Mr Blackman, a litigation specialist, is based in both the New York and London offices. The FT citation says: 'The partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has fought Argentina’s corner as it defaulted on debt to holdout creditors — and has had to contend with occasional surprises from his own client.' While the Liberian health minister takes the top slot, followed by the head of recruitment at the CIA and the EU commissioner on financial services, Mr Blackman can still feel proud that he beat fellow countryman John Kerry, the US secretary of state (7th place) and the president of Afghanistan (6th). Source: FT