Mr David Gelfand > Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP > San Francisco, United States > Lawyer Profile
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP Offices

650 California St
Suite 2000
San Francisco
CALIFORNIA
94108
United States
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Mr David Gelfand

Position
David Gelfand is a partner based in the Washington, D.C. office. His practice focuses on a broad range of antitrust matters, including U.S. litigation, notifying mergers and acquisitions in the U.S. and other jurisdictions, and providing antitrust advice to clients regarding potential transactions and various business practices. His clients have included companies in various industries, including computer software, computer hardware, information services, electronic platforms, chemicals, metals, pharmaceuticals, product manufacturing, retailing, and oil and gas. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and academic seminars.
Career
Served as Assistant Attorney General for Litigation for U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (2013-2016); At DOJ, led merger challenges against GE/Electrolux, Halliburton/Baker Hughes and oversaw merger review of Comcast/Time Warner; JD, summa cum laude, Georgetown University Law Center (1987); BS, magna cum laude, University of Pennsylvania (1981). Joined firm, 1991; became partner, 1997. From 2001 to 2004, resident in Brussels office.
Memberships
Mr. Gelfand is a member of the Bars in Maryland and the District of Columbia, where he is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth and District of Columbia Circuits.
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Antitrust > Merger control
(Hall of Fame)The ‘extremely deep bench of expertise’ at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton includes experts in complex merger clearance advocacy and multi-jurisdictional criminal and civil investigations, as well as litigation. Its international reach is significant, often working closely with teams in Europe to handle cross-border matters: a particular area of strength for both Brian Byrne and Daniel Culley. Leah Brannon and Heather Nyong’o co-head the team; Brannon has notable experience in global merger clearance, while San Francisco-based Nyong’o focuses her practice on antitrust enforcement. George Cary works between DC and San Francisco, a longstanding expert in the field, while David Gelfand
has a practice spanning merger review, civil litigation, and criminal investigations, a go-to trial counsel in complex litigated mergers. Bruce Hoffman leverages his experience as a former FTC Bureau of Competition Director to support clients in highly regulated sectors, and Kenneth Reinker is noted for his expertise in the application of complex economics to antitrust matters; Elaine Ewing is also a key name. In January 2025 the New York team was bolstered by the addition of Puja Patel, formerly of A&O Shearman , alongside the promotion to partner of Blair Matthews. Attorneys are based in Washington DC unless otherwise stated.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: global offerings
- Antitrust > Cartel
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Corporate governance
- Dispute resolution > E-discovery
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Tax > Financial products
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- Finance > Financial services regulation
- Dispute resolution > International litigation
- Tax > International tax
- Finance > Project finance
- Energy > Energy transactions: electric power
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Real estate > Real estate finance
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Finance > Structured finance: derivatives and structured products
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
Firm Rankings
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- International trade and national security > CFIUS
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Energy > Energy transactions: electric power
- Energy > Energy transactions: oil and gas
- Finance > Fintech
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Intellectual property > Copyright
- International trade and national security > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions
- Finance > Project finance
- Real estate > Real estate
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: design
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense