Cooley

With more than 1,300 lawyers practicing across the United States, Europe, and Asia, Cooley is synonymous with tech and venture capital work. The firm is also highly regarded for its clean tech, cyber/data security, privacy, intellectual property (IP), M&A, private equity, and securities practices.

Tech Roots

Cooley was founded by Arthur Cooley and Louis Crowley in 1920 in San Francisco. Six decades later, the firm opened an office in Palo Alto, the epicenter of American technology. The rest is history. The firm began working with venture capitalists, life sciences companies, and emerging technology startups, representing the likes of Adobe Systems and Gilead Sciences. It also took Genentech and Amgen public in 1980 and 1983, respectively. The firm advised on the formation of Draper, Gaither and Anderson, the West Coast’s first venture capital partnership. In summary, the firm built a strong tech foundation and continues to be a leader in this sector today.

Start ’Em Up

Cooley lawyers work in a variety of industries. The firm works in the technology sphere, including in areas such as AI, big data, cloud solutions, cybersecurity, digital currency and blockchain, and fintech. However, the firm’s experience broadly extends to many other industries such as aviation, clean tech, communications and media, education, food and beverage, life sciences, healthcare, national security, and retail.

The No. 1 firm for Emerging Companies & Venture Capital in Vault’s practice area rankings, Cooley is a go-to shop for all aspects of startups and early-stage companies. Advising both investors and companies, the firm handles more than 2,000 venture capital financings each year. The firm’s lawyers work through the entire life cycle of a startup and offer a multidisciplinary approach, integrating experience in financing, IP counseling, licensing, M&A advice, and other areas. Moreover, through the firm’s web resource Cooley GO, startups can receive in-depth information on everything from getting started, raising funds, building a team, creating a board, and selling their businesses.

Cooley also has a bustling corporate practice with a strong M&A team of more than 180 lawyers in 19 major business and technology centers in the United States, Europe and Asia. The firm has worked on more than 1,600 M&A deals in the past five years. On the private equity side, the firm handles buyouts, going-private transactions, growth equity investments, minority investments, and spinoffs—to name a handful of its matters. Moreover, on the litigation side, the firm has experience in myriad areas, including antitrust, environmental, IP and patent, privacy and cybersecurity, restructuring, and securities litigation.

Best in Class

Many leading industry organizations say Cooley is a great place. Cooley has repeatedly received recognition from Diversity Lab, Seramount, and the Human Rights Campaign. The firm goes the extra mile for its people. For associates, the firm offers internal career coaches and a liaison for those taking leave. The firm even helps its associates get shut-eye by offering new parents Smart Sleeper rentals. Cooley deepens its commitment to associates by recognizing the valuable contributions made to our firm’s culture through the Bonus Eligible Citizenship program. Through the program, non-partner lawyers and patent personnel are eligible to receive up to 107 hours of billable credit for leadership activities, firm publications, delivering internal trainings, knowledge management and firm innovation, pitches, shadowing, recruiting, and volunteerism.

• Represented Andreesen Horowitz, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that backs bold entrepreneurs building through technology, on raising more than $22 billion for its new funds.
• Represented Jenner & Block LLP in its challenge to a retaliatory executive order issued by President Donald Trump, which threatened the firm by revoking security clearances and restricting work with federal contractors.
• Secured a landmark fair use victory for Meta in a high-stakes copyright case involving Meta’s Llama model, one of the first generative AI models challenged under U.S. copyright law. Thirteen authors alleged Meta’s use of their books for the AI model.
• Represented Zoom Video Communications on its $864 million initial public offering of 24,000,000 shares of common stock.

• Best Law Firm of the Year, 2025—The American Lawyer
• Capital Markets Practice Group of the Year, 2025—Law360
• Cybersecurity and Privacy Practice Group of the Year, 2025—Law360
• Finalist, Litigation Department of the Year (General)—The American Lawyer
• Finalist, Litigation Department of the Year (IP)—The American Lawyer