Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton’s US team leverages the firm’s international presence in advising global organizations, public companies, financial institutions and investors on ESG issues. Sustainability is incorporated throughout its different practice areas, with the firm demonstrating particular expertise in sustainable finance matters.

Francesca Odell heads up the firm’s corporate advisory practice and is a go-to lawyer for boards of directors and executive management for corporate governance matters regarding readiness and actions on climate, environment and sustainability policies – including the upcoming SEC rules. The team’s international client roster includes the likes of Inter, Pinterest, Starbucks, and T-Mobile.

Significantly, Odell was part of the team advising American Express in its $3.5bn-aggregate sustainable notes offering to be allocated towards climate change mitigation and sustainable infrastructure projects. In another notable green deal, Jeff Karpf represented the managers led by Citigroup Capital Markets (Citi) in an aggregate $2bn green notes offering.

Internally, the firm promotes environmentally-friendly and sustainable practices through its cross-functional working group focusing on measuring and reducing emissions. The team also partakes in various voluntary initiatives to minimise its impact on the environment. For example, David Lopez, among others, represented The Nature Conservancy (a long-term pro bono client), in an unregistered offering of two green bonds totalling $412m to finance a variety of green projects including coastal protection, sustainable fisheries and forestries, and advancing solar and wind development.

All mentioned attorneys are based in New York.