Law firm Cleary Gottieb Steen & Hamilton has come under the spotlight in the BNP Paribas violation of  US sanctions which saw the French bank  fined for hiding billions of dollars in transactions involving Sudan and Cuba, reports Business Week.  The bank turned to JP Morgan following a legal memo from Cleary Gottlieb stating that using a US bank may protect it from sanctions penalties. However, the law firm later said such transactions may be illegal. The firm was not named by prosecutors and neither JP Morgan nor Cleary Gottlieb are accused of wrongdoing.