Trial Lawyer and Former Federal Prosecutor Elizabeth Hanft Rejoins Cleary Gottlieb’s Expanding Securities Litigation Practice

Cleary Gottlieb announced today that Elizabeth Hanft, former Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) and Co-Chief of the General Crimes Unit for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), rejoined the firm as a partner in its leading securities and shareholder litigation practice. She is based in New York.

“We are excited to welcome Liz back to our firm,” said Cleary Managing Partner Jeff Karpf. “Her exceptional trial record as a federal prosecutor will bolster our formidable bench of lawyers as we continue to grow our litigation and corporate practices in parallel, establishing multidisciplinary teams that address the complex needs of our clients.”

Liz had a distinguished career at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where she conducted and supervised dozens of jury trials and argued multiple appeals before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Her tenure as a senior member of the prestigious Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, one of the most important financial crimes units in the U.S., involved the investigation and prosecution of insider trading, market manipulation, accounting fraud, and related cases. During that time, her successful prosecutions included convicting former U.S. Congressman Stephen Buyer of insider trading, convicting former DWAC board member Bruce Garelick of insider trading in advance of the SPAC’s merger, and convicting former film distribution company CEO William Sadleir with defrauding an investment fund of $30 million.

As Co-Chief of the SDNY’s General Crimes Unit, Liz oversaw hundreds of investigations and trained all new criminal AUSAs. She also served in the National Security and International Narcotics Unit, and has extensive experience on anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions cases. Most recently, Liz advised clients on AML and financial reporting matters and securities fraud investigations in private practice.

“Liz’s wide-ranging experience, stellar trial record, and versatile skill set make her a phenomenal addition to our team,” said Breon Peace, partner and co-leader of Cleary’s Litigation Group. “We anticipate that our top-tier securities and shareholder litigation capabilities will remain in high demand, particularly as we’ve seen significant market volatility driving high litigation activity.”

“I am delighted to rejoin Cleary and become part of such a talented team of trial lawyers and trusted advisors,” said Liz. “I look forward to leveraging my experience in government service and private practice to address the securities litigation challenges facing our clients.”

Investing in the firm’s U.S. civil litigation and enforcement practices is a key component of Cleary’s growth strategy, and Liz is the latest of several strategic hires brought into the U.S. litigation practice over the past year. They include a premier five-partner intellectual property patent litigation team and former U.S. Attorneys Chris Kavanaugh, who focuses on government and internal investigations and white-collar criminal defense matters, and Breon Peace, who rejoined the firm in May 2025 and advises on white-collar defense and regulatory enforcement matters, internal investigations, crisis management and complex civil litigation.