Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton

In 1960, Cleary opened their first office in Brussels. Eight years later, the firm establishes the first law firm internship program and the following year, "externs" began temporary full-time positions at MFY Legal Services, a nonprofit organization providing legal representation and community education to low-income households.

In the early 70s, Cleary opened an office in London and the following decade, opened offices inI Hong Kong and Tokyo. Beginning in the 90s, Cleary opened offices in Moscow following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the close of the Cold War. The firm's Frankfurt office opened in 1991 and in Rome in 1998. Milan followed in 2001 and Cologne in 2004.

Since 2005, the firm has opened offices in Beijing, Seoul, Buenos Aires and São Paulo, Abu Dhabi, and the most recent being their office in the Bay Area to serve their Silicon Valley and San Francisco clients.

The firm was founded by seven lawyers – George Cleary, Leo Gottlieb, Henry Friendly, Mel Steen, Hugh Cox, Fowler Hamilton and George Ball. All seven founders came from the Wall Street law firm of Root Clark Buckner and Howland.

Cleary opened offices in New York and Washington D.C. on January 1, 1946. Three years later, Cleary opened its first office in Paris, one of the first U.S.-based law firms to go international after World War II. This move played a critical role in the implementation of the Marshall Plan and in the development of an economic plan for post-war Europe.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton is a New York-based law firm founded in 1946. The firm works in multiple practices, indsutries, jurisdictions and continents. The firm has 16 offices across the world serving international and national business organizations, financial institutions, sovereign governents and their agencies, nonprofits and community organizations, and civil and human rights groups.