Survey Results - Trainee feedback on Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Survey Results - Trainee feedback on
The lowdown - Trainees (in their own words) on Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Why did you choose this firm over any others? ‘Interest in the practice areas of the firm’s expertise (Disputes), the culture in London Office and its reputation for excellence’, ‘prestigious work, market pay (at the time) very nice colleague’, ‘reputation, quality of work, proactive mindset for trainees, international lawyers’, ‘I chose Cleary because of its broad practice areas and welcoming culture. Cleary has a mixture of big and small practice areas, and this gives trainees a wide exposure to different types of work’
Best thing about the firm? ‘Quality of work, even as trainee; International nature of work’, ‘interesting work’, ‘the colleagues and their mindset towards the job’, ‘the work is interesting and international. I enjoy working on high-profile and fast-moving matters’, ‘the collegiate environment and mutual support among the trainee cohort’, ‘there is no ‘ceiling’ to the type of work you can do as a trainee – lawyers are always happy for you to take a first stab at more senior work’
Worst thing about the firm? ‘Secondments: there is no guarantee to have one and the process is very unclear. There is also little visibility and transparency on the qualification process’, ‘non-market pay’, ‘the hours can be long and unforgiving. The work can occasionally be administrative in nature and therefore, less interesting. NQ pay has not increased in line with the rest of the market’, ‘very few boundaries in terms of work-life balance’, the hours’
Best moment? ‘Supporting multiple successful signing / closing processes. Organising an in-person negotiation session for clients and counterparties to a transaction’, ‘2-day Acculturation organised by the firm in Brussels office’, ‘working with a very senior partner and the client contact that exposed me to’, ‘attending in-person negotiations – they usually happen over e-mail or Zoom nowadays!’, ‘my first deal’
Worst moment? ‘Late nights with pressure during my Debt Finance seat’, ‘working long hours and weekends’, ‘working back-to-back weekends’, ‘getting poor feedback after a very intense week and weekend in the office’, ‘dealing with difficult counsel and company on a diligence task’, ‘working late at night on tasks that I struggle with’
The Legal 500 Future Lawyers verdict on Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Trainees at Cleary are drawn to the firm’s prestigious work, international outlook, and welcoming culture. Many highlight the combination of high-quality work and approachable colleagues as a major factor in choosing the firm: “I chose Cleary because of its broad practice areas and welcoming culture…The people at Cleary are also friendly and people are happy to answer questions and explain the background of any task.” The firm’s meritocratic and multidisciplinary environment further appeals to trainees, offering exposure across diverse practice areas such as Disputes, Corporate, M&A, and Private Equity. The small trainee intake and international reach allow trainees to work closely with senior lawyers and take on substantial responsibility early on: “Truly international culture and work, interesting and friendly colleagues and the freedom to take on senior work if you show interest and ability.” Training at Cleary is praised for being hands-on and tailored, with ample opportunity to take ownership of workstreams: “The training at my firm seems to be far more hands-on with lots of opportunities to step up and take additional responsibility”. “Compared to bigger firms, trainees at Cleary can expect more responsibility as teams are generally leaner…this first-hand experience helped me develop useful skills.” The best aspects of the firm consistently reflect its quality and collegiality: “The work is interesting and international…Trainees are also appreciated as important members of a team,” and “There is no ‘ceiling’ to the type of work you can do as a trainee – lawyers are always happy for you to take a first stab at more senior work.” Memorable moments often involve direct client engagement, including in-person negotiations and signing sessions or “Working directly with the client’s senior in-house lawyers and executives.” Challenges largely stem from long hours and high-pressure periods, particularly during transactional seats: “Working long hours and weekends. Being expected to answer questions on annual leave,” and “Late nights with pressure during my Debt Finance seat.” The firm’s hybrid-working policy is generally seen as flexible and fair, with trainees expected to align with supervisors’ guidance: “Trainees are allowed to work from home three days a week … the policy is flexible enough.” Pro bono opportunities are available, though some report limited flexibility due to billable hour targets: “We have a full-time pro bono attorney who is very receptive to our pro bono interests and passions,” but another commented: “As trainees have not much control on their workstreams, I would say we are a bit discouraged from doing any pro bono work.” Overall, Cleary offers a high-quality, international, and collaborative training environment for trainees seeking early responsibility and exposure to complex, global work.
About the firm
The firm: Cleary Gottlieb is a pioneer in globalising the legal profession. Since 1946 our lawyers and staff have worked across practices, industries, jurisdictions and continents to provide clients with simple, actionable approaches to their most complex legal and business challenges, whether domestic or international. We support every client relationship with intellectual agility, commercial acumen and a human touch.
Managing partner: Michael Gerstenzang – current to 2025. Jeffrey D. Karpf effective 1 January 2026
Other offices: New York, Washington, DC, Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt, Cologne, Rome, Milan, Hong Kong, São Paulo, Abu Dhabi, Seoul, and the Bay Area.
Who we are: We have 14 offices in major financial centres around the world, but we operate as a single, integrated global partnership and not a US firm with a network of oversees locations. This ‘one firm’ approach means we can better collaborate and deliver all our resources to all our clients, wherever they may be.
Inclusion and culture: At Cleary all members of our community are deserving of respect and appreciation for the contributions that they make as individuals within our firm. This principle was central to our firm’s founding and we embed it in the way that we work by ensuring everyone has equal opportunities to develop and succeed.
Groundbreaking work: For more than 70 years, clients around the world have entrusted us to seamlessly handle their most challenging assignments, from large corporate transactions to cases of first impression. Our work is rarely easy, but our lawyers get the opportunity to work on high-profile cases and innovative deals, where the stakes are high and each lawyer’s talents can make a difference.
What we do: Core areas of practice in London are M&A, financing and restructuring, capital markets, international litigation and arbitration, and competition. We also have smaller specialist practices which include tax, financial regulation, employment and intellectual property.
What we’re looking for in a trainee: We look for candidates who are enthusiastic about the practice of law in a challenging and dynamic international setting. While academic excellence is a prerequisite, we place particular emphasis on recruiting candidates with whom we and our clients enjoy working. A sense of humour is as important as the ability to think critically.
What you’ll do: By recruiting 16 trainees each year we are able to offer bespoke training that is tailored to our trainees’ interests, experience and aptitudes. We encourage our trainee solicitors to accept increased responsibility as soon as they are ready to do so.
Perks: 25 days’ holiday, employer pension contribution, gym membership subsidy, private healthcare, life insurance, long-term disability insurance, dental insurance, employee assistance programme, Bright Horizons back-up care and subsidised staff restaurant.
Sponsorship
PGDL and SQE funding. A maintenance grant of £20,000 for PGDL and £20,000 for SQE is paid for each year of professional study.