Robert L. Tortoriello

Robert L. Tortoriello is Partner Emeritus at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, located in New York. He joined the firm in 1974, was a Partner from 1982 through 2015, was Senior Counsel from 2016 through 2025, and became Partner Emeritus in 2026.

Mr. Tortoriello's practice focused on domestic and foreign bank expansion into all types of non-bank services and securities-related businesses, and on cross-border transactions and initiatives. His work included extensive counseling with respect to judicial, statutory, regulatory and administrative compliance issues, financial institution mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances and restructurings, private equity, derivative product and capital markets activities, and domestic and international securities offerings.

Mr. Tortoriello counseled major financial institutions with respect to Congressional inquiries related to a range of banking practices, and with respect to administrative, regulatory, and related enforcement proceedings and investigations by the banking regulators, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and federal and state enforcement agencies.

Mr. Tortoriello lectured and is widely published on bank-related legal and regulatory developments. He is the author of numerous publications, including those set forth below. 

Mr. Tortoriello also served on the New York City Financial Services Advisory Committee, and served on the Banking Law Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.

Mr. Tortoriello has been an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Columbia University, teaching American Constitutional history since 2017.