AANHPI Heritage Month Spotlight Series: Matthew Mao

As part of our Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebration, we’ve asked our colleagues to reflect on the significance of this month.

Cleary Gottlieb partner Matthew Mao shares some of his thoughts below.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your role at Cleary.

I’m a partner in the Debt Finance group at Cleary, and I’ve been practicing law for over 15 years. My day-to-day focuses on complex debt financing transactions for private equity sponsors and corporate borrowers—handling everything from leveraged buyouts to liability management exercises.

Outside of my core practice, I’m also deeply involved in our firm’s innovation initiatives, helping to design and implement custom, generative AI-powered workflows for the firm.

My career path has been a bit unique! I spent the first eight years of my career at Cleary, starting as a summer associate in D.C., before moving to New York. After that, I spent six years working in-house for organizations like MacAndrews & Forbes, Hillspire, and Fanatics.

Getting that hands-on, client-side perspective was an invaluable experience, and I was thrilled to bring those insights back with me when I rejoined the firm as a partner two years ago.

What does AANHPI Heritage Month mean to you? Why is it important?

To me, it’s an opportunity just to be more thoughtful and intentional about the value of inclusivity. And that’s not just inclusivity for its own sake, but recognizing the different perspectives, backgrounds, and life experiences we all bring to our work lives—including my own, coming from an East Asian background, where my parents immigrated from Taiwan.

It also highlights what makes Cleary so special—we are an international firm in so many respects. That means more than just having offices overseas or working on cross-border deals; it means our lawyers, staff, and clients come from incredibly diverse backgrounds. Recognizing and celebrating that kind of interpersonal and cultural fluency is really the oil that makes our entire joint enterprise work so well. It’s also a great reminder that we can bring our authentic selves to work.

Has your identity impacted how you approach your work and career? If so, how?

I think my experiences—both as a second-generation American and growing up in a relatively small Midwestern town—have influenced me greatly and really shaped who I am. One of the core values instilled in me was doing a great job for the sake of doing a great job, and by extension, believing that you rise on merit and dedication.

While this mindset has really helped me develop a deep intellectual curiosity and a constant drive to improve, I’ve grown to recognize the related drawbacks—simply put, the world doesn’t always work this way and your work might not speak for itself.

When you just keep your head down and work hard, you can miss out on everything else—connecting with your colleagues, tuning into the pulse of the office, and connecting with your clients outside of the deal. Simply put, you aren’t always building relationships in the same way that others might naturally do or be more comfortable doing.

I look back at my career so far and am so thankful for opportunity to grow by learning from mentors and colleagues with different life experiences. Both here at Cleary and during my time in-house, I had to learn how to step out of that purely heads-down mode. I had to learn how to put myself out there, market myself, connect with people on a personal level, and intentionally build internal networks alongside doing great work.

Now, in my current role, I make it a priority to pay those lessons forward. I actively mentor the next generation of attorneys, and am particularly attuned to those who share similar backgrounds, helping them recognize the value of stepping out of their comfort zones and confidently making their voices heard.

Are there any leaders, activists, writers/artists, professionals, or family members who have inspired you?

First and foremost, my parents. They came from overseas to build a new life in America and deeply believed in its promise of opportunity. While I was growing up, my mother ran a Chinese restaurant, and my father worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They instilled in my brother and me so many of the values we hold dear today. In terms of how I navigate life, they’ve always helped me see the bigger picture—they taught me the importance of breaking out of the tunnel vision we can sometimes fall into.

On a professional level, there are so many senior attorneys, peers, and colleagues here at Cleary who inspire me. I don’t say this lightly, but I am genuinely inspired by my fellow partners every single day. Seeing them come to work to devote so much of their time and collective effort to make this firm a place they are proud of—a place where they want to build a lasting legacy—is incredibly motivating.

It’s easy to forget sometimes that institutions are ultimately a group of people with shared values working towards a common goal. Every single person matters in making that enterprise work, and I’m incredibly proud to be a part of this firm.

When you’re underrepresented in your chosen field, why is it important to have mentors and sponsors who are invested in you and your career?

I think having mentors and sponsors is essential for everyone, but it is especially critical for those with backgrounds and life experiences that are underrepresented in our field. There’s a simple, but powerful reason—we all have blind spots.  We may not see the experiences that they bring to the table or, conversely, haven’t had yet—having someone invested in them to show the ropes, offer guidance, and explain the unwritten rules in a way that makes sense is invaluable.

What are the benefits of joining an affinity group at Cleary?

We have a lot of great formal mentorship and sponsorship programs across the firm for everybody. But an affinity group—which is open to anyone interested in participating, regardless of their background—offers something distinct, an informal gathering / discussion group.

People come because they have a genuine interest to be there. It’s a really welcoming forum for folks to discuss shared experiences, catch up, and act as a sounding board for new initiatives the firm is planning. It’s a fantastic space for everyone here at Cleary.

Are there any programs at Cleary that you have been part of that have contributed to your professional journey and feeling included at the firm?

Beyond the affinity groups themselves, the formal mentorship and sponsorship programs here have been fantastic, especially in those early years. When you are just starting out and might not have built those organic relationships yet, having a designated mentor or sponsor gives you someone to show you the ropes. It provides a trusted person you can call to bounce ideas off of or simply help you navigate the firm.

Another element that has been truly impactful for me is our practice groups. We have tight-knit teams where people genuinely look out for one another. We can nerd out about the same complex topics, but it’s also a place to get together and build relationships that extend well beyond the four corners of the office.

What is your favorite thing about working in the legal industry, and why did you choose to work at Cleary?

I think my favorite thing about working in the legal industry is the opportunity to become a trusted advisor to your clients.

It requires an amazing mix of roles—you’re not just a legal expert (which is table stakes), but you are called upon to exercise judgment—someone who can take stock of the entire negotiating posture, the personalities involved, and the underlying incentives to help a client navigate the most complex and difficult decisions in their business.

As for why I chose Cleary, I was initially drawn to the firm’s focus on cross-border work, its international reach, and its commitment to tackling the most complex, difficult work. I also highly valued its outstanding record of retaining and promoting attorneys from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds.

But fifteen years in, it really comes down to one factor: the people here. I deeply value my fellow lawyers and our staff. Cleary has always felt like a true community to me.

The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of their employer/firm. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.