Cooley is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, and while it provides the expected range of services across corporate, litigation, real estate, etc, the firm boasts particularly highly-regarded tech and life sciences practices, and is also well-known for advising start-ups. Which all makes perfect sense given its Silicon Valley roots.
Cooley was founded in 1920 in San Francisco, and as soon as visionaries in turtle necks appeared brandishing keyboards (or syringes), Cooley was there to facilitate the rise of the future. In the 1980s it took biotech companies Genentech and Amgen public, and in 1989 it ran the IPO of chipmaker Qualcomm.
Now it has ten offices across the States, and seven internationally. Cooley launched in London in 2015, facilitated by a hiring spree from MoFo, and a mass poach of Edwards Wildman Palmer's entire office. (When you're swimming with the likes of Zuckerberg and Jobs, you learn not to muck about.)
Cooley lawyers in London told RollOnFriday they rate the pay highly, which is no surprise since it is, well, very high. "Nearly top of the market. Outstanding", said a senior solicitor. Work life balance is "As you would expect for a US firm, but no worse than comparator firms and in many cases, much better", and the firm's Covid response was, according to its lawyers, "flawless".
Here's what folks had to say for RollOnFriday's Best Law Firms to Work At 2024
Pay
Pay is “near top of the market, if not quite at Elite US levels”, said a solicitor, but others had intra-firm envy vis a vis their American cousins.
“It’s Ok, but we are second class citizens compared to the US associates (including those in London) who do the same or less hours at the same rates per hour and same recovery…”, said one. “I’ve worked all Christmas, so, the fact the US associates on my team are paid 50% more irks somewhat” said another.
Management
“It’s run by a clique in London”, said one disdainful Cooleyite, who described the bosses as a “bunch of service partners waiting around for deals to be served up by partners on the East coast”.
Career Development
It’s “Very difficult to move up unless you are sponsored by existing successful partner”, a problem compounded because “Sponsorship is not chosen on merit”. Phooey, said a colleague: “They've supported me since day 1 and been very clear on what I need to do to progress”.
A Cooley partner said that “comp is driven by nebulous origination, but if you win biotech work they tend to pay quite a well”.
Office and amenities
There was near unanimous praise for the “Excellent space” in 22 Bishopsgate
“Like it, but the noise cancelling material on the floors is a bit disconcerting”, said one solicitor. Several agreed with the view that “I’d prefer to share an office rather than being open plan”: “Hate open plan office set up, but the view is great”.
Work/life balance
You do, of course, heavy hours for this sort of wedge. “Paid well so expected to work hard. You can’t argue with that really” was the feeling.
“Long hours at times (it's a US firm with lots of big tech clients) but the firm is very good at encouraging you to enjoy the downtime”, insisted a colleague.
Culture
Like many firms, Covid’s been a stake through the heart of the office culture that the firm is still trying to remove. “It’s been hard to maintain a culture, post Covid with people in and out of the office at different times as a result of hybrid working”, said one lawyer, who acknowledged that “it’s a challenge faced by many firms”.
“Culture? BeCooley means BeBeasted”, counted a colleague. There was evidence of silent pushback on the DEI, too. “All the affinity groups make anyone who isn’t in one feel like they’re on a hiding to nothing”, said one lawyer who claimed it has “gone too far”.
Or, not far enough. “The West coast firms are largely the same; this one bangs on about equality, but doesn’t practice what it preaches”, said a partner.