Practices

Employee Benefits

Routinely recognized for our preeminence in this area, Cleary Gottlieb has an extensive practice helping well-known multinational corporate clients structure executive compensation arrangements that achieve the delicate balance between executive, corporate and shareholder interests. By guiding clients toward smart, strategically sound policies concerning the design and disclosure of executive compensation, we also help companies avoid corporate governance controversy. A serious multidisciplinary approach enables our executive compensation lawyers to provide expert advice in tax, securities, corporate fiduciary, employment and other areas of law impacting these issues. Because of our broad international practice, we are particularly adept at dealing with the unique problems that face foreign companies conducting business in the United States.

Practice Highlights

What Others Say About Our Practice

Selected Highlights

Counsel to clients with respect to setting industry leading disclosure in response to the new proxy rules and in adapting and shaping the private sector’s response to the SEC disclosure rules.
Counsel to United Auto Workers in the settlement of retiree medical claims with General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.
Counsel to several major financial institutions in connection with their financing leveraged employee investment programs for their clients, structuring investment products for the U.S. pension fund marketplace, and on carried and co-investment programs for deal professionals.
Counsel to American Express, American Tower, Ann Taylor, CARBO Ceramics, Citigroup, Constellation Energy, Continental Airlines, Credit Suisse, Dow Jones, Gate Gourmet, GlaxoSmithKline, Goldman Sachs, Hexcel Corporation, Honeywell, HSBC, Interpublic, J. Crew, Kindred Healthcare, Kraton Polymers, McDonald’s, MDC Partners, Morgan Stanley, Nortel, Pall Corporation, Standard Microsystems, Sony, Student Loan Corporation, Tech Data, The Home Depot, Tishman Speyer and Triarc Corporation, among others, on executive compensation and related disclosure matters.
Counsel to Bank of America, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase on securities law issues relating to financial trading strategies for insiders.
Counsel to management in connection with going private or spin-off transactions involving Outback Steakhouse and Patriot Coal Company, and to several CEOs, COOs and presidents with respect to contract negotiations including executives of Aetna, Alcoa, Express, Harrods and Hilton.
Employee benefits and executive compensation counsel in several recent cross-border M&A transactions, including GlaxoSmithKline’s $720 million acquisition of Sirtris and $1.65 billion acquisition of Reliant Pharmaceuticals; Istithmar’s $945 million acquisition of Barneys New York; McDonald’s in the sale of its operations in Latin America and the Caribbean; Euronext’s $11.3 billion merger-of-equals with NYSE Group; OMX’s $3.7 billion merger with NASDAQ; SABMiller’s joint venture with Molson Coors; and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s $9.6 billion acquisition of Compass Bancshares.
Counsel on employment and benefits matters in connection with Hewlett Packard’s $12.8 billion acquisition of Electronic Data Systems; T-Mobile USA’s acquisition of SunCom Wireless Holdings; Warburg Pincus’ $4.5 billion acquisition of Bausch & Lomb; People’s United Financial’s $1.9 billion acquisition of Chittenden Corporation; and special benefits counsel to Dow Jones in its acquisition by News Corporation.
Counsel to TPG Capital and, as a result of club deals involving multiple private equity funds, we have represented most of the major private equity firms and investment funds, including advising in the acquisition of Harrah’s Entertainment and the LBOs of Biomet and Alltel.

“Seasoned clients describe it as ‘by far and away the best ERISA group in the country, with a diversity and breadth of expertise.’”
Chambers USA (2008)

“Clients... describe the team as ‘cutting-edge’ and ‘highly integrated’, while it manages to ‘marry legal analysis and practical advice.’”
The US Legal 500 (2008)

“‘Absolutely excellent’... ‘Great judgment’ lies at the heart of the group's appeal and the team is 'at the top of its game' for its transactional practice.”
Chambers USA (2007)

A “Leading” firm for Employee Benefits in New York
PLC Which Lawyer? Yearbook (2007)

“Strikes the perfect balance between destination practice and corporate support, ensuring it a place at the forefront of the market.”
The US Legal 500: Volume IV (2007)

“Considered by clients to be ‘as good as it gets,’ with the team acting for a glittering cast of investment banks on ERISA matters.”
Chambers USA (2006)