The following is an excerpt from Practice Perspectives: Vault's Guide to Legal Practice Areas.
Carmine D. Boccuzzi is a partner based in Cleary Gottlieb’s New York office. His litigation and arbitration practice covers a broad range of complex civil litigation matters. He focuses on international disputes, including those involving foreign states and state-owned entities, as well as disputes involving the capital markets and antitrust issues.
Carmine has been recognized as a leading litigator and arbitrator by Chambers Global, Chambers USA, The Legal 500 U.S., The Legal 500 Latin America, Benchmark Litigation, Latin Lawyer, and Who’s Who Legal. He has also been honored by the Irish Repertory Theater for 25 years of pro bono service.
Carmine joined the firm in 1994 and became partner in 2003.
He received a J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University.
Describe your practice area and what it entails.
I have been a litigation partner at Cleary Gottlieb since 2003. My practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and arbitration, usually involving cross-border disputes. I represent corporations of all kinds, including numerous financial institutions and manufacturers. I am also thrilled to be a part of our firm’s sovereign practice, meaning I represent and advise foreign states as well as a range of state-owned entities. My practice entails both prelitigation advice as well as litigating disputes in federal and state courts throughout the country, including before domestic and international arbitral tribunals.
What types of clients do you represent?
I represent financial institutions, including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and BNP Paribas. I also represent manufacturers such as Bosch and Whirlpool. I represent foreign states that include the Republic of Argentina. I also am involved in pro bono with a particular focus on LGBTQ+ clients.
What types of cases/deals do you work on?
My cases cover a range of matters involving complex financial products and transactions, cross-border disputes, and class actions. For many years, I defended the Republic of Argentina in connection with litigation arising out of its 2001 sovereign debt default. That work has involved litigation in courts at the district level, the appellate level, and the United States Supreme Court. I also represent Bosch in class actions across the country in connection with claims arising out of diesel vehicles.
How did you choose this practice area?
I always knew I wanted to be a litigator because I love legal writing, public speaking, and debate. Cleary’s practice drew me because of its historically generalist approach where commercial litigators develop subject matter expertise while litigating a range of different types of matters. Moreover, our international footprint means we are often involved in matters involving U.S. law, but also the laws of other countries. When I joined Cleary, our litigation group was quite small, which was very appealing because it meant getting more interesting experience sooner. While the success of our practice has brought considerable growth, we still remember the value of the “small firm” approach—both in how we interact with each other and the attention we give to our clients.
What is a typical day like and/or what are some common tasks you perform?
In a typical day, I perform a range of tasks, which can include preparing for and appearing in court either in person or by Zoom, working closely with associates on revising legal briefs or other court submissions, having team meetings to go over strategy, and negotiating and dealing with opposing counsel. Interacting with my clients is often the most rewarding part of my day. I help them work through problems by learning about their business to craft practical solutions to any challenges they face. Of course, the day often involves firm management-type tasks too. For three years, I served as chair of our Talent Committee, which highlighted the importance of training and nurturing our associates, who remain essential to our efforts and represent the future leaders of our firm.
What training, classes, experience, or skills development would you recommend to someone who wishes to enter your practice area?
I recommend engaging in all classes no matter what the subject matter is and training yourself to always think deeply and carefully about whatever topic you may face. It is helpful to take classes that require a lot of writing and clinics or other programs offered at the school that allow you to develop on-your-feet experience and gain confidence.
What do you like best about your practice area?
I like that there is always something new. There are always new laws to figure out and understand or analyze. Even where the law is “settled,” there is always some new factual situation that needs to be analyzed in that context. You are always meeting new people, and it is exciting to get exposed to new judges with different styles. In this practice, you learn how to make arguments to whatever audience you are before and protect the interest of your client.
What are some typical tasks that a junior lawyer would perform in this practice area?
I always say that I want to give a junior lawyer as much experience as they are comfortable taking. The junior lawyer jumps right into developing legal theories and learning and investigating the facts of the case. I think it is critical that from day one a junior lawyer considers themself a full part of the team. The law has always been driven forward by its youngest members. I do not think there are any black-and-white limits on what a junior lawyer can do based on seniority. A junior lawyer can take depositions and interact directly with the client among other interesting tasks.
What kinds of experience can summer associates gain at this practice area at your firm?
At Cleary, we see summer associates as full members of the team. We include them in important meetings and hearings. I want summer associates to dive right in and write not just memos, but briefs that will be filed with the court. We want them to be the front-line person presenting at meetings and generating ideas. There are also always the fun experiences that come with our social events, which play a key role in exposing the summer associates to their future colleagues. We want the summer associates to get to know as many Cleary lawyers as possible and for Cleary lawyers to get to know the summer associates.
What are some typical career paths for lawyers in this practice area?
One career path would be becoming a senior member of the litigation group—we have partner, counsel, and senior attorney positions. But most of our associates go on to great futures outside of Cleary—Cleary offers such good training, experience, and exposure that our associates are well equipped for a range of exciting positions, and employers of all stripes recognize that. Future employers know that someone who has litigated at Cleary is well suited to litigate or advise clients anywhere. Cleary’s litigation group alumni include general counsel, other in-house lawyers, law professors, government lawyers, and lawyers at non-governmental organizations and other public interest organizations. We are also proud of our former partners who are federal judges, prosecutors, and in government.