Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP

Overview

Cleary Gottlieb is a single, fully integrated global partnership founded in 1946 that focuses on high‑end, cross-border work for governments, financial institutions and multinational corporate clients. The firm operates from multiple major financial centres and is particularly well regarded for capital markets, sovereign and quasi‑sovereign bond transactions, complex cross-border M&A, restructuring and competition/antitrust work. Its model emphasises an integrated partnership culture, seniority-based partner compensation and deep international collaboration, enabling teams across offices to work seamlessly on large, multinational matters.

• Headquarters: New York
• Founded: 1946
• Lawyers: Approximately 1,100 lawyers (from more than 50 countries)
• Trainees: 16
• Offices: 14

Values & Culture

Practice Areas

• Banking & Finance
• Capital Markets
• Corporate & M&A
• Competition & Antitrust
• Private Equity & Venture Capital
• White Collar Crime
• Insolvency & Restructuring
• Tax
• Dispute Resolution & Litigation
• ESG & Sustainability
• Private Client & Wealth
• Pensions
• Financial Services & Regulation
• Intellectual Property
• International Arbitration
• Real Estate
• Technology & Digital
• Regulatory & Compliance
• Infrastructure & Projects

Geographic Focus: Operates as a single integrated global partnership from 14 offices in major financial centres. The firm has broad international reach with particular market strength and repeated recognition in Latin America, Asia-Pacific (including Korea and China-related work), Europe and the United States. Cleary is frequently engaged on sovereign and quasi-sovereign bond financings, cross-border M&A and complex finance matters and deploys cross-office teams on matters spanning multiple jurisdictions.

Training Contract

Cleary recruits trainees exclusively through its two‑week vacation schemes. Training structure in London emphasises multiple formal seats with practice-specific inductions at the start of each seat, regular formal trainings coordinated by each practice, a formal performance review every six months with HR and the trainee supervisor, and ongoing informal feedback. Trainees are supported by a partner mentor, an associate mentor and a trainee mentor. The London office runs a Cluster Network to enhance mentoring and cross-team access.

• Starting Salary: Year 1: £62,500; Year 2: £67,500
• NQ Salary: £164,500
• Trainee Intake: 16
• Academic Requirements: Normally expect candidates to be on course to attain a high 2.1 degree or better from a leading university and to have achieved at least AAA at A-Level or the equivalent. Foreign language skills are a valuable asset. The firm uses Rare Recruitment’s Contextual Recruitment System (CRS).
• Application Deadline: 28 February 2026

Seat Options

• Capital Markets
• Corporate & M&A
• Banking & Finance
• Competition & Antitrust
• Private Equity & Venture Capital
• Insolvency & Restructuring
• Tax
• Dispute Resolution & Litigation
• ESG & Sustainability
• Financial Services & Regulation
• International Arbitration
• Intellectual Property
• Real Estate
• Employment

Sponsorship

£20,000 PGDL/PGDL grant (published figure); firm uses Rare Recruitment’s Contextual Recruitment System (CRS) in London.

SQE Support

£20,000 SQE grant (PGDL/SQE grant amount published in supplementary data)

International Opportunities

0%

Client Secondments

0%

Mentorship

Each trainee is assigned a partner mentor responsible for development during the training contract; trainees also have an associate mentor and a trainee mentor. At the beginning of each seat trainees receive a formal induction by the nominated trainee supervisor. Trainees are reviewed formally every six months and can access the London Cluster Network to broaden mentoring across seniority levels.

Apply on the Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP website →

Programmes & Schemes

Notable Matters

What Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP Looks For

Key Competencies

• Exceptional academic ability (high 2.1 or better)
• Strong A‑level performance (typically AAA)
• Commercial awareness
• Attention to detail
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Resilience and ability to handle demanding cross-border work
• Language skills and international experience
• Commitment to inclusion and pro bono

Evidence Signals

• Excellent university results and strong A‑levels
• Meaningful extra‑curricular achievement (leadership, societies)
• Foreign language skills (valued across multiple offices)
• International or cross-border work experience
• Relevant internships or vacation scheme/client work
• Pro bono or community engagement

Benefits & Wellbeing

• Trainee salary Year 1: £62,500
• Trainee salary Year 2: £67,500
• NQ salary: £164,500
• PGDL/PGDL grant: £20,000
• SQE grant: £20,000
• Vacation scheme pay: £750 per week
• Annual leave: 25 days (published supplementary figure)
• Use of Rare Recruitment’s Contextual Recruitment System (CRS) in London
• Strong office environment and social life (insider grades A / A*)

Awards & Recognition

• No. 1 in the Top 25 “Global Elite” Global Competition Review, 2024-2026
• Top 20 Innovative Law Firms, Financial Times Law Index – North America, 2025
• Cleary Gottlieb Recognized as an Elite Firm in Chambers USA, 2025/2026
• IFLR and LatinFinance Deal of the Year awards across multiple sovereign and corporate bond matters (2024–2026)
• Law Firm of the Year: Francophone Africa; Team of the Year: Sovereign Loans; Deal of the Year: Sovereign Loans – Republic of Togo Sustainable Financing, IFLR Africa, 2026
• Finance Team of the Year, Legal Business Awards, 2025
• Fintech Practice Group of the Year, Law360, 2025

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Cleary commits to providing equal employment opportunities.

• Leadership and professional development curricula
• Sponsorship and mentorship programs
• Organizational partnerships
• Affinity groups
• Working groups and committees
• Heritage month celebrations
• Global engagement survey and upward feedback
• Cluster Network (London)

Pro Bono

The firm states it dedicates a substantial amount of time and resources to pro bono legal work and other community activities.

Innovation

Cleary treats innovation as an integrated, client-focused ecosystem combining internal AI/data science capability, an e‑Discovery and litigation technology group, an internal ALSP (ClearyX) and strategic acquisitions/partnerships (e.g., Springbok AI). The firm emphasises responsible AI governance, bespoke AI-powered document analysis, automated workflows, intelligent contract management, and data analytics. Trainees and lawyers can engage with these initiatives through practice innovation projects, ClearyX engagements and the DLT review centres.

• ClearyX (Cleary-owned ALSP)
• Cleary Innovation / Practice Innovation team
• AI Acceleration team (Director of AI Acceleration: Victoria Albrecht)
• Acquisition of Springbok AI
• e‑Discovery and Litigation Technology (DLT) group with 100+ discovery professionals and multiple review/data centres
• Automated privilege log line creation
• GenAI document identification and summarization
• Negotiated Large Language Model AI usage agreements with DOJ and FTC; TAR acceptance by European Commission
• Custom portals, contract & knowledge management and transaction due diligence automation via ClearyX

Quick Application Angles

• Emphasise international exposure and language skills — the firm repeatedly highlights cross‑office, cross‑border work (Latin America, Europe, Asia, US). Reference specific regional deals (e.g., sovereign bond or Latin America financings) in application examples.
• For London applications, stress academic credentials and contextual achievement — the firm expects a high 2.1 and AAA at A‑level and uses the Rare Recruitment Contextual Recruitment System.
• Reference the firm’s innovation work (ClearyX, AI Acceleration, e‑Discovery DLT) if you have legal tech, data, or automation experience; the firm rates highly for legal tech and actively integrates AI projects.
• Mention collaborative experience and mentoring/teaching roles — insider ratings show A/A* for peer support and office culture, and the firm emphasises mentorship (partner/associate/trainee mentor structure and the Cluster Network).
• During interviews or application forms, demonstrate commercial thinking with concrete examples (client impact, efficiency gains, cross-border coordination) rather than purely academic summaries.