The Legal 500

Within Healthcare and life sciences, Cooley LLP is a second tier firm,

Cooley LLP is ‘very strong, very sophisticated’ for life sciences venture capital investments, licensing and corporate partnering, with Palo Alto-based Robert Jones identified as a key figure for this type of work. Jones’ biotech clients include Exelixis, Gilead Sciences, Kosan Biosciences and Onyx Pharmaceuticals.

Within Trademarks: litigation, tier 4

Cooley LLP’s trademark, copyright and advertising group draws on the firm’s commercial litigation expertise to handle trademark disputes, which has been one of the most active areas of IP for the group, and is reinforced by a high volume of counseling and portfolio handling. It maintains a strong reputation in representing hi-tech and internet clients, with leading names such as Facebook and VistaPrint among its client base. Its track record also includes representing music promoter Live Nation in a trademark infringement case filed by Black Sabbath band member Tony Iommi, which was settled. The team has also seen a recent increase in cases related to internet advertising. The team is based across the firm’s California and East Coast offices, with John Crittenden a highly reputed figure. Group chair Peter Willsey successfully represented language-learning software company Rosetta Stone in its dispute with Topics Entertainment over trademark and trade dress infringement regarding both parties’ product packaging; Topics counter-sued seeking a non-infringement judgment just hours after Rosetta Stone filed its lawsuit, but a district ruling deviated from the ‘first-to-file’ rule and dismissed Topics’ action. Janet Cullum, Michael Rhodes and Anne Peck also focus on internet and domain name trademark disputes, with clients including Facebook, Nvidia and Digital Chocolate.

Within Trademarks: non-contentious (full coverage), tier 4

Cooley LLP’s well-regarded trademarks practice has particular expertise in the technology, life sciences and software sectors. The team of 22 lawyers, including four partners, currently manages around 17,000 trademarks for clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Peter Willsey chairs the practice group from Washington DC, and has particular expertise in internet and domain name matters. The firm handles the worldwide trademark portfolio of Bluetooth SIG, which includes counseling, clearance, prosecution, policing and enforcement matters around the world. It also assists in the management of Facebook’s mark, while other key clients include LinkedIn, Bare Escentuals and Lonely Planet Publications.

Within Private equity funds, tier 5

Cooley LLP is particularly well respected in the venture capital arena and this reputation extends into private equity; in all, the practice acts for more than 200 venture capital and private equity firms. The team’s regulatory expertise makes it a ‘valued addition’ for everything from the initial fund formation stage to advice throughout the life of the fund, including its portfolio company investments. Recent highlights include advising Madrona Partners on the $80m series C financing of Calera, a cleantech company, and Alta Partners on its $56m series C financing of Achaogen, a pharmaceutical company. Other clients include Menlo Ventures, Foundation Capital, Prospect Venture Partners, Alta Partners and MPM Bioventures. Craig Dauchy leads the practice from Palo Alto and another five partners nationally focus on venture capital fund formation. Christopher Austin joined in 2009 but quickly left for Goodwin Procter LLP’s Boston office.

Within Leading trial lawyers Leading trial lawyers

Within White-collar criminal defense , tier 8

Cooley LLP’s ‘very strong’ 20-partner team provides expertise across the spectrum of white-collar issues from securities and bank fraud to stock-options backdating. Anchored by ten-former federal prosecutors, the group benefits from tremendous credibility before the regulators and gains further leverage as a result if its willingness to try cases. This most readily manifests itself in relation to the representation of individuals and was recently starkly brought into focus by the group’s complete victory for former Marsh & McLennan executive Edward McNenney. Following successfully achieving acquittals on 21 out of 22 counts after a ten-month bench trial, the New York Attorney General dismissed the one remaining indictment against him relating to alleged violations of state antitrust laws. The ‘excellent’ William Schwartz heads a team that ‘regularly gets involved in some pretty big cases’ and also includes recommended partners Scott Devereaux, Donald Stern and Michael Attanasio.

Within Technology: transactions, Cooley LLP is a first tier firm,

Cooley LLP’s 26-attorney dedicated technology transactions group, led by Adam Ruttenberg in Reston, focuses on complex IT-related transactions. As well as advising established software and hardware infrastructure vendors and companies offering products and services where intellectual property is a key value driver, the group supports innovative start ups, and is recognized for its ‘deep market expertise’ across social networking, software-as-a-service, consumer electronics and entertainment, information services, semiconductor and cleantech. In 2010, it was strengthened by the arrival of Joel Brenner in Washington DC, from the National Security Agency (NSA). Outsourcing specialist Adam Sak, in Broomfield, joined from Greenberg Traurig LLP. Ruttenberg represented Qualcomm in its joint venture to deliver machine-to-machine wireless services. He advised McKinsey in its global joint venture with the Nielsen Company, NM Incite, which helps companies to use social media intelligence to drive business performance. In Palo Alto, Carolyn Craig and Pete Burns represented TiVo in its deal with Cox Communications to integrate the Cox On DEMAND service with a TiVo Premiere box; its transaction with Suddenlink Communications for distribution of co-branded, TiVo Premiere DVRs, and its strategic alliance with ONO as the exclusive distributor of TiVo’s advanced television services in Spain. Robin Lee specializes in alternative energy and cleantech transactions. Jennifer Coplan in New York handles digital rights management issues. Key clients include Adobe Systems, Applied Materials, eBay, Clorox, Skype, Salesforce.com, Viacom, Synopsys and Zenith.

Within M&A: large deals ($1bn-5bn), Cooley LLP is a third tier firm,

Cooley LLP represents all categories of participants in transactions, including buyers, sellers, major stockholders, lenders, financial advisors, management, special board committees, venture capitalists, individual investors, and private equity and hedge funds. The team advised Compellent, a provider of Fluid Data storage solutions that automate the movement and management of data at a granular level, in its $960m sale to Dell, and advised Rovi Corporation in the $720m acquisition of Sonic Solutions, a provider of digital video processing, playback and distribution technologies. The practice also acted for Genoptix, a specialized laboratory service provider focused on delivering personalized and comprehensive diagnostic services to community-based hematologists and oncologists, in its $470m sale to Novartis. San Diego-based Barbara Borden heads the M&A practice. Borden has experience representing a broad range of technology, life sciences and other growth companies including software, electronic commerce, semi-conductor, telecommunications, biotechnology, medical device, healthcare, consumer finance, defense contractors, sporting goods and service companies. In Palo Alto, Jennifer Fonner DiNucci led the team advising Dionex Corporation, a manufacturer and marketer of chromatography systems, in its $2.1bn sale to Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Within Overview,

Despite Silicon Valley being the hottest area of activity for the venture capital and emerging company sector, law firms have built successful practices in other key locations such as Boston, San Diego, Austin (Texas) and Northern Virginia. It means firms that are closely associated with this area are becoming more and more national in approach. Notably, top tier firm Cooley LLP has offices in Palo Alto, San Diego, San Francisco, Broomfield (Colorado), Washington DC, Boston, New York, Reston (Virginia) and Seattle. With the growth of new industries such as clean technology, the emerging company and venture capital community is in fine health.

Within Venture capital and emerging companies, Cooley LLP is a first tier firm,

Silicon Valley titan Cooley LLP is known, along with rival Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, for handling the greatest volume of venture financings in the US. The firm has a leading biotech and life sciences practice. In 2010, it represented Cypress Bioscience on its $255m sake to Ramius and Royalty Pharma. Beyond the medical devices and biotech industry, the firm has successfully created a wide ranging venture capital and emerging company practice. This includes IT and a rapidly expanding clean technology practice. In 2010, the firm advised Compellent on its $960m acquisition by Dell. The firm also recently represented the underwriters on LinkedIn’s proposed initial public offering (IPO). It has an impressive record in growth company IPOs. On the clean technology front, the firm further enhanced its credentials in 2010 through the recruitment of Washington DC partners Thomas Amis and Nik Patel from Alston & Bird LLP. Amis has become co-chair of the clean energy and technologies department, alongside the highly reputed James Fulton in Palo Alto. Silicon Valley remains the firm’s focal point, but it is rightly regarded as a Californian giant with a growing reputation in Washington DC and Northern Virginia, as well as in the key growth company market of Boston, where it has successfully become one of the leading names in life sciences. Major clients include Adobe Systems, Applied Materials, Cisco Systems, eBay, Menlo Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Quest Software, Redpoint Ventures and Venrock Associates. Other key partners include Palo Alto-based head of the venture capital practice Craig Dauchy, head of the technology transactions department Adam Ruttenberg, and the seasoned emerging growth companies and venture capital specialist Mark Tanoury, who has a ‘great reputation’.

Within Domestic tax: West Coast, tier 4

Cooley LLP’s West Coast tax practice is housed in the Californian offices of San Francisco, Palo Alto and San Diego, with a small presence in Broomfield, Colorado. The key tax expertise in California is directed at the Silicon Valley bio-pharma and hi-tech corporations, although the wider business community of the region is also well-served by business-oriented and friendly lawyers. Based in Palo Alto, Robert ‘Buff’ Miller provided tax advice to Genoptix when the company was taken over by Novartis, and in San Francisco, Susan Cooper Philpot provided tax counsel Dionex when the company was acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific for $2.1bn. Mark Windfeld-Hansen, in the Palo Alto office, has advised in numerous high-value transactions, and is recommended for advice to emerging growth companies. Clients include Coltec Industries, Gilead Sciences and Verizon Communications.

Within Tax controversy, tier 5

Cooley LLP’s tax controversy partners are recommended for administrative tax controversies and tax litigation at both state and federal level. New York-based Stephen Gardner, ‘an outstanding professional and one of the best tax litigators in the country’, and William O’Brien led the work for Entergy Corporation in the US Tax Court, and succeeded in confirming the company’s entitlement to a $250m foreign tax credit for taxes paid by its subsidiary in the UK. Kathleen Pakenham joined the New York office from White & Case LLP in the summer of 2010, bringing the controversy partner count to five. David Fischer in the Washington DC office is highly rated by clients. Clients include American Express, Coltec Industries, ConocoPhillips, Goodrich Corporation, Shell and Walter Industries.