Cleary Gottlieb Lawyers and Practices Earn Exceptional Rankings in Legal 500 U.S. 2026

Cleary Gottlieb lawyers and practices continue to receive exceptional recognition in the 2026 edition of Legal 500 U.S.

Cleary lawyers received 11 Hall of Fame, 58 Leading Partner, 18 Next Generation Partner, and 2 Leading Associate rankings. The firm received 47 practice rankings, 21 of which were top-tier.

Cleary was recognized as a Tier 1 firm in the following practice areas:

Antitrust

• Cartel
• Civil Litigation/Class Actions: Defense
• Merger Control

Dispute Resolution

• Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense (Advice to Corporates)
• E-Discovery
• Financial Services Litigation
• International Litigation
• Securities Litigation: Defense

Finance

• Capital Markets: Debt Offerings (Issuers and Underwriters)
• Capital Markets: Global Offerings (Issuers and Underwriters)
• Financial Services: Regulation (Banking)
• Structured Finance: Derivatives and Structured Products

Labor and Employment

• Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation and Retirement Plans: Transactional

M&A/Corporate and Commercial

• Corporate Governance
• M&A: Large Deals ($1bn+)

Real Estate

• Real Estate Finance

Tax

• International Tax
• Financial Products
• US: Non-contentious

Select feedback from clients and peers included:

Antitrust: Cartel: “The practice is unique because of its combination of deep partner expertise and a genuine, client-focused approach.”

Antitrust: Merger Control: “What stands out about this practice is its ability to handle the most complex and high-stakes merger control matters with precision and creativity. The team combines deep knowledge of global antitrust regimes with practical experience navigating multi-jurisdictional reviews and regulatory challenges.”

Dispute Resolution: E-Discovery: “Exceptional knowledge, expertise, and experience in e-discovery and technology.”

Dispute Resolution: General Commercial Disputes: “Cleary has a deep litigation bench with true subject matter experts who have been involved in almost all of the major financial services litigation over the last decade. They are particularly strong in competition-related cases.”

Dispute Resolution: International Arbitration: “Cleary’s technical capability is outstanding. The team stands out for its unparalleled expertise in complex cross-border matters and high-stakes international disputes. Team integration is highly efficient, enabling sophisticated coordination across jurisdictions. The lawyers are consistently fast, pragmatic, and deeply technical.”

Finance: Capital Markets: Equity Offerings: “The capital markets team at Cleary is very knowledgeable with broad experience. Anything that comes up, they’ve seen and handled before. In that regard, they are very proactive in providing advice and identifying potential issues. More importantly, they are always available.”

Finance: Commercial Lending: “One of the most unique and valuable qualities of this group is that they have a very good ability to take the business challenges into consideration when counseling us on legal issues. Many lawyers have challenges viewing the whole picture, but Cleary always recognizes that we are working with non-legal folks that need to get business done and help us navigate that while also providing us sound legal advice.”

Finance: Fintech: “They’ve continually delivered for us in difficult circumstances and under tight deadlines.”

Finance: Restructuring (Including Bankruptcy): Corporate: “They are a group of capable, intelligent, empathetic, kind, and enthusiastic people. Truly, Cleary attorneys are some of the nicest and smartest people I’ve ever worked with. Their character is what sets them apart.”

Intellectual Property: Patents: Licensing: “Cleary’s IP licensing practice is distinctive for high-end drafting and negotiation capability, clear, business-facing risk assessment, and the ability to handle complex IP structures without slowing the transaction. The team is responsive, collaborative, and calibrated—strong advocacy when needed, and practical problem-solving when that’s what the deal requires.”

Labor and Employment: Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation and Retirement Plans: Transactional: “Cleary Gottlieb’s HR practice stands out among its peers. They have a deep knowledge base of HR related topics including equity, benefits, compensation and employee retention. Every deal is unique and they are able to assess the situation and provide elegant solutions.”

M&A/Corporate and Commercial: Corporate Governance: “Team is super engaged in the client business, they have the necessary flexibility to adapt to company´s risk tolerance. They are very experts in their field, they bring expertise to the table is necessary and they are innovators as a law firm.”

M&A/Corporate and Commercial: M&A: Large Deals ($1bn+): “The firm demonstrates an excellent understanding of client priorities and provides clear, actionable guidance. What sets the team apart is their ability to translate legal complexity into commercially viable solutions.”

Real Estate: Real Estate Finance: “The firm is innovative and tries to think outside the box. The teams I’ve worked with are very thorough in their review of documentation, and they are very helpful in providing recommendations.”

View Cleary’s complete results on Legal 500’s website.