On Tuesday the government of Iceland announced it had hired Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton to advise on a new round of negotiations with the U.K. and the Netherlands over losses suffered by Iceland’s banks. Donald Johnston, the founding partner of Canadian firm Heenan Blaikie and former secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, is also advising Iceland’s government.
Cleary corporate partner Lee Buchheit, an expert on sovereign debt management, international transactions and project finance, is leading the firm’s team on the matter. Buchheit and four other attorneys from the firm previously advised the Iraqi government on how to shed its massive $120 billion debt load accrued under former president Saddam Hussein, according to sibling publication The National Law Journal. New York-based Buchheit has also has handled sovereign debt restructurings for Russia and Argentina.
