Cooley LLP explained

Firm Name:Cooley LLP
Firm Logo:Cooley.svg
Headquarters:Palo Alto, California
Num Offices:17
Num Attorneys:1,072 (2020)
Practice Areas:Corporate, Litigation, Intellectual Property, Regulatory
Key People:Rachel Proffitt (CEO)[1]
Date Founded:1920 in San Francisco
Revenue: $2 billion (2022)[2]
Company Type:Limited liability partnership
Homepage:www.cooley.com

Cooley LLP is an American international law firm, headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with offices worldwide. The firm's practice areas include corporate, litigation, intellectual property, fund formation, public markets, employment, life sciences, clean technology, real estate, financial services, retail, regulatory and energy.[3] [4]

Cooley is particularly known for its technology and life sciences practices as well as its experience with marquee initial public offerings (IPOs) and deep-rooted venture capital connections & financing.[5]

History

Cooley was founded by Arthur Cooley and Louis Crowley in 1920 in San Francisco. In 1958, Cooley formed Draper, Gaither and Anderson, the first venture capital partnership organized on the West Coast. In the 1950s, Cooley formed Raychem and National Semiconductor.[6] In 1971 the firm (then Cooley, Crowley, Gaither, Godward, Castro & Huddleson) began representing Disney in the copyright and trademark infringement case Walt Disney Productions v. Air Pirates.[7] [8] In the early 1980s, the firm took both Genentech and Amgen public. In the late 1980s, the firm relocated its offices from San Francisco to Palo Alto.[9] In 1989, the firm (then Cooley, Godward, Castro, Huddleson & Tatum) facilitated the IPO of Qualcomm.[10] The firm incorporated NVIDIA in 1993 and later took the company public in 1999.[11] In 1995, two former partners of the firm, Robert Gunderson and Scott Dettmer, formed the law firm of Gunderson Dettmer.

On October 31, 2006, the firm (then Cooley Godward) merged with Kronish Lieb Weiner & Hellman, which resulted in the firm growing from 440 lawyers to 550. In the announcement of the merger, The New York Times referred to Cooley as a "Leading Silicon Valley law firm".[12]

Like many other law firms, Cooley laid off 114 people in 2009 from its offices, citing "the uncertain economy".[13] [14] [15] [16] After aggressive hiring to meet "soaring demand" in 2020 and 2021, Cooley concluded that several of its practices were "substantially overbuilt" as demand for the firm's services did not grow as much in 2022.[17] [18] Cooley responded by laying off 150 employees in late 2022,[19] instituting a hiring freeze, and delaying the start date for incoming associates from November 2023 to January 2024.[20] Cooley then offered incoming associate hires for its corporate practice the option to start in January 2024, or to delay their start date by another year in exchange for a $100,000 stipend.[21]

Offices

Cooley has offices in ten U.S. cities, London, Shanghai, Beijing, Brussels, and Singapore.[22] [23]

Cooley launched in London in January 2015, creating a 55-lawyer practice and the firm's first office in Europe. Its lawyers were hired from the London offices of Morrison & Foerster and Edwards Wildman Palmer, raiding the latter's entire office. The office is run by Justin Stock who headed the corporate department of Morrison & Foerster's London office before joining Cooley.[24]

The firm launched its Beijing office in 2018.[25]

Recognition

The American Lawyer has ranked Cooley number forty-seven in its annual ranking of U.S. law firms by gross revenue.[26] Top Legal 500 and the National Law Journals NLJ 250 has ranked Cooley's practice areas from second through eighth tier in its national survey of law firms.[27] In addition, U.S. News & World Report nominated Cooley as the 2011–12 law firm of the year in biotechnology law.[28] In 2011, Cooley LLP was named U.S. Tax Court Firm of the Year by the International Tax Review.[29] Cooley was recognized as one of Law360's Capital Markets Practice Groups of the year for 2015,[30] and 2019.[31] In 2016, Chambers UK recognized Cooley as being a leading practice in six practice areas along with singling out sixteen lawyers for their performance.[32] In 2018, Cooley was named by U.S. News & World Report as the #1 law firm in the country in both the venture capital law and technology law categories, and the firm was named by The American Lawyer's Recorder publication as the top Venture Capital practice of the year.[33] [34]

Cooley has been recognized as one of only five law firms (and the highest ranking of any law firm) to be listed on Fortunes 100 Best Companies to Work For.[35] The firm's first-year associates are paid a salary of US $215,000.[36]

2018

2019

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cooley Announces Rachel Proffitt to Succeed Joe Conroy as Firm’s Next CEO . cooley.com . September 18, 2023 . February 6, 2024.
  2. Web site: In a Year of Precipitous Change, Cooley's Profits Fell Nearly 20% as Revenue Surpassed $2B . American Lawyer. March 23, 2023 . Feb 6, 2024.
  3. Web site: Cooley LLP - Law Firm Cooley LLP Overview . martindale.com . August 10, 2010 . November 26, 2013.
  4. Web site: Cooley. www.cooley.com. December 11, 2016.
  5. Web site: 2 Law Firms Dominate January IPO Activity - Law360 . www.law360.com. December 11, 2016.
  6. Web site: Cooley LLP | About | History . Cooley.com . November 26, 2013.
  7. Web site: Disney's War Against the Counterculture . December 1, 2004 . November 26, 2013 . Reason.com . Bob Levin.
  8. Web site: Walt Disney Productions v. Air Pirates . November 26, 2013.
  9. Book: Understanding Silicon Valley: The Anatomy of an Entrepreneurial Region . 77 . November 26, 2013 . Martin Kenney . Stanford University Press . 2000. 9780804737340 .
  10. Book: The Qualcomm Equation: How a Fledgling Telecom Company Forged a New Path to Big Profits and Market Dominance . 182 . Dave Mock . 2005 . AMACOM . November 26, 2013. 9780814428580 .
  11. Web site: Cooley’s Cozy Relationship With Nvidia Goes Beyond a Paycheck . June 20, 2023 . May 31, 2024 . . Brian Baxter.
  12. Web site: Leading Silicon Valley Law Firm Hooks Up with New York Counterpart . . November 26, 2013 . August 22, 2006.
  13. Web site: Cooley Godward lays off 114 people . January 22, 2009 . November 26, 2013 . . Eric Young.
  14. Web site: Cooley Godward Fires 52 Attorneys and 62 Staff Members . Martha Neil . November 26, 2013 . January 21, 2009 . ABA Journal.
  15. News: Nationwide Layoff Watch: Latham Cuts 440 (190 Associates, 250 Staff). Lat. David. Above the Law. en-US. December 11, 2016.
  16. News: 2009's Toll: More Than 10,000 Law Firm Layoffs and Lower Pay Trend. ABA Journal. December 11, 2016.
  17. Web site: Citing 'overcapacity,' Cooley lays off 150 lawyers and professionals . 2024-03-20 . ABA Journal . en.
  18. Web site: What's Next for Cooley's Laid-Off Attorneys and Staff? . 2024-03-20 . The American Lawyer . en.
  19. https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/cooley-lays-off-78-lawyers-us-law-firms-fight-demand-dip-2022-11-30/
  20. Web site: Cooley Delays Start Date for Incoming First-Year Associates (1) . 2024-03-20 . news.bloomberglaw.com . en.
  21. Web site: Cooley to Delay Some First-Year Associate Start Dates by Year . 2024-03-20 . news.bloomberglaw.com . en.
  22. Web site: Cooley. www.cooley.com. December 12, 2016.
  23. Web site: Cooley LLP sets sails for Shanghai with representative office . Eli Segall . November 26, 2013 . June 17, 2011 . Silicon Valley Business Journal.
  24. Web site: Cooley. www.cooley.com.
  25. Web site: Cooley Expands in China With Office in Beijing . . January 29, 2018 . January 29, 2018.
  26. Web site: US Results Round Up . Legalbusiness.co.uk . February 12, 2015 . January 28, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160325165222/http://www.legalbusiness.co.uk/index.php/lb-blog-view/3622-us-revenue-round-up-cooley-records-19-turnover-growth-as-mayer-brown-pep-grows-12-8 . March 25, 2016 . dead .
  27. Web site: > Cooley LLP > Washington DC, USA > What we say . The Legal 500 . November 26, 2013.
  28. Web site: Best Lawyers | Cooley LLP - Firm Overview . U.S. News & World Report . November 26, 2013.
  29. Web site: America's Awards 2011 . November 1, 2011 . November 26, 2013 . International Tax Review.
  30. Web site: Capital Markets Group Of The Year: Cooley. Law360. December 12, 2016.
  31. Web site: Law360 Names Cooley Practice Group of the Year for Capital Markets. Cooley. January 22, 2019.
  32. Web site: Cooley. Cooley. December 12, 2016.
  33. Web site: US News – Best Lawyers Names Cooley Law Firm of the Year for Venture Capital. Cooley. September 30, 2017.
  34. Web site: The Recorder Names Cooley VC Group Corporate Department of the Year. Cooley. September 30, 2017.
  35. Web site: Fortune 2017 100 Best Companies to Work For. Fortune. October 12, 2017.
  36. Web site: February 16, 2022. Cooley, Brewer Latest To Usher In Associate Raises, Bonuses. March 7, 2022. Law360. en-US.
  37. Web site: Crain's 2018 Best Places to Work. Crain's New York. January 22, 2019.
  38. Web site: The 25 Best Workplaces in New York. Fortune. January 22, 2019.