Giovanni Prezioso, Former General Counsel of the SEC, Returns to Cleary Gottlieb

International law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP announced today that Giovanni Prezioso, former General Counsel of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, will return to the firm as a partner, beginning this summer.  He will be based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office and will focus on securities and corporate law matters.  “We are thrilled to welcome Giovanni back to the firm,” said Cleary Gottlieb Managing Partner Mark Walker.  “During his tenure at the SEC, he oversaw a period of unprecedented change in U.S. securities regulation and enforcement.  Giovanni’s experience and expertise will allow us to offer our clients around the world an even higher level of service in the corporate and securities areas.”

Mr. Prezioso, 48, was appointed General Counsel of the SEC in April 2002, just three months before Congress enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the most important reform of the U.S. securities laws since the Great Depression and one that has dramatically changed the way public companies operate in the United States.  Under Mr. Prezioso’s leadership, the SEC’s 120-member legal staff implemented the enforcement and regulatory provisions of SOX within the tight timeline set by Congress.  As part of this process, Mr. Prezioso also worked with his staff to establish formal standards of professional conduct for attorneys representing public companies.

Before joining the SEC, Mr. Prezioso was based in Cleary Gottlieb’s Washington, D.C. office.  He joined the firm as an associate in 1982 and became a partner in 1991.  During his time at the firm, he regularly represented leading investment banks, financial institutions and financial market trade associations on a wide range of regulatory, transactional and litigation matters.

Representing clients in a broad array of complex, high-profile corporate and securities law matters has been a core part of Cleary Gottlieb’s work for years.  The firm’s team of securities and corporate law experts includes lawyers drawn from diverse practice areas, and many have served in prominent positions in the U.S. government or as federal prosecutors.  With the addition of Mr. Prezioso, the firm’s partnership now includes two former General Counsel of the SEC.

“After spending nearly four professionally rewarding years at the SEC, I am looking forward to returning to private practice,” said Mr. Prezioso.  “I have long had the highest regard for the lawyers and institutional values of Cleary Gottlieb, and the global breadth and strength of its practice are well known.  As I weighed the many career options I had before me upon leaving the Commission, Cleary Gottlieb stood out as the natural and best choice.”

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For further information, you can contact Richard Lincer at +1 212 225 2560 (New York) or Sebastian Sperber at +44 20 7614 2237 (London).

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About Cleary Gottlieb’s Washington, D.C. Office

The Washington office of Cleary Gottlieb was established in 1946, when the firm was founded, and currently has approximately 100 lawyers.  The office’s primary practice areas include antitrust, securities, corporate (including transactional and regulatory) and litigation.

The office’s 22 partners include several with significant government experience.  Our ranks include two former General Counsel of the SEC; a former General Counsel of the FDIC; a former Deputy Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition; a former Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust; a former Assistant United States Attorney and Assistant to the Solicitor General; and a former Principal Deputy General Counsel for the U.S. Air Force.

About Cleary Gottlieb

Founded in 1946 by lawyers committed to legal excellence, internationalism and diversity, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is a leading international law firm with approximately 850 lawyers around the world.  The firm was the top Global Financial Industry M&A Legal Advisor in 2005, according to Bloomberg.  In 2005, for the second year in a row, legal publisher Chambers and Partners named Cleary Gottlieb the Western Europe Competition/Antitrust Law Firm of the Year, and, also for the second consecutive year, LatinFinance rated Cleary Gottlieb as Best International Financial Law Firm.  Most recently, International Tax Review named Cleary Gottlieb French Tax Firm of the Year and Juve recognized the firm as German Law Firm of the Year.  The firm has offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Paris, Brussels, London, Moscow, Frankfurt, Cologne, Rome, Milan, Hong Kong and Beijing.