The American Lawyer Names Lisa Schweitzer a "Dealmaker of the Year"; Cleary Gottlieb Practices Highlighted in "Corporate Scorecard"

Lisa Schweitzer was named a “Dealmaker of the Year” by The American Lawyer for her role representing Nortel as U.S. Debtors’ counsel in the company’s ground-breaking $4.5 billion sale of its patents via bankruptcy auction. AmLaw called the auction a “tech industry battle royal” and highlighted the deal’s impact on companies’ valuation and perception of patents, saying that, in leading and designing the Nortel auction, Lisa had “not only laid the groundwork for a record-breaking patent sale—she helped change how companies view and sell their patents.”

Additionally, several of Cleary Gottlieb’s practices were highlighted in the “Corporate Scorecard”—the annual ranking of the top corporate practices based on Thomson Reuters data that accompanies “Dealmakers of the Year.” The firm was ranked second for Corporate Debt (Investment Grade): Issuers’ Counsel by value and was ranked third in both the Equity: Underwriters’ Counsel (non IPO) by value and Corporate Debt (Investment Grade): Underwriters’ Counsel by volume categories. Cleary Gottlieb was also ranked in the Private Equity, M&A and Corporate Debt (High Yield) categories. Ethan Klingsberg was quoted, and his role advising Family Dollar in its defense against a bid by Trian was noted, in an overview article on the increased prevalence of hostile bids in the M&A market that accompanied the “Corporate Scorecard.” The firm’s role advising Deutsche Telekom in AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile was highlighted in a separate overview article on the increased regulatory scrutiny of M&A deals in the United States.