Thursday, April 29, 2021

Silicon Valley law firm to open office here

 

Silicon Valley law firm to open office here 

Cooley hiring local attorneys with connections to tech entrepreneurs and transactions.

STEVEN R. STRAHLER 

In what could reshape tech industry dealmaking here, law firm Cooley plans to open a Chicago office, providing a local portal for its deep Silicon Valley connections.

Bloomberg Law reported that Cooley is hiring partners from Winston & Strawn, DLA Piper and elsewhere to stock an outpost that a consultant tells Crain’s might grow to 25 to 50 lawyers within five years. 

Among the hires, according to Bloomberg Law, are two lawyers representing businesses associated with tech entrepreneurs Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell.

Another lawyer, confirming the Bloomberg Law report, says Cooley plans to locate at 444 W. Lake St., home to law firms McDermott Will & Emery and DLA.

A Cooley spokesman did not reply immediately to an email seeking comment.

"One of the biggest issues for many Chicago startups is that when they reach the growth stage they haven’t been able to make the jump to the next level of major venture investors," said local tech entrepreneur Howard Tullman. "Having Cooley’s West Coast connections to major players will be huge. Cameo is a perfect example of a firm that would never have gone as far as it has as fast as it has without being very 'present' on the West Coast."

Cooley’s website says the firm was ranked No. 1 in the third quarter for venture capital financings and for initial public offerings of tech and life science firms. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., it says it represents a third of “unicorn” IPOs—those with a market cap of $1 billion or more. 

“I think it’s evidence that we’re a growing, vibrant marketplace for emerging companies,” Neal Gerber & Eisenberg partner Michael Gray, who practices in the sector, says of the news. "It's here to stay and it's not going anywhere."

With more than 1,000 lawyers, Cooley ranked 23rd by 2019 revenue on American Lawyer's list of largest law firms.  Bloomberg, citing AmLaw, said Cooley's revenue has more than tripled since 2010, growing 17 percent last year, to $1.55 billion, while profits per equity partner rose by more than 25 percent, to $3.18 million.

Legal industry consultants say Cooley has promised lawyers it’s wooing that it will go big in Chicago, though firms often fall short of initial boasts.

Bloomberg Law said Cooley’s recruits include Winston’s Richard Ginsberg, who leads the firm’s technology and emerging companies practice, and DLA Piper’s Greg Grossman, who focuses on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital. Neither Ginsberg nor Grossman replied immediately to request for comment.

Ginsberg counts as clients Groupon founder Lefkofsky and S2G Ventures, a Walton family-backed food industry investor, while Grossman represents Keywell’s Uptake Technologies, Pritzker Group Venture Capital and Lightbank.

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