Cleary Gottlieb is a leading international law firm

Legal

Cleary Gottlieb

As CFO, Alena is responsible for all aspects of the global financial activities of the firm. Her responsibilities include managing the global accounting, finance, tax compliance, reporting, and treasury functions of the organization. She is a member of the firm’s Global Finance and Billing Committee and Operations Committee and is based in the New York office.

Alena most recently served as Director of Client Reporting for the firm, with responsibilities including global client, industry, and practice group reporting; pricing support; and strategic analysis and modeling. Prior to her role as Director of Client Reporting, Alena was the firm’s global Financial Reporting and Budgeting Manager and Partnership Accounting Manager.

Alena joined Cleary in 2012 from PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she was an Assurance Manager in the Private Company Services group. During her tenure at PwC, she supported clients across various industries, including numerous Am Law 25 law firms.

Alena received a B.S. in accounting from the State University of New York at Albany. She is also licensed as a Certified Public Accountant.

Alena Loretta

He is responsible for Cleary’s information technology systems, including laptop and mobile computing, applications, infrastructure, IT support, and information security. He is a member of the firm’s Global Operations Committee and is based in New York.

Steve most recently served as Cleary’s Director of Enterprise Applications. In that role, he was responsible for software for all of the firm’s business units, overseeing software development, database administration, desktop/mobile engineering, HRIS, and Knowledge Management technology.

He joined Cleary in 2012. Previously he worked as Director of Application Development for Ziff Davis and operated as an independent consultant on technology projects for clients in publishing, media, education, and finance.

Steve received a B.A. in mathematics and philosophy from Cornell University.

Steven Santurri

In this role, Rebecca helps align the key functions and resources that directly support the practice groups in their delivery of legal services in order to help them enhance profitability and augment client service. She ties together Cleary’s alternative legal resources, practice development and knowledge management professionals, paralegal services, library and research services, and the legal project management function, and works closely with the firm’s practice group leaders, senior leadership team, and the leaders of new legal service models, such as Cleary X. Rebecca also serves as a member of the Global Operations Committee and is based in their Washington, D.C. office.

Rebecca served as Cleary’s Washington Director of Administration and the Director of Operations – U.S. Prior to joining the firm, she worked in various senior law firm leadership roles overseeing the legal operations functions with a particular focus on alternative legal resources, legal project management, and process improvement in the delivery of legal services. Before moving to the administrative/operations side of law firms more than a decade ago, Rebecca practiced law as a litigator and prior to law school, was a professional economist.

Rebecca received a J.D. from Boston College Law School and a B.A. from Bucknell University.

Rebecca Ross‑Bown

Sonya Foulds is the Chief Risk Officer at [Cleary Gottlieb](/org/cleary-gottlieb-steen-hamilton-llp). Sonya was previously the Global Risk Director at the firm from April 2018 to January 2021. Prior to that, they were the Global Head of Practice Protection at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer from July 2004 to March 2018.

Sonya Foulds attended the Inns of Court School of Law, where they completed a Bar Vocational Course in Law. Sonya then went on to earn a Jurisprudence MA from Oxford University. Finally, they received certification from The Institute of Risk Management as an Affiliate Member.

Sonya Foulds

Denelle Veny is the current Chief of Staff at [Cleary Gottlieb](/org/cleary-gottlieb-steen-hamilton-llp). Denelle has been with the company since 2017, working their way up from Executive Support Manager to their current position. Prior to [Cleary Gottlieb](/org/cleary-gottlieb-steen-hamilton-llp), Denelle worked as an Executive Support Analyst at another company. In this role, they provided strategic and operational guidance, set priorities, steered procedural change, and coordinated the timely completion of high-profile projects.

Denelle Veny has a Master of Science from [New York University](/org/nyu) in Global Affairs, International Law and Human Rights. Denelle also has a Bachelor of Arts from [Xavier University](/org/xavier-university) in International Affairs and Modern European Theirtory. In addition, they have a Certificate in Non-Profit Leadership from [Fordham University](/org/fordham-university).

Denelle Veny

In this role, Shaunna is responsible for all aspects of Cleary’s global legal and professional talent and human resources functions, including diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I); recruiting; and professional development and wellbeing. She seeks to advance the firm’s talent strategy and culture and support the professional development of their attorneys and staff around the world. Shaunna is a member of the Global Talent Committee and the Global Operations Committee and is based in the New York office.

Shaunna most recently served as Cleary’s Global Director of DE&I. Previously, she served as a former corporate restructuring partner at an international law firm, where she was a hiring partner and member of the Professional Personnel Committee and Diversity Committee. Shaunna joined Cleary from a boutique consulting firm, where she served as the Senior Vice President. As a strategic consultant, she counseled private company and foundation leaders on a range of initiatives, including minority-focused internship programs, philanthropic initiatives to expand access and opportunities to career paths, and related strategic communication needs.

Shaunna received a J.D. from New York University Law School and a B.A., cum laude, from Harvard University.

Shaunna Jones

In this role, Jo oversees the day-to-day operations of Cleary with global responsibility for all local office management, facilities and office operations, real estate, and procurement. She partners with the senior leadership team, as well as the operations partners in each office, in striving for operational excellence and ensuring consistent levels of service around the world. Jo also serves as a member of the Global Operations Committee and is based in the London office.

Jo most recently served as Cleary’s Director of Operations – EME. In that role, she worked closely with the global operations partners and functional leadership to strengthen integration and coordination within the EME region and between the EME region and the firm’s other regions, and represented the European offices in global operational planning and decision-making. Previously, Jo held roles in both operations and human resources for the firm’s London office.

Jo received an M.A. in personnel and development from the University of Westminster and a B.A. in sociology from the University of Leicester.

Jo Moat

Michael Lechner is Cleary Gottlieb’s Chief Operating Officer.

He is responsible for the firm’s global operations, including finance, technology, business development, human resources, practice development, facilities, and other direct legal support. Michael is a member of several management committees and works closely with the partnership in advancing the firm’s strategic goals.

Michael previously served as both Chief Information Officer and Chief Finance Officer for the firm. As Chief Information Officer, his responsibilities included all IT systems, support, information security, and innovation. As Chief Finance Officer, his responsibilities included general accounting, budgeting, reporting, and taxation.

Michael joined Cleary in 2012 from PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he was a member of their global information technology team. During his tenure at PwC, he held a variety of roles in the IT department, including Chief Enterprise Architect and Managing Director for U.S. IT infrastructure.

Michael received a B.S. in computer science/physics from the State University of New York at Albany.

Michael Lechner

Lawrence B. Friedman

The executive team at Cleary Gottlieb has a long history of experience in the legal industry. The team is composed of individuals who have worked at some of the largest law firms in the world, including Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. The team members have also attended some of the most prestigious law schools, such as Inns of Court School of Law and Oxford University.

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