Cooley? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Shared offices are definitely a thing. At my firm, as a first year, you shared an office for the first seven or eight months with a second year, then got your own office, which you shared with a summer associate, and then with a first year for seven or eight months, and then finally you had your own office for good.

We wore headsets.

[Anonymous User]

Oh interesting. Do you know which other firms also do office share situations (and if you can share your own without compromising your anonymity)?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone with insight into their finance group (NY)? Thanks!

[The Lsat Airbender]

Oh interesting. Do you know which other firms also do office share situations (and if you can share your own without compromising your anonymity)?

It's pretty much standard in NYC at this point and I doubt firms are going to be investing in more office space going forward

[Anonymous User]

I summered in a Cooley CA office (though not in L&E). We definitely got snubbed on pay, but I am genuinely excited to return to return next fall. Cooley was in the first group of firms to announce what was going on this summer. This was nice for reducing uncertainty but I think if they waited longer, they would've known to not shorten the program. I know there were worries about the usefulness/effectiveness of a virtual program and think the decision was based on that rather than economic concerns. I'm comfortable with my sense of their financials. Everyone I worked with was extremely busy and we got substantive work. Tech and Life Sciences are their bread and butter, two areas that happened to see a lot of activity during a global pandemic.

The culture seems great. Even though we were on zoom, everyone made a point to be welcoming and available for any questions. There's an understanding that the firm will produce excellent work but the process of doing that work should be enjoyable. This leads people to be very laid back with a friendly vibe, there's an emphasis on bringing your whole self to work.

[Anonymous User]

Could anyone provide some insight on Cooley's tech trans group in Palo Alto/SF, but also any information on Cooley's culture and work life balance in tech trans broadly speaking would be appreciated.

[Anonymous User]

Could anyone provide some insight on Cooley's tech trans group in Palo Alto/SF, but also any information on Cooley's culture and work life balance in tech trans broadly speaking would be appreciated.

Piggybacking on this regarding their CapM group on the west coast. Culture, hours, and exit options!

Thank you!!

[Anonymous User]

Friends have said that the SD office can be a sweatshop, especially for lit

[Anonymous User]

It’s a sweatshop. I worked there (CA, CapM) and was quickly disenfranchised by the lack of partner oversight and knowledgeable seniors. Juniors aren’t trained properly and have no motivation, so if you’re a mid level you’re squeezed by incompetence on both ends.

There are better options with better people. If I had to do it all over again, I would have went to Gunderson or Latham.

[Anonymous User]

It’s a sweatshop. I worked there (CA, CapM) and was quickly disenfranchised by the lack of partner oversight and knowledgeable seniors. Juniors aren’t trained properly and have no motivation, so if you’re a mid level you’re squeezed by incompetence on both ends.

There are better options with better people. If I had to do it all over again, I would have went to Gunderson or Latham.

CA generally or just San Diego?

[Anonymous User]

It’s a sweatshop. I worked there (CA, CapM) and was quickly disenfranchised by the lack of partner oversight and knowledgeable seniors. Juniors aren’t trained properly and have no motivation, so if you’re a mid level you’re squeezed by incompetence on both ends.

There are better options with better people. If I had to do it all over again, I would have went to Gunderson or Latham.

CA generally or just San Diego?

CA generally

[Anonymous User]

It’s a sweatshop. I worked there (CA, CapM) and was quickly disenfranchised by the lack of partner oversight and knowledgeable seniors. Juniors aren’t trained properly and have no motivation, so if you’re a mid level you’re squeezed by incompetence on both ends.

There are better options with better people. If I had to do it all over again, I would have went to Gunderson or Latham.

How are the exit options? And is this the SD office?

[Anonymous User]

It’s a sweatshop. I worked there (CA, CapM) and was quickly disenfranchised by the lack of partner oversight and knowledgeable seniors. Juniors aren’t trained properly and have no motivation, so if you’re a mid level you’re squeezed by incompetence on both ends.

There are better options with better people. If I had to do it all over again, I would have went to Gunderson or Latham.

Why Gunderson or Latham? What about those firms leads you to believe it would have been different? Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous User]

It’s a sweatshop. I worked there (CA, CapM) and was quickly disenfranchised by the lack of partner oversight and knowledgeable seniors. Juniors aren’t trained properly and have no motivation, so if you’re a mid level you’re squeezed by incompetence on both ends.

There are better options with better people. If I had to do it all over again, I would have went to Gunderson or Latham.

Why Gunderson or Latham? What about those firms leads you to believe it would have been different? Thanks in advance.

Also curious because I'm sure Latham is also a sweatshop, and wrt Gunderson, it seems their capital markets practice is so much smaller and developing compared to Cooley. Hard to not be impressed with some of the deals Cooley has worked on...

[Anonymous User]

It’s a sweatshop. I worked there (CA, CapM) and was quickly disenfranchised by the lack of partner oversight and knowledgeable seniors. Juniors aren’t trained properly and have no motivation, so if you’re a mid level you’re squeezed by incompetence on both ends.

There are better options with better people. If I had to do it all over again, I would have went to Gunderson or Latham.

Why Gunderson or Latham? What about those firms leads you to believe it would have been different? Thanks in advance.

I'm not the person you asked but have worked across from all 3 firms and know people at each - in my experience, Cooley is a bit of a free for all (at least w/r/t cap markets). Latham IMO has a c/m practice with years of infrastructure behind it and lots of training provided to juniors. They do less lateral hiring than Cooley does (at least until this year) so it's relatively easier to quality control. Gunderson isn't on par with the others when it comes to public company work but they do spend a lot of time training and mentoring junior associates and laterals so that they can at least work independently.