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Been told Cooley has passed up Gunderson as the premier ECVC office in NY but both still appear to be very strong. Just wanted some insights on both?

You’re quibbling over differences here. Whether one is “premier” in NYC is pretty irrelevant for associate purposes.

That said, Gunderson IMO is a step ahead of all the other classic tech firms (fenwick, Cooley, WSGR, goodwin, Latham, etc) on early stage work, and a step behind all of them on M&A and capital markets. This is probably particularly true in NY, where I feel like Cooley does more cap markets

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 02, 2021 1:52 pm

Been told Cooley has passed up Gunderson as the premier ECVC office in NY but both still appear to be very strong. Just wanted some insights on both?

It is absolutely false that Cooley is even close to Gunderson in terms of ECVC in NYC.

Honestly, even though Gunderson probably has much more volume in terms of ECVC work, I'd pick Cooley for the variety of robust corporate practices available. This is purely anecdotal, but I have yet to meet an unhappy Gunderson associate (in SV/SF) so if culture/longevity is important to you, maybe Gunderson may be a better choice.

VentureMBA wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 03, 2021 10:58 am

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 02, 2021 1:52 pm

Been told Cooley has passed up Gunderson as the premier ECVC office in NY but both still appear to be very strong. Just wanted some insights on both?

It is absolutely false that Cooley is even close to Gunderson in terms of ECVC in NYC.

If you want to focus at EC/VC work - I will say that ECVC work is incredibly easy and cookie cutter, so once you get the gist of it by year 2-3 there isn't really much benefit of being at one firm over another in terms of knowledge or skills. The only difference will be the partners and other associates you work with, and to some extent the clients you service, so go to the place where you vibe with the people.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 03, 2021 4:51 am

You’re quibbling over differences here. Whether one is “premier” in NYC is pretty irrelevant for associate purposes.

That said, Gunderson IMO is a step ahead of all the other classic tech firms (fenwick, Cooley, WSGR, goodwin, Latham, etc) on early stage work, and a step behind all of them on M&A and capital markets. This is probably particularly true in NY, where I feel like Cooley does more cap markets

Agree with this and the recent comment that the work doesn't differ much by firm. If you had a strong preference on people, I would choose based on that. If not, then I would lean Gunderson if you were 90%+ sure you preferred early stage and strictly ECVC work; Cooley if you are at all unsure about where you end up in the broader space. Can't go wrong either way.

VentureMBA wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 03, 2021 10:58 am

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 02, 2021 1:52 pm

Been told Cooley has passed up Gunderson as the premier ECVC office in NY but both still appear to be very strong. Just wanted some insights on both?

It is absolutely false that Cooley is even close to Gunderson in terms of ECVC in NYC.

Cooley is outside counsel to some of the largest venture backed companies based in NYC, and also have repped probably half of the most notable IPOs for NYC venture backed companies over the last 3-5 years. What metric are you using here?

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 02, 2021 1:52 pm

Been told Cooley has passed up Gunderson as the premier ECVC office in NY but both still appear to be very strong. Just wanted some insights on both?

Both are top of the market both locally and nationally at ECVC work. Outside of pure ECVC work, Cooley has a much deeper practice.

Can someone speak to more generally their experience at Cooley NY or reputation?