Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on Cooley LLP
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
Cooley
- Designation: Palo Alto
- Head Count: 632
- Gross Revenues: $617,000,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $975,000
- Profits Per Partner: $1,495,000
- Year Over Year Change: 7
Cooley may have gotten its start in San Francisco—back in 1920—but for generations of technology companies it has always been the quintessential Silicon Valley firm. Indeed, Cooley was one of the first firms to make Palo Alto a focal point for its work, setting up shop there in 1980 and growing it into its main office. Many a California start–up has seen Cooley guide it to market—and stock market (it handled the IPO for Qualcomm, among others). The firm also has a considerable East Coast presence, 120 lawyers in the Washington, D.C., area and another 75 in New York—complete with bankruptcy, tax, and commercial and white–collar litigation practices—thanks to a 2006 merger with Kronish Lieb Weiner & Hellman.
The combined firm—with more than 600 lawyers—is well known for its expertise in venture capital and private equity, life sciences and technology transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate securities. Clients have included Valley royalty: eBay, Google, Adobe Systems, Gilead Sciences, to name a few. The firm operates ten offices, typically in technology hot spots, and, like many of its Am Law 100 peers, is looking toward China for growth. It opened a Shanghai office, the firm’s first international outpost, in December 2011.
Yet Cooley’s track record hasn’t been unblemished. It struggled during the financial crisis, placing forty–sixth of 84 firms on The American Lawyer’s Recession Performance Index, which looked at how major law firms fared between 2007 and 2009. During that period, Cooley’s revenues suffered a compound annual growth rate of minus 9 percent. The firm also let go of attorneys and staff in two rounds of layoffs in 2009: 52 associates and special counsel, and well over 100 staff. Not surprisingly, Cooley’s corporate and transactional groups were hit hardest.
On noneconomic measures, Cooley earns above average—if not earth–shattering—scores. With minorities comprising 16 percent of its U.S. based lawyers, Cooley finished near the top quarter on The American Lawyer’s 2011 Diversity Scorecard. On pro bono work it ranked in the top third on our 2011 tally (lawyers put in an average of 54 hours of pro bono work). Associate satisfaction fared less well, with Cooley placing in the middle of the pack (sixth–fourth of 126 firms on our 2011 midlevels survey; sixty–seventh of 137 in 2010).
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 47 | 7 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 47 | 7 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 63 | no change | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | 39 | no change | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 63 | 17 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 52 | 1 | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 64 | 3 | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 18 | no change | Summer programs |
In the News
Identifying Unnamed Online Speakers Just Got Easier
Jonathan Bick : New Jersey Law Journal : May 9, 2013
Since the N.J. Supreme Court decided Dendrite v. Doe in 2001, the number of lawsuits designed to identify anonymous Internet speakers has declined. Recently, however, the Appellate Division, in Warren Hospital v. John Does, has limited the application of Dendrite, making it easier to pierce the anonymity of certain online speakers. The Warren Hospital ruling will have ramifications beyond New Jersey.
Our Fine Print Problem and How Lawyers Can Help Fix It
Michael Stern : The Am Law Daily : May 8, 2013
Two recently published books examine all the "fine print" lawyers create and interpret as well as the opportunity they have to limit its insidious effects on society.
Firms Use Apps to Burnish Their Brands
Julia Love : The Recorder : May 8, 2013
Clients looking to learn more about the anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws overseas don't need to track down their lawyers. They can just whip out their smartphones.
Law Firms Use Apps to Burnish Brands
Julia Love : The Recorder : May 8, 2013
Latham & Watkins is part of a small but growing number of players in Big Law to invade the app store, launching programs that anybody equipped with a smartphone or tablet can download for free.
Identifying Unnamed Online Speakers Just Got Easier
Jonathan Bick : New Jersey Law Journal : May 8, 2013
Since the N.J. Supreme Court decided Dendrite v. Doe in 2001, the number of lawsuits designed to identify anonymous Internet speakers has declined. Recently, however, the Appellate Division, in Warren Hospital v. John Does, has limited the application of Dendrite, making it easier to pierce the anonymity of certain online speakers. The Warren Hospital ruling will have ramifications beyond New Jersey.
The 2013 IP Hot List
: The National Law Journal : May 7, 2013
These 20 law firms' cases often have billions at stake, and patents involving impressive advancements in science and technology, including groundbreaking pharmaceuticals; the contents of the food we put on our tables; and the ways we communicate with each other.
Online Critics Held Harmless From Defamation Claim
Jeffrey N. Rosenthal and Louis D. Abrams : The Legal Intelligencer : May 7, 2013
On the Internet, everyone is a critic. Computers have turned every restaurant patron into Gael Greene and every moviegoer into the late Roger Ebert. But what happens when these anonymous critiques go too far and potentially defame the target?
THE 2013 IP HOT LIST
: The National Law Journal : May 6, 2013
On our second annual Intellectual Property Hot List, you'll find 20 law firms that have demonstrated creative, formidable talent in litigation, patent prosecution and deal-making.
Cooley
Amanda Bronstad : The National Law Journal : May 6, 2013
Firms Use Apps to Burnish Brands
Julia Love : The Recorder : May 6, 2013
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