Cooley LLP
Cooley has approximately 1,304 attorneys across 19 offices. Founded in 1920.
$255,000+
Reported first-year compensation
100
Reporting year not confirmed; 98% reported offer rate
Not reported: partnership track.
2L Summer 2027 · Class of 2028Open
General Corporate
New York, San Francisco, Palo Alto, Denver, Miami, San Diego, Seattle
Opens
Opened Jun 5Deadline
Rolling
3L / Entry-Level · Class of 2027Open
Fall 2027 start
New York, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Palo Alto, Boston, San Diego, Santa Monica
Opens
Open nowDeadline
Rolling
1L Summer 2027 · Class of 2029Closed
Opens
Closed this cycleDeadline
Not announced
Closed2L Summer 2028 · Class of 2029Opening Soon
Opens
Expected November 2026Deadline
Not announced
About Cooley
Cooley's practice is closely associated with technology, life sciences and the investors that finance growing businesses. Its work includes company formation, venture financing, public offerings, acquisitions and investment-fund matters. The firm advises companies at different stages of development, from early ventures to established public businesses.
Life sciences is a particularly distinctive part of that history. Cooley identifies its work incorporating Genentech in 1976 as an early milestone, and its current practice serves biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical-device, diagnostics and digital-health businesses. Licensing and collaboration agreements sit alongside financing and acquisition work, reflecting the importance of intellectual property and commercial partnerships in those industries.
Cooley also maintains litigation and regulatory practices rather than limiting its work to company-side transactions. Its overview identifies shareholder disputes, intellectual-property litigation, cybersecurity, healthcare and FDA matters among its capabilities. That combination connects the funding and development of innovative businesses with the regulatory obligations and disputes they encounter as
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they grow.
Rankings
Latest published editions. Each links to its source.
Size and Standing
- $2.4B gross revenueAm Law 100, $2.4B gross revenue: #24 (opens in a new tab)
- Lawyers in 5 countriesGlobal 200, Lawyers in 5 countries: #30 (opens in a new tab)
- 1,304 attorneysNLJ 500, 1,304 attorneys: #32 (opens in a new tab)
- PrestigeVault Law 100, Prestige: #22 (opens in a new tab)
Associate Life
Vault Practice Rankings
- Emerging Companies & Venture Capital: #1 (opens in a new tab)
- Life Sciences: #1 (opens in a new tab)
- Privacy & Data Security: #1 (opens in a new tab)
- Intellectual Property: #4 (opens in a new tab)
- Clean Tech/Renewable Energy Law: #10 (opens in a new tab)
- General Corporate Practice: #12 (opens in a new tab)
- Securities/Capital Markets: #13 (opens in a new tab)
- Private Equity: #17 (opens in a new tab)
Practice strength by market
Every band below appears on this firm’s Chambers USA 2026 profile, checked September 26, 2026. Where Chambers splits a table into The Elite and Highly Regarded, every Elite firm ranks above every Highly Regarded firm.
Scroll sideways to see recognition.
| Practice | Market | Recognition |
|---|---|---|
Artificial Intelligence | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Capital Markets | Massachusetts | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Capital Markets: Debt & Equity | California | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate Governance | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate/M&A | California: San Diego | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate/M&A | Virginia: Northern | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Financial Services Regulation: Consumer Finance (Enforcement & Investigations) | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Intellectual Property | Virginia: Northern | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Life Sciences | Massachusetts | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Life Sciences | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Life Sciences: Corporate/Commercial | California | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Life Sciences: IP/Patent Litigation | California | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: General CommercialThe Elite | California | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: General Commercial | California: San Diego | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: Securities | California | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Privacy & Data SecurityThe Elite | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Privacy & Data Security: Litigation | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Private Equity: Venture Capital Investment | Massachusetts | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Product Liability: Regulatory | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Real Estate | Virginia: Northern | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use | Virginia: Northern | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Startups & Emerging Companies | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Venture Capital | California | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Venture Capital: Fund Formation | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Capital Markets: Convertible Debt | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Capital Markets: Debt & Equity | Illinois | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Capital Markets: Equity: Issuer Counsel | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Capital Markets: Equity: Manager Counsel | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate/M&A | Colorado | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation | California: Los Angeles & Surrounds | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation | California: San Francisco, Silicon Valley & Surrounds | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Government Relations: Congressional Investigations | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Higher Education | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Impact Investing | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Intellectual Property | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Intellectual Property: Patent Prosecution | California | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets | California | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: General Commercial | Massachusetts | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: General CommercialThe Elite | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: Securities | Massachusetts | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Media & Entertainment: Regulatory | District of Columbia | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Securities: Litigation | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Space | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Tax | California: Southern | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Tax | Colorado | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Technology | California | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Telecom, Broadcast & Satellite | District of Columbia | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Bankruptcy/Restructuring | District of Columbia | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate/M&AThe Elite | California: Los Angeles & Surrounds | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate/M&AThe Elite | California: San Francisco, Silicon Valley & Surrounds | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate/M&A | Massachusetts | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate/M&A | Washington | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Financial Services Regulation: Consumer Finance (Compliance) | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Intellectual Property | Colorado | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Intellectual Property | Massachusetts | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Intellectual Property | Washington | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Intellectual Property: Patent Litigation | California | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Intellectual Property: Patent Prosecution | District of Columbia | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets | District of Columbia | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
International Trade: CFIUS Experts | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
International Trade: Export Controls & Economic SanctionsThe Elite | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations | Massachusetts | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Privacy & Data Security: Healthcare | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Securities: Regulation: Advisory | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Technology | Massachusetts | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Antitrust | District of Columbia | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Banking & Finance | California | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate/M&A & Private Equity | District of Columbia | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Intellectual Property: Litigation | District of Columbia | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations | District of Columbia | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government InvestigationsThe Elite | New York | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Private Equity: Fund Formation | Massachusetts | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Technology | Nationwide | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Banking & Finance | Nationwide | Chambers Band5 Reported year: 2026 |
Banking & Finance | New York | Chambers Band5 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate/M&AThe Elite | Nationwide | Chambers Band5 Reported year: 2026 |
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation | Nationwide | Chambers Band5 Reported year: 2026 |
Healthcare: Pharmaceutical/Medical Products Regulatory | District of Columbia | Chambers Band5 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations | California | Chambers Band5 Reported year: 2026 |
International ArbitrationHighly Regarded | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: General CommercialHighly Regarded | District of Columbia | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate/M&AHighly Regarded | New York | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: General CommercialHighly Regarded | New York | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Labor & EmploymentHighly Regarded | California | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
84 reported ranking rows
Facts verified by BigLaw Bear, narrative by the firm. Figures carry a source link where we hold one; prose is Cooley’s own.
Firm highlights
- Revenue
- $2.4BAm Law #24Source
- Revenue per lawyer
- $1.8M
- Profits per partner
- $4.6M
Attorneys by role
- Partners
- 202
Summer program
Program features
- Summer pay
- $255,000+First-year rate; summer pay is usually prorated from it
- Total summer associates
- 100Reporting year not confirmed
- Program length
- 10 weeksSource
- Early interviewing
- YesCooley Direct, the firm's own application for the 2028 summer program, opens in November of the 1L year alongside the 1L Patent, 1L IP Litigation and Diversity Fellowship applications. Fall events run September to November, Home for the Holidays receptions in December and January, and more campus events in January and February.Source
- First years hired into a practice
- YesSource
Practice areas
Applicants "should specify their area of interest: general corporate, business litigation or one of our specialty groups" when applying or interviewing, and Cooley recruits summer associates into dedicated practice groups whose availability varies by office. Each office has summer associate assignment coordinators who keep the variety and volume of work steady, and summers join every practice group meeting held during the summer.
Inclusion
Cooley's affinity groups are open, inclusive communities and allies are encouraged to join. The 1L Diversity Fellowship pairs a paid 1L summer position with up to $50,000 toward tuition; the 2L Diversity Fellowship pays up to $40,000. The firm is Mansfield Rule certified.
Affinity groups
- Alternative Work Schedule Attorney Affinity Group
- Asian Pacific Islander Affinity Group
- Black Affinity Group
- Caregivers Attorney Affinity Group
- Cooley Inclusion Alliance
- Jewish Cultural Affinity Group
- Latinx Affinity Group
- LGBTQ+ Affinity Group
- MENA Affinity Group
- Veterans at Cooley Affinity Group(opens in a new tab)
- Women's Initiative
Pro bono
- Summers can take pro bono
- YesSource
- Counts as billable
- YesUncapped; every pro bono hour counts toward billablesSource
- Average hours per attorney
- 68 hoursAm Law pro bono rank #38
How pro bono work is assigned
Cooley gives pro bono work the same weight and credit as other matters. Every summer associate meets the pro bono partners and pro bono leaders in their office to learn about the work and what pro bono looks like as an associate. The firm reports 104,000 pro bono hours, 1,200 timekeepers and 1,500 plus matters.
More about Cooley
Compensation for the 2025 US summer program was $225,000 annualized, prorated by weeks worked. Every summer starts with Seascape Weekend, three days of training and team building on the Northern California coast. Splits with another law firm are not allowed beyond a brief touch-back. 1L options are the 1L Diversity Fellowship, the Patent Summer Program and the 1L IP Litigation Summer Program.
Schools Cooley Hires From
11 schools name Cooley on its own employer or placement pages. These lists are not exhaustive.
- Brooklyn LawNamed on school page
- Cal WesternNamed on school page
- Colorado LawNamed on school page
- Cooley LawNamed on school page
- Georgetown LawNamed on school page
- Lewis & Clark LawNamed on school page
- UCI LawNamed on school page
- UCSF LawNamed on school page
- USD LawNamed on school page
- Vanderbilt LawNamed on school page
- W&M LawNamed on school page