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City Place House 55 Basinghall Street London EC2V 5EH 
Favoured by 3 users
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The lowdown (in their own words...)Why did you choose this firm over any others? 'Reputation, quality of clients, quality of work'; 'the non-departmentalised structure of the training contract and the firm '; I was impressed by the representatives in the interview process'; 'reputation'; 'better salary'; 'generalist'; 'early responsibility'; 'small and friendly'; 'good experience during vacation scheme' How does your training compare with peers' at other firms? 'More responsibility'; 'better clients'; 'better work'; 'more flexible seat choice and the option of getting work from practice areas of interest'; 'more unpredictable/longer hours'; 'less instruction, less formal'; 'more responsibility and a much wider range of work, doing associate-level stuff in most cases' Best thing about the firm? 'The quality of the work/clients'; 'friendliness of partners'; 'non-departmentalised/hierarchical structure'; 'open-door policy'; 'responsibility'; 'friendly culture'; 'international aspects' Worst thing about the firm? 'Unpredictably of the hours'; 'because you can take work from anywhere (not just your immediate supervisor) you often have no visibility on what's coming and when'; 'can be stressful at times'; 'unpredictable hours'; 'being thrown in the deep end sometimes'; 'could have more consultation on management decisions'; 'the stress and hours can be tough' Best moment? 'Single-handedly putting together a presentation advising a multinational client on antitrust issues of a proposed merger'; 'participation in interesting and international conference call'; 'handling and closing a deal all by myself'; 'working on a rights offering and IPOs in Italy' Worst moment? '16-hour days with a 7am flight and returning home at about 11pm'; 'document review/due diligence'; 'the stress and hours can be tough'; 'a particularly difficult week on a complex project with a tight deadline'; 'slept about four hours in four days' The firmIn the 1920s Cleary Gottlieb became one of the first US law firms to expand into Europe, and it has had a London office for more than 30 years. Its international capability is held in high regard, the core focus being on advising banks, private equity clients and corporate organisations on complex, high-value, cross-border transactions. The firm also has growing expertise in emerging markets, particularly Brazil, Russia, China and India. The star performersAcquisition finance; Bank lending; Corporate tax; EU and competition; Emerging markets; International capital markets: debt and equity; M&A: US capability; Private equity. The dealsAdvised Russian real estate developer Etalon Goup in its $575m IPO; advised social networking company Mail.ru Group on its $912m IPO; advised TPG in the sale of its majority shareholding in Turkish spirit manufacturer Mey Icki Sanayi ve Ticaret to Diageo for around £1.3bn; involved in the ultimately aborted $40bn bid by BHP Biliton for Potash Corp; advised on the Russian Federation's $5.5bn bond, its first international capital markets issue since 1998. The clientsArcelorMittal; Aluminum Bahrain; Cadbury; Grupo Kuo; Helios Investment Partners; Hellman & Friedman; JP Morgan; Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan; Rusal; Statoil Fuel & Retail; TPG. The winnersLegal Business Awards 2011 Winner US firm of the year. The VerdictIf you like the sound of a prestigious firm that has a 'great reputation, quality of clients, quality of work, as well as generous salaries and plenty of responsibility then US player Cleary Gottlieb has got to be a serious contender. The 'small and friendly' London office offers a 'non-departmentalised structure' as well as an 'open-door policy' and 'friendly culture'. Current trainees were attracted to the 'international aspect of the job, working with other foreign offices of the firm' and the 'global nature of the work'. A Lex 100 Winner for its vacation scheme and confidence in being kept on, the firm's training is described positively as being 'less formal' with 'more flexible seat choice'. However, it is also noted that trainees generally receive 'less instruction' and have 'more unpredictable hours', affecting the work/life balance. It can be 'stressful at times' and it isn't unusual to be 'thrown in at the deep end sometimes'. 'More consultation on management decisions' would be appreciated but on the whole the standard of work compensates with trainees able to 'put together presentations advising multinational clients' and 'handle and close deals' alone, all of which provide valuable experience. So if you are looking for an international firm with an excellent reputation, an impressive salary and you are ready for a challenge then you can stop your search here. A day in the life of.....Qingxiang Li , first-year trainee, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Departments to date: $$$$ change heading to "Seats to date:" Finance, Hong Kong
University: St Edmund Hall, Oxford
Degree: Jurisprudence, 1st 8.30am: Cleary has provided a conveniently located serviced apartment about five minutes away from our Hong Kong offices, allowing me to get to work quickly in the mornings. 9.00am: Each lawyer has their own office in Hong Kong (even trainees!), which is a great perk. I arrive at my desk and have a quick scan of theFinancial Times and other major newspapers, to keep myself updated on the latest commercial developments around the world. 10.00am: Cleary is especially active in multi-jurisdictional deals in a wide range of different industries. I am currently helping a private equity fund based in China to purchase a mine in Kazakhstan. This deal raises many interesting issues which are both jurisdiction- and industry-specific, and it is interesting to think of practical and commercial solutions to the legal issues. Cleary encourages its trainees to take on as much responsibility as possible, which reflects the trust the firm has in its trainees. On this deal, I had the opportunity to draft the share purchase agreement. Now I am reviewing the comments on the share purchase agreement provided by the sellers last night, and preparing a table analysing our positions and suggested responses. I work closely with the partner on the deal, who is extremely experienced in both M&A and the mining industry, and he is ready to help and provide useful advice when required. 12.30pm: As with all Cleary offices, we have a strong focus on training. In Hong Kong, we have weekly training programmes during lunch. Today's topic is on high yield bonds, based on a presentation prepared by our New York team, which is a leader in this field. 1.30pm: Back at my desk, I use the time to do some research for a presentation to a major client of our firm. This involves reading up on the rules involved in acquiring an Indonesian company. It is challenging to get up to speed on the rules of a foreign jurisdiction, but such exercises help me to develop a comparative knowledge of the different rules involved in each jurisdiction. 3.00pm: I start to prepare for a conference call with our London team as the London office opens. On this deal, I am helping one of our Asian clients borrow some money from a major investment bank to finance an acquisition in Indonesia, through an English law-governed loan agreement. Cleary operates a non-departmentalised structure, so whilst I'm allocated to an M&A partner, I am still able to help out on areas which I am interested in, (in this case finance.) The Cleary offices work very closely and seamlessly with each other to provide a complete solution for the needs of our client. On our conference call with the bank's lawyers, we go through the terms of the loan agreement, and try to maximise flexibility for our clients to run their business while observing the rules set by the bank to ensure they are able to get their money back. I note the positions we have reached, which I will have to incorporate into the next draft of the loan agreement. 8.30pm: Following the call, I have managed to incorporate most of the comments into the loan agreement. I forward the revised loan agreement to the London partner in charge of this deal and await his further feedback over the course of tomorrow. I meet up with some other colleagues who are also leaving the office to have dinner in a nearby 'dim sum' restaurant, which Hong Kong is famous for. It makes a change from London kebabs! About the firmAddress: City Place House, 55 Basinghall Street, London EC2V 5EH, Telephone: 020 7614 2200 Fax: 020 7600 1698 Website: www.cgsh.com/careers/london Email:
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Other offices: New York, Washington DC, Paris, Brussels, Moscow, Frankfurt, Cologne, Rome, Milan, Hong Kong, Beijing and Buenos Aires. Who we are: A leading international law firm with 13 offices located in major financial and political centres around the world. What we do: Our core practice groups in London are M&A, financing, capital markets, international litigation and arbitration, and competition. In addition, we have successful self-standing practices in tax, financial regulation, intellectual property and information technology. What we are looking for: We look for candidates who are enthusiastic about the practice of law in a challenging and dynamic international setting. Whilst academic excellence is a prerequisite, we place particular emphasis on recruiting candidates that we and our clients will enjoy working with. What you'll do: We offer bespoke training that is individually tailored to the interests, experience and aptitudes of the individuals that join us. We encourage our trainee solicitors to accept increased responsibility as soon as they are ready to do so. Perks: Health club membership, private healthcare cover, life insurance of twice annual salary, long-term disability insurance, employee assistance programme, subsidised staff restaurant. Sponsorship: LPC and GDL funding. A maintenance grant of £8,000 is paid for each year of professional study. Application processApply to: Graduate Recruitment. How: Cover letter and full CV via our website. When to Apply: By 31 July, two years in advance of the year in which the training contract is due to commence. What is involved: We recruit the vast majority of our future trainees from among our vacation scheme students. Selection for vacation placements is through an open day comprising presentations on the firm, case study workshops and interviews. Candidates applying outside the vacation scheme have two interviews with graduate recruitment, partners and associates. Facts and figures Trainee places available for 2014: 13-15 Applications received pa: 2,000 approx Percentage interviewed: 5% of applicants are invited to attend an open day. SalaryFirst year: £40,000 Second year: £45,000 Newly qualified: £95,000 Vacation schemesSpring: Apply by 28 January 2012 Summer: Apply by 28 January 2012 Winter: Apply by 15 November 2011
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