Cooley LLP - The Inside View

If, like a certain 1960s surf-rock band, you’ve been all around this great big world, seen all kinds of firms, but wished they could all be California firms, then you've probably heard about Cooley. Built on a reputation for working with some of the best tech and life sciences startups around, “you’ll recognize a lot of the companies Cooley works with” remarked one associate. Unsurprisingly then, Chambers USA places more than 20 of its departments into the top bracket for this work, including top-tier nods for the likes of life sciences, startups & emerging companies, privacy & data security, artificial intelligence and corporate governance.  

“I come into work in a sweatshirt and jeans…. Come as you are and people are interested in who you are.” 

While the work Cooley does is undoubtedly sophisticated and impressive; you’ll not be expected to dress all gaudy to impress your partners or fellow associates. In fact, the firm shares something in common with its startup clients - one interviewee told us “I come into work in a sweatshirt and jeans…. Come as you are and people are interested in who you are.”

California is just the beginning of Cooley's reach, though. The firm has thirteen offices in the US spanning the key legal hubs of New York, LA, and Washington, DC. Around a quarter are based in the New York office, with the rest across its various California offices in Palo Alto,San Francisco, San Diego & Santa Monica.

Cooley is recognized as a Strong Performer for Mid to Senior Satisfaction in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Strategy & Future 

Aspiring associates will no doubt be all too aware that BigLaw firms has been pushing their recruitment windows earlier and earlier over the past few years. Bucking the trend, Cooley has recently announced that it will be putting off hiring half of its summer 2028 class, with the intention of allowing those at law school to spend more time on the content of their classes, and come to a more informed decision when it comes to what types of law they are interested in.

We also heard that Cooley is also shifting back towards pre-pandemic expectations of office attendance, with junior associates are expected to be in the office four days a week (increasing from three days a week). Our sources were on the fence about this: “I think they think that it’s always better when it might not always be. Personally, I’m always a lot more efficient when nobody is bothering me at home.” 

Cooley is recognized as a Strong Performer for AI Integration in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Summer Program  

Cooley’s summer program is a mix of on the job learning and structured training sessions: “During my summer program I helped do some SEC filing work, and undertook some pro bono work. Looking back, the work I was doing was kind of high level!” Associates also recalled shadowing client calls and watching virtual depositions. Newbies can also expect to be involved in a number of fun summer lunches. The whole process appears to be a great bonding experience for future associates - as one associate recalled, “they took us out to California and all the associates that I went with are still really close”.   

The Work  

A large proportion of the firm’s associates are either members of the general corporate group, or the business litigation group. For their first two years of life at Cooley, associates in these groups have their work distributed to them through a centralized system, which is overseen by associate development managers (who also serve as additional person to talk to about how busy you are and top you up with work if necessary). One associate clarified that the central system is “not a rigid system” and stressed that “it is still perfectly acceptable to say to a partner ‘I would love to work with you’ under the system.” The small population of associates that belong to more specialized groups will have partners and senior associates dish work out to them directly.

Cooley is recognized as a Strong Performer for Work Allocation & Autonomy in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

“…founders often come to Cooley when they have questions about something, and those don’t always fall into a legal bucket. When working with startups, you will need to learn how to deal with that.” 

The general corporate practice at Cooley covers the entire corporate life cycle from financing through to corporate governance advice, initial public offerings and M&A. “Most of my clients are companies in early stages,” one associate explained, “founders often come to Cooley when they have questions about something, and those don’t always fall into a legal bucket. When working with startups, you will need to learn how to deal with that.” Juniors in the group will frequently help founders with matters such as equity, employee stock options, and bringing on consultants or advisors.  As you might expect with a lot of startup clients, the relationship-building aspect is particularly important, especially when the clients can ultimately become longer term partnerships: “Partners in this line of work are constantly meeting with founders to pitch the benefits of working with Cooley.” The firm evidently recognizes this, and we were told that opportunities for client-facing experience and dealing with clients personally is an important part of associate development.   

Corporate startup clients: Arsenal Biosciences, Cresta Intelligence, Riverwood Capital Partners. Advised Porsche Automobil Holding on its US$250 million Series C1 funding round of Celestial AI, creator of the Photonic Fabric™ optical interconnect technology platform.

“The most important thing for associates was an interest in what you’re doing. You don’t have to have a computer science degree!” 

The bread and butter of the business litigation group is predominantly commercial disputes and white-collar investigations. Speaking to one associate in the group (who usually found themselves on tech-related matters), we told how the group went up against another large BigLaw firm in a deposition. Recalling the occasion, the associate remarked that “I didn’t see any of their junior associates. It seemed like they were hidden in back room!” Not so at Cooley: “You could see the difference in the responsibilities given to associates.” Day-to-day activities for associates in this practice group can range from reviewing documents, conducting legal research, drafting sections of a memo and drafting talking points for client meetings. Associates also reported occasionally acting as a case manager, checking deadlines for deposition preparations. “The most important thing for associates was an interest in what you’re doing. You don’t have to have a computer science degree!” one added.   

Commercial litigation clients: LinkedIn, Roblox, Google. Represented Meta in a high-stakes copyright case involving Meta’s LLaMA model, one of the first generative AI models to be challenged under U.S. copyright law. 

Career Development 

Most associates will have a formal and focused training session scheduled at least every two weeks. These will be related to an associate’s practice group or a practice group ancillary to it. Associates will also often take on mock exercises with example clients, which is followed by in-depth debrief sessions. The firm has also recently worked to introduce hands-on drafting sessions. If associates are unsure about anything, email blasts are also sent out which allows anyone to ask any questions they may have.  

That said, some of the greatest value comes from learning on the job, and we heard that senior partners are often around to help out: “Partners provide really good feedback” remarked one associate, whilst also arguing that they were great at “differentiating between telling what you absolutely have to do and what the individual partner often likes to do.” There are opportunities for those who seek them out too: “I was extremely invested in the case, and it became my main focus” one told us, “I had a great relationship with one partner in particular, who was coaching me through stuff, and I feel like you learn the most in those situations.” 

Fancy yourself as a BigLaw partner one day? At Cooley, the road to partnership appears well laid out and achievable, and during our calls we heard from associates that clearly had aims to one day make partner: “It’s something that feels relatively achievable here.” 

Cooley is recognized as a Strong Performer for Career Development in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Culture  

Whilst it’s perhaps unsurprising that a firm named ‘Cooley’ prides itself on its workplace culture, this pride certainly doesn’t seem to be unfounded: “The culture is second to none, and they were correct in highlighting that,” one junior enthused. Associates reassured us that “Cooley hires people that you will want to be friends with” and we heard that everyone, even laterals, integrate seamlessly. In fact, to such an extent that even people who had moved from a different city to join Cooley said the office community had made it easy to integrate. The firm frequently organizes social events; there’s a happy hour and holiday-themed socials (we heard about the occasional magic shows and that by the time summer rolls around, there’s an outing every two weeks). Cooley’s inclusion groups also provide associates with the chance to socialize.

“The culture is second to none, and they were correct in highlighting that…” 

Senior associates and partners were not viewed as unapproachable, scary figures in eyes of Cooley associates, and were instead described as open and willing to guide you.  Senior associates at the firm are reportedly great at introducing juniors to everyone they need to know. “Cooley has a very flat hierarchy,” one told us, and parters “ask you for your opinion.” The old adage that juniors should be seen and not heard couldn’t be further from the truth – “they expect you to have something to say. Partners are never like ‘why this person to is talking to me?’” one associate reassured us. 

Hours & Compensation 

Billable hours: 1,950 target 

Cooley associates had a positive outlook when it came to the hours they found themselves working. One junior reported that they had “never had a time where I’ve been worried about the hours I was billing.” In fact, one even recalled a partner checking in to make sure they weren’t burning themselves out.  

Base associate salaries at Cooley increase on a lockstep basis (i.e. salary moves upwards according to school year). Associates have a billable hours target of 1,950 hours, at which point you become eligible for a bonus. There is also an opportunity for a merit-based bonus for those associates that go above and beyond, though some of the interviewees we spoke to felt that the way this bonus was structured was less clear.

Pro Bono  

There is no cap on how many pro bono hours can contribute towards an associate’s billable hours target, and this approach to pro bono was strongly praised. Associates have got involved with everything from helping people prepare for fires in LA to immigration matters and criminal expungement. As one junior affirmed, “If you see a pro bono matter that looks interesting to you, you can do it.” The firm is partnered with the LA-based Inner City Law Centre, and the firm is reportedly looking to expand partnerships with similar organizations in different cities.

Pro bono hours: 

For all US offices: Undisclosed

Average per US attorney: 70

Cooley is recognized as a Strong Performer for Pro Bono in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Inclusion 

At Cooley, there are many dedicated ethnicity and race-centered inclusion groups (such as the Asian pacific American group, and Middle Eastern lawyers group) and a dedicated calendar to help you see what all the groups are planning. There are also groups for parents and LGBTQ associates. Juniors were quick to highlight how well funded these groups are and how much they had enjoyed the exposure to other cultures.  Associates also stressed that allies are welcome to join these groups, and associates are also able to start their own too. Those on inclusion group committees help to pick out things like speakers for their events.  

Get Hired

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus  

OCI applicants interviewed: 19

Interviewees outside OCI: 400

Cooley engages in a wide range of outreach activities and events throughout the year. Students are encouraged to apply via Cooley Direct or through their law school's OCI/resume collection process, if the firm is participating. Typically, candidates will apply directly to General Corporate, Business Litigation, or one of the firm's specialty groups (e.g., Compensation & Benefits, Cyber Data Privacy, Debt Finance, Life Sciences Partnering, etc.) and will interview with members of the respective office or practice area. At the screening stage, the criteria include a genuine interest in and understanding of Cooley's culture and practice, and interviews will focus on assessing the candidate's competencies.

Top tips:  

“They make no secret that it's behavioral interviewing, and they also evaluate whether they can socialize with the person professionally and whether the candidate is presentable and potentially easy-going with a client.” – a junior associate   

“I think having a good understanding of the tech ecosystem, especially in New York, would help. Being actively interested and up to date on startup ties into the larger theme of showing interest in the type of work we do.” – a junior associate  

Callbacks 

Applicants invited to second stage:  300

The firm's legal talent team greets callback interviewees prior to their meetings with five to seven lawyers total; there's also (where possible) a coffee or lunch with two junior associates. Interviewers will vary in seniority and practice area, based on the candidate's stated interests – the firm “always asks if there are specific types of individuals you'd like to meet during your visit.”  

Competencies remain central to this interview stage. Cooley follows behavioral interviewing techniques, “assigning each interviewer a specific topic to establish if the candidate possesses the traits that we find work best for Cooley teams.” Impressing at this stage requires research into the firm's practice, asking candid questions and making sure you know your goals and that they align with those of the firm.  

Top tips:  

“Compared to other firms people have to be very practical and have a certain maturity: we work with a lot of smaller companies who don't want a memo – they want practical advice.” – a junior associate   

“Cooley tries to find people who are people and not just lawyers. It's about finding out whether or not you're a well-rounded person with interests outside academics.” – a junior associate  

Summer program 

Offers:  83 2L offers

Acceptances:  73 2L acceptances (3 acceptances pending due to clerkship and public interest opportunities)

Eschewing a formal rotation system, Cooley has its assignment coordinators meet regularly with summer associates to ensure they're getting a taste of everything they're interested in within their practice group. They also each get an associate and partner mentor, and 'comprehensive' training sessions including mini 'Cooley College' sessions throughout the summer. Cooley also gives formal feedback to its summer associates once they’ve completed each assignment and via mid and end-of-summer sessions.  

“An entrepreneurial mindset” will serve summer associates well, as those who seize the chance to guide their experience will thrive. Cooley is looking for summers “to take ownership and inspire confidence,” as the majority will return to the firm as juniors and will have decided on their area of practice by that stage.  

Notable summer events: Assortment of cooking classes from pizza and dumpling making to key lime pie making.  Volunteer opportunities, pickle ball, a spray paint workshop, pottery making, beach yoga, and a variety of happy hours and other opportunities for summer associates to meet informally with our lawyers. (Office Dependent)  

Top tips:  

“The best way to approach the summer is to try and figure out if you're interested in certain things, if there's someone you really want to work with to get a taste of that and just meet people. Figuring out if you like the people and would be happy to spend late nights with them in the office is most important.” – a junior associate  

And finally...  

At interview “it shines through when you are genuine and enthusiastic about where you see yourself and why, and it provides for genuine conversation.” – the firm