to “take time out of their days to chat and give advice.”
“They want you to succeed,” shared another. “It’s definitely a place for attorneys to stay and learn and grow.” And with secondment opportunities readily available, and colleagues across the world able to assist at the other end of a call, the international reach translates directly into the work. Chambers USA recognizes the firm’s work in international trade, aviation finance, corporate crime & investigations, sanctions, and projects-related agency financing.
Summer Program
- 45
- Summer Places
Ever wanted to see Queen Bey perform? Well, not to brag, but CC summers have! “I don’t think anyone can top that,” laughed one associate. “I always give props to our HR team because they come up with the best events.” The summer program throws a whole host of events, from star-studded concerts to baseball games, to dinner after dinner with the reassurance that “your pants will fit again in a couple of months” and to just “embrace it.”
Each office organizes a retreat which takes place every year and is open to any of the billable staff including summers, paralegals, associates, counsel, and partners. Interviewees advised that this is “a great event to get to know partners and associates,” and features a range of activities such as golf, tennis, swimming and even ziplining, horse-riding, and archery (depending on the venue). Even pandemic-era summers spoke highly of the firm’s ability to host “engaging remote events” including a magician over zoom, and a wine and cheese event where summers had crates of food and drink delivered to them. Work given to summer associates is equally substantive too, keeping summers busy with document review, memo writing, note taking, legal research, and writing up case summaries.
Strategy & Future
AI is the buzzword of the season, making waves across industries worldwide, and CC has been swimming with the tide. Having just “represented PIMCO in an enormous data center deal for Meta in Louisiana,” regional managing partner Sharis Pozen explains that the firm is keen to support “hyper scalers and AI” as it perfectly “brings together the firm’s regulatory, finance, infrastructure, asset management and private equity practices.”
And that enthusiasm isn’t reserved for clients alone, with 75% of partners proudly using AI for daily tasks, “even if it’s just AI helping me manage my inbox or helping me with my emails by checking clarity and tone,” explained Pozen. In fact, Clifford Chance's AI prowess extends beyond the day to day thanks to its involvement in Microsoft's Frontier Firm AI Initiative.
CC’s ambitions don’t stop there, as the firm clearly prides itself on having “global corridors” including a “robust APAC practice, which includes China,” extending a reach beyond its transatlantic roots. The firm is also mindful of adapting to the new generation, understanding that Gen Z want to know where they stand in relation to “atmosphere, training and transparency,” and are making efforts to ensure “they have a place to go, to feel included and like they belong.” More broadly, we heard that the firm has eyes on particular growth in real estate, the energy transition, restructuring and insolvency, M&A, and tech/digital. There’s also something of a lateral recruitment drive in Houston.
Read more from Sharis Pozen under the 'Get Hired' tab.
The Work
It’s no big secret that CC shares its cultural heritage with the most famous wizard to grace most millennials' childhoods (Harry Potter, not Gandalf, just to be clear). And much like its fictional neighbor, the firm’s, appeal has crossed borders with ease, with US offices in New York, Washington DC, and Houston benefiting from a UK HQ which means “cross-border collaboration is second to none.” All interviewees praised the firm’s “seamless” working relationships across multiple jurisdictions - “it’s just a matter of picking up the phone as opposed to engaging local counsel which feels fluid for clients and the deal team itself,” explained one insider. In terms of staffing, the exact structure varies by practice group, some are immediately free market, but other juniors start out in a pool system, with matters assigned by a coordinator. In these cases, as time progresses, partners provide work more directly to associates as they settle in.
Within the litigation and dispute resolution group, associates are given the opportunity to work on both investigations work, and regulatory advisory work. One associate explained that work in investigations involves “a company who has a problem internally will hire a firm like Clifford Chance to help them dig into it and do a big document review, interview folks and try to get to the bottom of what the issue is.” Where applicable, associates will make “recommendations for the company going forward.”
On the regulatory side, there’s “a lot of export controls” requiring associates to assess “export administration regulations and international trade regulations which are administered by the US government and state respectively,” and help clients to understand and navigate those regulations to ensure that they are in compliance. A lot of the junior work involves client memos, status reports, attending client calls, research and citation of regulations, document review, and penning first drafts of interview outlines.
Litigation and dispute resolution clients: Government of Sri Lanka, Mike Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Pinterest. Represented BMO Capital Markets Corp. to resolve the largest investigation in the history of the Bank of Montreal.
The global financial markets team oversees a lot of different matters including capital markets, project financing, and debt finance. Debt financing involves work with sovereigns wanting to refinance or restructure their debt. “They go to market and issue that debt” explained one junior. “A lot of my clients are big banking institutions in the US, so they’ll structure the deal, market the deal and purchase the debt to pass it on to other big institutions.”
Work in capital markets depends on “whether you are advising the issuer issuing the securities, or the banks who are the underwriters or initial purchasers, or the banks who are leading the sale and resale of the securities.” Due to the smaller teams on matters juniors reported receiving more substantive work. “I was drafting documents and doing a lot of transaction management” reported one source. Project financing work often takes the form of “infrastructure projects.” Their complexity varies, though a source did clarify that projects were “very long” and differed greatly from corporate financing as they could “take more than 20 years to be paid.”
Typical junior tasks consist of “initial drafts following a precedent, a lot of ancillary document drafting, and assisting with CPs or closing.” There is also “a lot of project managing” shared one insider. “I always thought if you’re not a lawyer you’re a project manager because you’re coordinating a hundred different teams.”
Global financial markets clients: Citibank, N.A., New York Branch, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs & Co. Advised the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on the issuance and sale of $750 million notes.
The corporate practice area forms an umbrella over different departments at CC, with our interviewees hailing from the antitrust team. Over in antitrust, juniors can expect to work on private equity files which involves “a lot of market analysis in addition to legal analysis” on the different subsidiaries owned by various companies. “We help review documents for responsiveness, for review by the government,” explained one insider. This means that should the US government request a company’s documents relating to a specific transaction, associates would work with their client to “go through all documents and make determinations on whether or not certain emails, documents, PowerPoint presentations etc are responsive to that request.”
Work is never dull, as reported by one junior: “even though the concept and laws are the same, every time we’re with a different client everything is new and fascinating because you learn so much about the products and services that the client provides.” Junior tasks may consist of document review, privilege review, preparing and delivery depositions or investigational hearings, and delivering presentations to client’s in-house teams to assist in “narrowing down the documents as much as possible.” Additionally, one junior reported working “closely with M&A to help with antitrust clearance filings.”
Corporate clients: Legal & General, Pfizer, Airbus, Exxon Mobil. Advised Unilever on all antitrust aspects of its sale of its water purification business to an international water technology corporation.
Career Development
Training at CC tends to follow the people rather than the program - “Trainings have been quite organic,” shared one insider, “we have a formal mentorship program but what I’ve found really helpful is gaining mentorship from the senior associates I work with.” This seemed to be the consensus from most sources, praising colleagues who were always willing to “take time out of their days to chat and give advice,” creating an environment where “junior attorneys are given the opportunity to grow.” Unsurprisingly, most insiders confirmed that CC is a place they would like to remain at for the foreseeable future.
The path to partnership received more mixed responses - juniors broadly agreed it wasn’t entirely transparent, though few seemed deterred, with most viewing it as something that crystallizes naturally further into their careers. “It’s something they discuss in our reviews if they think it is potentially attainable for us,” explained one insider.
“Teams stay consistent.”
Where associates do move on, the pattern tends to be “people leaving to go in-house” or lateralling to work in “different positions, or roles or practice areas.” Sources were keen to note that lateral hires coming in reflect the firm’s growth ambition rather than gaps in existing talent, as one neatly reassured us: “Teams stay consistent.”
Hours & Compensation
- No requirement
- Billable hours requirement
Hours naturally fluctuate with business needs, with juniors reporting there being “times when it gets slow and times when it’s all hands-on deck.” Praise was given for the environment of support during those busier stretches, with one source explaining that juniors “feel comfortable to speak up if we’re stressed or if we have too much work and we need assistance,” and that “having that camaraderie with colleagues when we’re all struggling helps a lot.” When it comes to bonuses, the firm looks at a variety of factors and the going market rate, but it’s not expressly connected to the hours an associate has worked.
Culture
The D.C. office boasts a ‘fun committee,’ New York flaunts its ‘vibes committee’; both with the goal to improve social life for associates at the firm. “They tease each other back and forth on the different names,” Pozen laughs, explaining it’s “a unique way we’re doing community-oriented events.” Meanwhile, the Houston office boasts such a tight culture that no committee is required to plan social occasions. Events are varied and mindful of the needs of all colleagues, from Halloween pumpkin painting open to associates' kids through to Diwali celebrations, Thanksgiving, and regular rooftop happy hours at the D.C. office complete with games and food. Not to be outdone, the folks over at Houston also organize an annual clay shoot contest that associates can get involved with.
“...a super social firm, where it is really easy to make friends.”
That intentionality seems to be working as overall CC was said to be “a super social firm, where it is really easy to make friends.” “I’ve hung out with my colleagues on weekends,” shared another source, with another forming bonds deep enough to attend “the weddings of some coworkers.” When asked who would thrive at CC, sources pointed to someone “intellectually curious,” “enthusiastic about the work,” and confident enough to “speak up and not be afraid of being wrong,” as the firm’s collaborative culture empowers juniors to learn from their mistakes.
Clifford Chance is recognized as The Elite for Culture in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.
Pro Bono
- Undisclosed
- Total Us Pro Bono Hours
- Undisclosed
- Average Pro Bono Hours Per Attorney
For those drawn to work that is “super meaningful”, CC offers an unlimited number of pro bono hours, with the added bonus that should “you have a huge pro bono matter that goes to trial, all those hours will go towards your target.” Pro bono matters serve as a development opportunity for associates to take a more active role with greater responsibility. The firm has a pro bono portal for volunteering opportunities, which even non-lawyers at the firm can take part in.
It was clear too that juniors are “encouraged in all annual reviews to take part in pro bono work.” Matters themselves are very varied, covering matters across immigration, veteran’s rights, and domestic violence as causes which the firm has a special focus on. “We have specific partnerships with organizations in the city” explained a junior from the New York office. This includes a partnership with ‘My Sister’s Place’ which aims to end domestic violence and human trafficking affecting women.
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Top Figures
- New York
- Largest US Office
- $225,000
- 1st Year Salary
- 1
- Partners Made
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