Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP - The Who's Who Legal 100 2012

What is the Who's Who Legal 100?

The competition law practice “has one of the best profiles in Brussels for a US firm” according to a contributor and eight of the firm’s 19 featured lawyers in this section are based in the Belgian capital. Christopher Cook received many nominations for his work on international competition law and has represented parties during merger ventures before the European Commission and US antitrust bodies. Alongside him is Francisco Enrique González-Díaz, a European-Spanish competition law specialist and the former head of the EC’s Merger Task Force, whose “knowledge of the commission is great” according to one client. Thomas Graf is “terrific” on regulatory and IP competition matters, particularly in the IT, pharmaceuticals, media, sports and engineering sectors. “Top-flight” Nicholas Levy counsels clients on EU and UK antitrust matters, coordinating merger notification and joint ventures between the European merger agencies and the UK Office of Fair Trading. Some of his matters include transactions between DuPont and ICI, Goodyear and Dunlop, and Sony and BMG.

Robbert Snelders enjoys an active practice advising on merger control proceedings, dominance investigations and litigation, focusing on IT, technology, chemicals and natural resources industries. Romano Subiotto QC received numerous votes from many lawyers, and is regarded as a “really top lawyer in this field”. A recognised competition lawyer, he advises public and private companies in a wide range of industries. He also features in the life sciences chapter for his extensive experience acting for pharmaceutical companies such as Orifarm and Merck. Former director in the Competition Directorate General of the European Commission, John Temple Lang is a European law specialist and has appeared before the European Court of Justice and General Court in competition cases. His peers “think a great deal of him, and his encyclopaedic knowledge”. European and French competition law expert Antoine Winckler represents a wide array of clients on EU state aid issues and counts Crédit Lyonnais and Ford as clients. In Paris, Pierre-Yves Chabert is a “definite inclusion” for his capital markets, M&A and corporate governance work, for which he earns listings in three corresponding chapters. Additionally, Cleary is well represented in London, Cologne, Rome, Milan and Washington, DC, with 11 other competition lawyers.

The firm is a renowned leader in the capital markets field, and is represented in that chapter by 11 lawyers from established capital-raising jurisdictions. Leading Brussels-based lawyer Laurent Legein and Jan Meyers are “consistently recognised” experts for capital markets and M&A: both lawyers feature in those two chapters, as well as the corporate governance section. In Frankfurt, Thomas Kopp focuses on German banking regulation, M&A and international capital markets transactions, with a specialisation in acting for issuers and investment banks. In New York, Alan Beller is “extremely well known” in this industry. As the former director of the Division of Corporation Finance of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), he brings a host of industry experience and counts Citigroup, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the US Treasury among his clients. He also features in the corporate governance chapter for his expertise in directors’ duties. Alongside him is Nicolas Grabar, a “key dealmaker” and a “solid lawyer” with a focus on advising South American companies on capital markets and securities regulation. Senior counsel Edward Greene has a “large reputation” since his days as the general counsel of the SEC and industry position as general counsel for Citigroup’s institutional clients group. Leslie Silverman is “unbelievably good” and has many years of experience acting on issuings, the development of financial products and compliance under the SEC regulations. The firm enjoys a further twolistings apiece in Paris and London.

Alongside Legein, Meyers and Beller in the M&A chapter, Victor Lewkow is a “a senior statesman in New York M&A who doesn’t mind rolling up his sleeves and pitching in.” He is a “lion of the bar” as are the “well-respected” Daniel Sternberg and Paul Shim in New York. They both earn additional listings in the corporate governance chapter for their experience in advising on corresponding internal strategies to M&As. In Milan, Roberto Casati is an Italian law practitioner who specialises in cross-border ventures and has handled several of the largest Italian M&A and joint venture deals as well as resolving corresponding corporate governance issues. He has acted for Bavaria Yachtbau, Petronas and ABN AMRO, among others and features in both mentioned chapters. In Hong Kong Freeman Chan has earned a good reputation advising on IPOs and stock exchanges between the PRC and US.

The firm is also well represented in a range of other areas, including banking, tax and private funds.