Cleary Gottlieb Continues Bay Area Expansion With Addition of Matthew Yelovich, Criminal Division Deputy Chief and Former Appellate Chief in California

Cleary Gottlieb announced today that Matthew Yelovich, most recently the Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, has joined the firm’s Bay Area offices as a partner in its Americas litigation practice.

“We are delighted to welcome Matt to the firm,” said Cleary Managing Partner Michael Gerstenzang. “With his addition, we have expanded our deep bench of former federal prosecutors to the West Coast and have a significant opportunity to grow our enforcement and litigation services for clients.”

As part of Cleary’s enforcement and litigation team, Matt will focus on internal and government investigations, especially those involving the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and complex civil litigation and appeals.

During his time at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Matt worked on some of its most significant cases, including those involving Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and one of the largest cryptocurrency seizures in DOJ history. Together with the Criminal Division’s Chief, he oversaw approximately 100 federal criminal prosecutors and 15 supervisors across all areas of federal criminal law enforcement. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney in both the Northern and Eastern Districts of California for nearly ten years, Matt investigated and prosecuted numerous frauds and related offenses from case opening through jury trial and appeal, including financial institution fraud, health care fraud, tax fraud, embezzlement, identity theft, money laundering, and public corruption.

Prior to his role as Deputy Criminal Chief, Matt served as Appellate Chief, where he directly supervised all briefing and argument at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Matt also personally briefed and argued numerous federal appeals, including on complex issues of first impression regarding foreign sovereign immunity, statutory construction, and federal sentencing. The judges of the Ninth Circuit selected Matt for his current role as an Appellate Lawyer Representative.

“Matt’s expansive experience before the Northern District and the Ninth Circuit will bolster our robust West Coast capabilities, further enhancing our credibility in the courtroom,” said litigation partner Joon Kim. “Adding him to the Bay Area reinforces our commitment to having an elite and fully national practice.”

“I am thrilled to join Cleary’s Bay Area offices to extend the firm’s litigation offering,” said Matt. “I look forward to working with my talented colleagues to uphold Cleary’s reputation for excellence, particularly in serving clients on their most complex and sensitive challenges.”

Prior to his government service, Matt was an associate in the white-collar crime practice group at a major international law firm in New York and Palo Alto. He received his J.D. from Columbia Law School and B.A. from Duke University.