For associates after international work and a slightly “nerdy” culture, the choice is crystal Clear(y).
Cleary Lateral Profile 2025
For juniors at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton (or just Cleary to its friends), there was no better resource on offer than the expertise around them: “It seemed to be a very mature, thoughtful and sensitive work environment,” one associate told us, “there were really smart people, and I wanted to be like them!” So what would looking like a Cleary lawyer actually, well, look like? For one thing, the firm’s strength in cross-border transactions means that being quick to build connections with people all over the world is a must, and consequently, there are plenty of language skills knocking around. While Cleary associates are split between four US offices, the firm has a further twelve overseas, including particular strength in Latin America.
View the firm’s Chambers USA rankings
Read the firm’s Inside View feature on junior associate life
Why did you join your firm? Associates say…
“I chose Cleary because it has a premier antitrust practice group that works internationally on some of the biggest antitrust cases.”
“The firm has an extremely international outlook, a cordial culture, intellectual vibes, and a non-hierarchical approach to attorney development.”
“At Cleary, I found that the partners and more senior associates were thoughtful about including junior associates in all aspects of a project, and intentional in creating a positive, collegial atmosphere.”
Strategic Recruitment Focuses 2025
Careers at Cleary
The view from the firm: Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton seeks to hire candidates with 3-5 years’ experience for our mid-level associate positions. Ideal candidates will have relevant practice area experience, with excellent credentials and admitted in jurisdictions where we have offices: NY, DC, CA.
Antitrust careers
The view from the firm: Associates in Cleary’s antitrust practice can expect to work on all aspects of antitrust law, including civil and criminal antitrust litigation, government investigations, pre-merger notification and substantive defense of transactions, state aid awards, as well as general counselling, antitrust audits, and compliance programs.
Antitrust clients: Korean Airlines, Figma, Medtronic.
Recent work highlight: Defended IQVIA in lawsuits brought against it by the Federal Trade Commission in federal court regarding the antitrust aspects of its abandoned acquisition of DeepIntent.
Capital markets careers
The view from the firm: Associates in Cleary’s capital markets practice can expect to work on a variety of corporate and financial transactions, including capital markets transactions, disclosures, and corporate governance, in addition to working with issuers and underwriters on public and private securities offerings.
Capital markets clients: Verizon Communications, Blackrock, Republic of Chile.
Recent work highlight: Represented the underwriters to Southern California Edison Company and Edison International in multiple debt offerings, ranging from $350 million to $1.6 billion in value.
Mergers & acquisitions careers
The view from the firm: Associates in Cleary’s M&A practice can expect to work on corporate and financial transactions, focusing on acquisitions, divestitures, mergers and joint ventures, private equity funds, and financial institutions. Associates will have ample experience leading on diligence and drafting ancillary agreements as well as familiarity with all other aspects of a transaction, including experience drafting primary deal documents and interfacing with the client.
M&A clients: American Express, GSK, T-Mobile.
Recent work highlight: Represented Sofidel in its $1.06 billion acquisition of Clearwater Paper Corporation’s Tissue Business.
Private funds careers
The view from the firm: Associates in Cleary’s Private Funds practice can expect to work on structuring, formation, and operation of private investment funds, including representing private fund sponsors in co-investment arrangements and limited partners in their investments in private funds. Associates with secondaries experience can expect to work secondary transactions, preferably GP-led secondary transactions, including continuation vehicles and have experience with negotiating fund organizational documents, as well as experience with purchase and sale of assets, whether portfolio companies or limited partnership interests.
International & Secondment Opportunities
Overseas career development opportunities (view from the firm): At Cleary, internationalism is one of our long-standing firm values, and we have a strong history of providing opportunities for Cleary associates to spend time in other offices. We believe that office rotations assist us in meeting our clients’ needs, allow associates to broaden their skillset, and strengthen relationships between our lawyers across offices. They are crucial to maintaining the global culture of our firm. In addition to candidates’ professional development goals, many factors are considered when considering candidates for rotation, including seniority, language proficiency, practice group, and specific business needs of each office. Typically associates considered for rotation have been practicing for at least 1-2 years; however, first-year associates are considering for future consideration.
Career Development & the Path to Partnership
|
14 |
3.2: 1 |
46% |
||
|
partners made in 2024 |
associate : partner gearing |
of associates intend to make partner |
||
|
61% |
31% |
73% |
||
| felt partnership was achievable for attorneys with childcare/caregiver responsibilities | felt partnership was achievable at the firm | agreed partners are nurturing future leaders |
||
The view from the firm: Cleary provides associates with comprehensive training to develop into confident, well-rounded lawyers. Our miniMBA program ensures business fluency, while our in-house CLE program offers year-round accredited courses. The Cleary Core Curriculum builds leadership and communication skills, and practice group meetings keep lawyers updated on legal and business developments. Through hands-on experience, mentorship, and structured feedback, we help associates take on meaningful responsibilities early in their careers.
Hours & Compensation
|
no requirement |
15 |
51
|
|
billable hours |
average number of vacation days associates took in one year |
average number of hours associates worked in one week |
|
51% |
81% |
86% |
| agreed they had a good work-life balance |
felt like they could take vacation/annual leave on their own terms |
found the firm's claims around bonus allocation to be authentic |
Salaries
1st year: $225,000
2nd year: $235,000
3rd year: $260,000
4th year: $310,000
5th year: $365,000
6th year: $390,000
7th year: $420,000
8th year: $435,000
Is Cleary the right firm for you?
|
85% |
90% |
87% |
|
were happy in their current role |
agreed the work they received was of the right quality |
felt that they chose the right firm |
The view from the firm: The goal to hiring additional transactional associates help practices maintain its ability to take on new business and staff deals/transactions effectively. It also improves productivity and the morale of our existing associate population.
Here's what survey respondents had to say about the firm's culture...
“The firm is full of people who are kind and intellectually curious.”
“I was particularly impressed by the firm’s collaborative environment, where attorneys combine their expertise to develop comprehensive strategies for clients.”
“This is a firm of law nerds. We care about the work, and we care about our colleagues.”
Pro Bono
|
74 |
87% |
|
average pro bono |
agreed the firm puts effort towards its commitment to pro bono and social impact activity |
Pro bono highlights: Representation of artists, small businesses and social enterprises; domestic violence and family law; international human rights; criminal defense; veterans’ rights; nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations law; immigration.
Sustainability & CSR
The view from the firm: We are committed to fostering a sustainable future by integrating environmental responsibility into our operations. We actively promote green-friendly practices and pursue initiatives to minimize our environmental impact, and continually assess ways to improve our performance by reducing waste, managing water and energy consumption, monitoring the environment impact of our buildings and travel. To accelerate our sustainability efforts, we engaged a consultant to enhance our ESG strategy through benchmarking, gap assessments, and stakeholder-driven evaluations. We conducted a global GHG emissions assessment, which laid the foundation for our Climate Action Plan addressing scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.
We recognize the important of setting a goal to measure the progress of the emission reduction efforts. For this reason, in 2024, we set both near-term and net-zero science-based emissions reduction targets, which were approved by SBTi. As we work towards decarbonizing our operations, the firm has purchased carbon credits annually to cover a portion of the firm’s emissions since 2021, and we plan to do so going forward. Additionally we have launched an initiative to increase supply chain sustainability assessments through EcoVadis.
We are a member of the Law Firm Sustainability Network, Legal Sustainability Alliance, Net Zero Lawyer Alliance, and Trellis. We disclose annually to CDP and EcoVadis.
Contact
Learn more about opportunities at the firm
Recruitment contact:
New York: NY-LateralRecruiting@cgsh.com
Bay Area: BayArea-Recruiting@cgsh.com
Washington DC: DC-Recruiting@cgsh.com