Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton

A team largely based in New York, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has an ‘absolutely first-rate' white-collar defense and investigations practice with expertise in all key areas of enforcement. Particularly noted for its proficiency in cross-border investigations, the group represents both multinational corporations and financial institutions, as well as boards of directors and senior executives. The practice is co-led by Joon Kim, who focuses on white-collar criminal defense, internal investigations, regulatory enforcement, and crisis management, Lisa Vicens, who is a go-to advisor to public companies and their boards in both internal and governmental investigations, and Washington DC-based Matthew Solomon, who excels in government-facing civil and criminal matters. The team also includes government investigations and crisis management specialist Lev Dassin, the ’great legal mind' Victor Hou, whose practice spans internal investigations as well as securities, antitrust, and criminal litigation, and Jennifer Kennedy Park in the Bay Area, who advises corporates on a variety of enforcement issues. Breon Peace rejoined the firm in May 2025, and Christopher Kavanaugh in DC was a newcomer in February 2025, the former from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, and the latter from the Western District of Virginia.