Cooley

An international firm with four offices in California – Los Angeles, Palo Alto, San Diego, and San Francisco, where it was founded in 1920 – Cooley offers services in both corporate and regulatory work as well as in intellectual property matters. Its patent litigators draw particularly strong praise from peers, one of whom states, "They have a team over there that is just a bunch of really, really good patent litigators." Another peer says simply, "They have very capable people." Thomas Friel, based in San Francisco, is among the firm's patent litigation specialists. His practice also includes a wealth of experience handling trade secret, injunction, and ITC litigation matters, especially in the areas of computer technology, medical devices, and universities and research.

John Crittenden, also in San Francisco, specializes in trademark litigation, as well as trademark and patent prosecution. Such diversity in his practice has contributed to Crittenden's success working for clients such as Tesla Motors, Nintendo, and Yelp. Heidi Keefe in Cooley's Palo Alto office is also well known for her PTAB work. One peer says of Keefe, "I would be surprised if anyone in the country has more PTAB proceedings than Heidi." Her clients have included such household names as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Varian Medical Systems. Michael Rhodes, co-chair of the firm's privacy and data protection groups, is another stellar partner for the firm who combines his deep technology expertise with many years of courtroom experience. Mark Weinstein is among the firm's leading experts in complex technology-related matters. One peer says of Weinstein, "He is just a really smart guy. He really knows how to make the most of a case."

Cooley's offices in Colorado, Washington State, and California are hubs of intellectual property expertise, helping cement the firm's reputation as one of the premier IP groups in the West. The firm is especially renowned for combining litigation chops with deep technical specialization in the realms of life sciences and high technology. The ITC sphere is another space where the firm's attorneys have a successful record. And, in more recent years, Cooley is said to be distinguishing itself for work at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. One widely regarded competitor, referencing PTAB litigation, says simply, "Cooley is pretty good these days."

Operating out of the Broomfield, Colorado office, Jim Brogan is an esteemed trial lawyer, who previously served for years as the chair of Cooley's IP group. He is known for representing both plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes matters for clients in the technology and life sciences industries. Bill Christiansen is a star in the firm's Seattle office, focusing his practice on patent prosecution and counseling for clients in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and clean energy sectors. One peer says, "The IP group there is very strong. It is led by a guy named Christiansen. He is a very strong attorney in the biotech area and for patent prosecution." New York-based Matthew Langer has recently handled IP work that includes advice in connection with patent term extension and mitigation of risk of IP challenges.