Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is a renowned white shoe law firm that is headquartered in New York City, USA. The international law firm has offices in a great number of countries all around the world, including various locations in the U.S., Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. On May 14th, 2020, Cleary Gottlieb announced that the firm has again been named 2020 International Financial Law Review (IFLR) Americas Law Firm of the Year. 

This makes it the fourth time since 2015 that Cleary has been honoured with the IFLR Award. In total, the firm won the following four awards in the 2020 edition of the IFLR Americas Awards: 

• Americas Law Firm of the Year

• M&A Law Firm of the Year

• Restructuring Law Firm of the Year

• Restructuring Deal of the Year 

IFLR noted that Cleary had “left a deep impression on the transactional landscape across Latin America and the U.S.” over the past year. With a total of nine nominations, the firm was shortlisted for more 2020 IFLR Americas Awards than any other law firm. Furthermore, Cleary advised on 13 shortlisted deals of the year 2020, also more than any other law firm. 

According to IFLR, highlights of Cleary´s practice in 2019 included its sovereign or quasi-sovereign work with the Republic of Argentina, Republic of Chile and entities including Petrobas, Pemesx and Cemex. They also had a key role in the winning restructuring of Brazilian debtor Constellation Oil Services Holding S.A., in which they served as counsel to the project finance lenders, and led on multiple novel private deals. 

The IFLR America Awards recognise legal innovation in cross-border transactions. To be considered for nomination, all deals must have closed in 2019 and must meet specific criteria in order to be categorised as cross-border and as Americas. The announcement of the winners follows months of research and careful deliberation by the judges. Further information about the 2020 IFLR Awards, including a list of the winners, and a series of podcasts, can be reviewed here: https://www.iflr.com/Article/3932204/IFLR-Americas-Awards-2020-Winners-announced.html