Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Client SatisfactionCleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton is regarded by clients as ‘the gold standard in European competition law practices’. The firm is equally well regarded for its global merger control work and for its litigious strengths, which span multijurisdictional follow-on damages claims and cartel investigations before the European Commission, as well as non-cartel conduct cases. The ’broad and deep practice’ has specialists with expertise spanning the gamut of relevant advisory and contentious mandates, including Christopher Cook, François-Charles Laprévote and Robbert Snelders. Antoine Winckler is particularly recommended for his knowledge of French competition law, while Nicholas Levy is regularly instructed on matters involving UK antitrust elements.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘The EU and global practice of Cleary Gottlieb is the gold standard in European competition law practices. For me, they have the best lawyers, work the hardest and are the most result-oriented of all of the practices to choose from.’
‘You cannot do any better than Enrique González-Díaz. He knows the law better than the regulators, knows technologies and products, and is, in my opinion, the most articulate and persuasive lawyer in the entire EU.’
‘They have an incredible breadth of knowledge, and their standards are never below exceptional.’
‘François-Charles Laprévote is exceptionally good. Knowledgeable, experienced, commercial, but also willing to listen and learn from clients and colleagues.’
‘Very brilliant strategists and lawyers.’
‘Good reputation with the European Commission. Credible, experienced people.’
‘Broad and deep practice, with strong partners and associates who provide excellent work.'
‘Patrick Bock is an extremely well-rounded competition lawyer, with great expertise in M&A, investigation, litigation and advisory matters. He provides very practical advice and is extremely dedicated.'
Key clients
- Broadcom
- Illumina
- Veolia
- Celanese
- Coca Cola
- ExxonMobil
- GlaxoSmithKline
- IBM
- LVMH
- Schibsted
- NVIDIA (Icera)
- Vifor Pharma
- Whirlpool Corporation
- Alstom
Work highlights
- Advising Broadcom on all the antitrust components of its proposed acquisition of VMware.
- Advising Illumina on all the antitrust components of its $7.1bn acquisition of GRAIL.
- Advised Sony Interactive Entertainmenton the global reviews of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, as well as handling related litigation.
Lawyers
Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Nicholas Levy, Robbert Snelders