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Cooley Godward, a firm boasting strong corporate and litigation departments, is known primarily for its work in the high tech and biotech industries. Dubbed a lifestyle firm by many of its associates, Cooley faces the challenges of rapid expansion - including how to continue offering a high quality of life to its associates. Good times at Cooley Under the management hand of Kenneth Guernsey (who stepped down as acting manager in 1996) and his successor Lee Benton, Cooley Godward has grown along with Silicon Valley. Despite some problems at the beginning of the decade that necessitated the shutdown of the Newport Beach office, the 1990s have been wonderful for Cooley. Since 1990 the firm has more than doubled in size to over 500 lawyers. Cooley has changed with the times, even moving its base of operations from scenic San Francisco to booming Silicon Valley and Palo Alto. The firm has established offices in San Diego, Denver, Boulder, Kirkland, WA, and Reston, VA. Corporate work plows ahead Nor does Cooley show much sign of slowing down. Leading the way into the sunny land of profits is the firm's corporate department; the Palo Alto M&A attorneys have kept particularly busy. Notable deals in 1999 included representing Gilead Sciences Inc. in its March agreement to buy NeXstar Pharmaceuticals in a $550 million transaction. In the software industry, Cooley ushered Pennsylvania's SunGard Data Systems through its acquisition of Sterling Wentworth in February 1999. In February 2000, Cooley represented Wind River Systems Inc. in its $930 million stock-for-stock acquisition of Integrated Systems Inc., icing the company's hat trick after it acquired DIAB-SDS, Doctor Design and Takefive Software. The same team handled the acquisition of Embedded Support Tools for 6.3 million shares of Wind River stock (valued at $300 million). Litigation: play ball! Cooley litigators have also stayed busy with high-profile suits such as Sun Microsystems v. Microsoft and Qualcomm's dispute with Ericsson Inc. (Cooley has a longstanding relationship with Qualcomm, having taken the San Diego-based cell phone systems company public in 1995.) In the litigation-happy biotech industry, Cooley represents industry giants Amgen (the firm also took Amgen public) in licensing and trade secrets suits. In fact, Cooley won the first trade secret suit in biotech when it successfully protected Genentech's proprietary information against use by former employees. (The firm no longer represents Genentech.) While it might seem otherwise, Cooley Godward isn't just about tech. In December 1998, the firm did its part for baseball in the Bay Area. Partners Kenneth Adelson and Christopher Westover, representing the owners of the Oakland A's in an arbitration proceeding with the city and county, successfully negotiated an agreement to keep the A's in Oakland until at least 2004 - a major victory for all true baseball lovers. Check your head at Cooley Like some of its "touchy-feely" Bay Area competitors, Cooley has made efforts to develop its reputation as a progressive workplace. However, the firm currently falls short of its diversity ideals. Of 120 partners, only four are minority group members and only 27 are women. Nevertheless, the firm seems to be making a good faith effort to diversify. Of the 14 lawyers who made partner in 1998, eight were women and two counted themselves as members of a minority group. Cooley has taken extraordinary steps to reduce friction between its employees. In January 1999, The Recorder reported that for the past three years Cooley has made use of industrial psychologists to help with issues such as intergroup communications and getting people to "talk in a non-threatening way." Of all the top Bay Area firms, Cooley alone has turned to organizational behavior professionals to resolve its internal issues.
"Selectivity seems to vary..." The seemingly insatiable market demand for attorneys has forced Cooley's hiring hand, according to insiders, as it has at many other prestigious firms. A San Francisco associate concedes that the firm has been "hiring a lot of people lately, as have most Bay Area firms, so I think it is harder to be as selective as the firm would like to be given the demand for associates." In Boulder, say associates, the firm is "attempting to expand and might be less selective than we'd otherwise like to be." A second-year opines that "San Francisco may be a little more selective than Palo Alto in that San Francisco hires about 15 summer associates, whereas Palo Alto hires more than 50." "The selectivity depends on the department," insists an IP attorney from the Bay Area. "The IP department is extremely selective based on a multitude of criteria, including whether an associate will fit in. If any one interviewer doesn't approve of hiring a candidate, the candidate cannot be hired. Many highly qualified candidates with personality problems (such as a superiority complex or failure to be a team player) have not been successful." An international associate in Silicon Valley echoes that "Cooley wants to hire nice people. Problematic characters and arrogant associates even from the best schools are not welcome here." Interviewers "don't really care where you went or how you did," points out another IP lawyer. "We look for intelligence (shown in conversation, not by grades) and, of vastly greater importance, we look for people we'll like working with." As a result, "the interview process is long" and candidates should "expect to be interviewed by everyone in the relevant practice group." If you want to brush up, the recruiting area of Cooley's web site offers a chance to review the firm's recruiting schedule and browse openings indexed according to office location, approximate class year, practice group, and background/experience.
Well-compensated efforts Come payday, it sounds like Cooley Godward associates are downright delighted. The firm's commitment to paying its associates top dollar was evidenced by its move to be the first Bay Area firm to follow Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian's pay raises in January 2000. A corporate fourth-year boasts that the firm works to keep "the compensation structure simple: no multi-tiered salary or bonus system like many of the other firms have instituted to pay for associate pay raises through disguised billable hour increases." Indeed, "the bonus structure does not focus on billable hours and at the same time is very equitable." In addition to sky-high salaries, "investment funds offer additional bonus opportunities," according to a sixth-year securities associate in Palo Alto, and "spot bonuses are sometimes given in particularly busy times or for exceptionally hard work and strong performance on a deal." High turnover, but we're not worried Attrition rates at Cooley are "astronomical," but associates don't seem overly concerned, mostly because of the reasons behind attorney turnover. "We lose great people to dot coms," shrugs a fourth-year in IP. "We rarely lose them to other firms." In other words, the firm accepts that it will lose some of its troops "due to successful clients" who lure them away. As long as lawyers aren't leaving for other firms, then Cooley is doing its job. "The firm pays incredible attention to associate and staff retention," compliments a DC fifth-year, "and it makes everyone feel privileged to work here." It's all about perspective. "Compared to most Bay Area firms, our retention seems to be much better, but compared to firms in areas that rely less on the tech sectors and dot coms, it may seem quite volatile." A first-year suggests that "turnover seems to have slowed a bit now that instant dot com riches are less likely." A colleague agrees that while "dot coms have had a great impact here, a lot of associates are coming back to Cooley." We love our partners, oh yes we do Cooley associates fairly burst with enthusiasm when asked about the firm's partners. They are described as "relaxed," "professional," "collegial," "generally very respectful," and "appreciative." Although there are the "occasional temper tantrums," most partners "follow a true open-door policy and are not tied to any titles or hierarchies," boasts an IP senior associate in the Valley. Cooley's fearless leaders "aren't social misfits," says another in the same practice area. "We go drinking together. We go for coffee together. Doors are always open." Others agree, citing partners' lunches with associates and "wonderful mentoring" as reasons to laud their superiors. "Everyone has their moments - partners, associates and staff alike - but people here are respectful and act like human beings," declares a content corporate first-year. Women on top Across the board, Cooley associates back up the firm's commitment to promoting women in its ranks. "Women are here at all levels, including partner levels," comments a second-year IP associate. "There are lots of female attorneys with children whose needs outside the offices are respected. Many parents, mostly women, work reduced schedules with great success." A fourth-year in the same department adds that the firm has "women who have taken maternity leave and made partner on time. That's pretty unusual for what I've seen. I haven't seen anything remarkable in the world of part-time, however." Gays and lesbians at Cooley: 'Like nowhere else in the world' A number of associates point out that "Cooley has a large number of gay and lesbian attorneys." A third-year in San Francisco says that "all of the gay and lesbian attorneys [I know] are openly out and vocal. The firm is very supportive of gay and lesbian issues." Another source in the same office asserts that "in San Francisco the ratio of gay men to straight is probably close to 40/60 and there are several lesbian women. This is true among partners as well as associates. Domestic partner benefits are given broadly." A fourth-year woman sighs that "frankly, it's hard to find a straight, single man here." Pro bono is up to you Associates seem divided as to the firm's support of pro bono work. A mid-level associate in San Francisco says he has "several pro bono clients" and finds the firm to be "supportive of any idea" he brings to the table. "The transactional pro bono opportunities need to be made by us, but once we have the ideas, the firm's 100 percent behind us." A Silicon Valley second-year adds that "Cooley participates in the East Palo Alto Volunteer Attorney program," whereby "Cooley attorneys provide pro bono services to the members of the East Palo Alto community. Cooley does not impose any limits on pro bono hours after which they don't count toward the billable target." Balancing act Even though it sometimes means turning away high-profile clients (one Colorado source estimates that the firm "turns away 75 percent or more of potential clients"), Cooley takes seriously its promise to make its lawyers' lives livable. An IP fourth-year asserts that "currently our corporate department is doing whatever it takes" to cut back on associate burnout. "Litigation and IP are already there. I have been impressed with the commitment to reduce billables at the partner level. The firm has set up a screening process for new clients and for significant projects from existing clients." While "it's the volatility of the schedule that is exhausting," a first-year knows that he has it "better than any of my friends who went to big firms" and still manages "to find time to enjoy living in the Bay Area." Words to the wise "Cooley is a unique place," according to many associates, and so if you're considering coming here you should "talk to as many people as you can and ask honest questions. You will get honest answers." You have to "enjoy being in a fluid, fast-paced environment," insists a senior IP associate in DC. If you do, "this place is great. The long hours are very tolerable because you are working with good people (nice, funny, bright, and so on)." The firm is "very much for independent, self-starter types." Also bear in mind that "many attorneys here go in-house to technology companies and dot coms, so if that's your ultimate goal, this firm is a good place to start."
Geri Gould Director of Attorney Recruiting
Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison;Venture Law Group;Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe;Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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