2022 DIVERSITY DATABASE UNDERWRITER Clifford Chance US LLP

With 2,500 lawyers across more than 30 offices around the globe, Clifford Chance is a legal behemoth. The firm boasts a growing practice in the U.S. and a global reputation that shines.

Brits and Yanks

The modern Clifford Chance was created in 1987 when giant U.K. firms Coward Chance and Clifford Turner merged, creating an entity The Times of London called “the country’s first mega law firm.” Indeed, Clifford Chance was twice as large as the firm that had previously been the U.K.’s largest: Linklaters & Paines. Over the years, Clifford Chance has opened offices and built client lists around the world, adopting a cross-border focus well before such an outlook became commonplace. At the same time, the firm grew from hundreds of attorneys to thousands, which enabled it to take on several major deals and cases and to work on them simultaneously. 

Starting in the 1990s, Clifford Chance trailblazed the way forward for international firms practicing U.S. law. Now almost two decades removed from its merger with New York litigation powerhouse Rogers & Wells, Clifford Chance is a thriving, full-service U.S. firm with nearly 300 lawyers and offices in New York and Washington, DC. According to the firm, its U.S. practice is currently the firm’s No. 1 priority.

Delivering the Best

Today, Clifford Chance has 31 offices spanning key markets across the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, with a particularly strong reputation in the financial sector. The firm offers substantive experience in a wide array of practice areas and industry sectors, including banking and finance, capital markets, corporate, litigation and dispute resolution, real estate, and tax pensions, and employment. The firm also offers numerous cross-practice areas, such as Latin America (which includes energy and infrastructure, M&A, and capital markets), regulatory, and technology (which includes fintech). 

First years in the firm’s transactional practice enter the Clifford Chance Transactional Pool for two-and-a-half years and can receive assignments in banking and finance, capital markets, corporate, and real estate. A dedicated assignment team oversees the pool and aims to provide associates with assignments that align with their long-term goals.

Lawyers at the firm can also make their practice more efficient by calling on the firm’s Best Delivery team. According to the firm, “These specialists focus on continuous improvement, project management, and legal technology to help make the practice of law more efficient and allow our associates to better focus on the legal aspects of each matter.”

Commitment by Committee

Looking to improve diversity? Clifford Chance has a committee for that. The firm’s Diversity Committee is comprised of five subcommittees: the Asian and Pacific Islanders Subcommittee; the Black and Latino Subcommittee; the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans+ (LGBT+) Subcommittee (known as Arcus); Veterans and Affiliates (known as CliffVets); the Women’s Subcommittee; and the Working Parents Subcommittee. The firm is vocal about its commitment to creating a diverse workplace and has put its money where its mouth is by achieving Mansfield Certification.

• Clifford Chance advised The General Electric Company on AerCap Holdings N.V.'s acquisition of GE Capital Aviation Services business to establish one of aviation leasing’s leading franchises, bringing together complementary portfolios across aircraft, engines, and helicopters.
  Clifford Chance advised four Panamanian subsidiaries of The AES Corporation, a U.S. Fortune 500 power company, on the refinancing of an aggregate US$1.485 billion in existing debt and capital expenditures. This is the largest bond issuance made by private entity in Panama and Central America.
• Clifford Chance has advised Pfizer on its definitive agreement with BioNTech regarding the co-development and distribution (outside of China) of a mRNA-based coronavirus vaccine. The rapid advancement of this collaboration built on the 2018 research and development collaboration into which Pfizer (again advised by Clifford Chance) and BioNTech entered to develop mRNA-based vaccines for influenza prevention.
• In March 2020, Clifford Chance delivered its Report on an extensive anti-money laundering and OFAC sanctions investigationinto major Swedish bank Swedbank AB (publ) to the Swedbank Board of Directors. The firm also successfully argued U.S. v. Hoskins in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, obtaining a landmark ruling limiting the scope of the FCPA as it relates to foreign nationals/corporations.

• Mansfield Rule 3.0 Certified, 2021—Diversity Lab
• Global Law Firm of the Year, 2021—Environmental Finance Bond Awards
• Americas Derivatives Team of the Year: Regulatory, 2021—GlobalCapital Americas Derivatives Awards
• Project Finance Team of the Year: Latin America, 2020—Chambers Latin America Awards
• North American Law Firm of the Year Capital Relief Transactions, 2020—SCI Capital Relief Trades Awards