Cooley LLP is active in the defense of shareholder and securities litigation, particularly for clients in the technology and life sciences sectors. Palo Alto-based practice head Patrick Gibbs is a ‘very effective strategist’, and his representation of leading AI computing company NVIDIA in a long-running class action arising from a $25bn loss in its market capitalization is typical of the firm’s high-profile work. John Dwyer, also based in Palo Alto, also played a key role in that matter, as did New York-based Sarah Lightdale, who is praised for her ‘practical, efficient and thoughtful approach’. A standout practitioner is Koji Fukumura in San Diego, who successfully represented Silverback Therapeutics in a class action alleging the company misled investors about the efficacy of a cancer drug candidate. Luke Cadigan in Boston, Aric Wu in New York and LA-based Michael Tu also play pivotal roles in the practice.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
- Profile
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘The team at Cooley is supporting us in both a contract litigation case and a securities litigation case. They continue to impress me and our legal team with their strategic, thoughtful and well-articulated strategy. Their briefs are clear, compelling and concise. They are constructive, trustworthy and listen to thoughts and feedback at all times. Strongest possible endorsement. ’
‘I have worked with quite a few lawyers from many different firms and Sarah Lightdale is simply the absolute best in any practice at any firm. She is highly strategic and thoughtful in her approach and has such a strong ability to connect with clients, that she may be our board's most trusted outside advisor (of any kind, in any capacity). Sarah is extremely intelligent and knows the law better than any other lawyer I have interacted with. She is someone I would trust with my life and her approach to both client engagement and legal strategy is unmatched. There are not enough wonderful things to say about Sarah in every capacity.'
- 'Kaitland Kennelly works closely with Sarah Lightdale and reflects many of the same strong positive attributes. She is equally as trustworthy, intelligent, strategic and thoughtful. Her work on briefs for our case are, I suspect, the reason they are so clear and compelling. Together with Sarah they make the perfect team.’
- 'Sarah Lightdale is a tremendous advisor - her practical, efficient and thoughtful approach to solutions makes any matter move along seamlessly.'
- 'This team has incredible depth, with leaders who have been in this industry since its inception.'
- 'Smart and thoughtful litigators, always aiming to resolve claims as efficiently as possible. Willing to engage in reasonable fixed feed billing arrangements.'
- 'Pat Gibbs, very effective strategist.'
Key clients
- AcelRx Pharmaceuticals
- Ehang
- Everbridge
- FinServ SPAC Directors
- GENFIT
- IonQ
- Lipocine
- NVIDIA
- Orphazyme A/S
- Qualcomm
Work highlights
- Representing NVIDIA, the leading company in AI computing, in a long-running investor class action in the Northern District of California arising from a $25 billion loss in NVIDIA’s market capitalization. The securities class action (in which the firm won a dismissal with prejudice) ranks among the largest private securities class action in the United States.
- Successfully representing Silverback Therapeutics in a securities class action alleging the company and certain of its officers and directors misled the plaintiffs about the efficacy of a cancer drug candidate. The victory is highly significant for the life-science industry given the novel approach of “open-label” clinical trials taken.
- Securing a complete victory for Arlo Technologies and the company’s directors, in a multi-year securities class action alleging that defendants failed to adequately disclose quality control problems and adverse sales trends ahead of its 2018 IPO. This matter spanned nearly five years and involved a number of class actions—six filed in state court and one filed in federal court—brought by some of the largest and most aggressive plaintiff’s firms in the country.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next generation partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Sarah Lightdale
Practice head
Patrick Gibbs
Other key lawyers
Koji Fukumura; John Dwyer; Luke Cadigan; Aric Wu; Michael Tu; Sarah Lightdale; Kaitland Kennelly