Cooley LLP ("Cooley") is a law firm that represents entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and emerging growth companies in major technology fields. The 650-attorney firm is headquartered in Silicon Valley's Palo Alto with offices in other major technology hubs around the country.
| Cooley LLP | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California |
| No. of offices | 9 |
| No. of attorneys | 650+ |
| Major practice areas | General practice |
| Revenue | US$ 507 million (2009)[1] |
| Date founded | 1920 ([San Francisco]) |
| Company type | LLP |
| Website | |
| www.cooley.com | |
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In 1920, Arthur Cooley and Louis Crowley started a law partnership in the Humboldt Bank building in San Francisco. For many years, the firm was known as Cooley, Crowley, Gaither, Godward, Castro & Huddleson. In 1972, the firm became Cooley, Godward, Castro, Huddleson & Tatum; in 1996, Cooley Godward. On October 1, 2006, Cooley Godward LLP merged with New York law firm Kronish Lieb Weiner & Hellman LLP, a 110-lawyer litigation boutique focused on bankruptcy, tax, and complex commercial litigation to create the new Cooley Godward Kronish LLP.
In 1959, the firm formed Draper, Gaither and Anderson, the first institutional venture capital limited partnership in the nation. Also in the 1950s, Cooley formed Raychem and National Semiconductor, one of the original chip companies that gave "Silicon Valley" its name. In the 1980s, Cooley took both Genentech and Amgen public.
Cooley represented over 230 companies in public offerings during the 1990s, raising more than $25 billion.
Like most Silicon Valley-based law firms, Cooley was hit hard by the bursting of the Internet bubble and had to institute multiple reductions across its workforce. The firm was for a time hindered in size and reputation by the lay-offs, but in 2005 the firm was named to The American Lawyer's 2005 “A List,” the publication’s annual ranking of “the best of the best” among the nation's top law firms.
Cooley is an early participant in Legal OnRamp, the Wiki/Facebook of Law developed by Cisco and other leading companies and law firms.
The firm welcomed a group of 15 partners from the disbanding San Francisco law firm Heller Ehrman in 2008, including many lawyers in the Venture Law Group (VLG) practice of Heller involved in representation of venture capitalists and emerging companies.
In December 2011, Cooley announced the opening if its first international office, in Shanghai, China.
Today Cooley handles venture capital, public securities, mergers & acquisitions and licensing work. They also focus on intellectual property and complex litigation. The firm represents emerging companies, ranking #2 nationally in company-side IPOs from 2000 through 2005 (IPO Vital Signs). Cooley's clients include:
In addition, Cooley also has a large life science practice, with more life science VC deals since 2002 (Venture Capital Analyst) and life science IPOs since 2002 (IPO Vital Signs) than any other law firm. The firm has represented nearly 30 percent of the companies on the NASDAQ Biotechnology and BioCentury 100 Indices and more than half of the companies on the AMEX Biotech Index.
Cooley is often ranked among the top law firms for attorney satisfaction and pro bono work. In 2007, the firm was ranked #5 on the Vault's Best 20 Firms to Work For list.