Cooley Godward Kronish LLP | About Us

Diversity is a key value at Cooley, and we strive to embrace every individual who works at the Firm—women and men, people of any ethnicity or sexual orientation and individuals with families. The Firm’s philosophy is best summed up in a statement by Stephen Neal, Cooley’s Chairman:

“For Cooley, workplace diversity is more than just numbers on a report. It’s about creating an environment that welcomes differences, knowing that variety enriches our lives and work. We strive to create an environment that encourages open communication, where no one feels out of place or left out and everyone contributes to the Firm’s success. There is no “Cooley mold” save one: a shared commitment to the Firm’s values and a drive to make Cooley the best it can be.”

A truly diverse work environment is not simply hiring people of different backgrounds. It is about enabling attorneys, paralegals and staff to balance work and family obligations by offering flexible work schedules and providing maternity/paternity leave for all employees—including lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals. It is about offering all employees the tools, training and mentoring they need to succeed throughout their career. It is about getting involved in our communities and participating in diversity initiatives and events outside of the Firm. And it is about becoming leaders in the communities, not just followers. And this is exactly what Cooley is doing.

Bar Association of San Francisco's Diversity Programs
Accomplishments & Accolades

An Unwavering Commitment to the Bar Association of San Francisco's Diversity Programs

The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) is a national leader in establishing diversity goals and practices in the legal profession, seeking to achieve equal opportunity for women, racial and ethnic minorities, gay men and lesbians and attorneys with disabilities. The Firm fully supports all of BASF's diversity efforts and participates in many of its programs. For example, Cooley

Was one of the first law firms to commit to BASF's 1988 goals and timetables for minority attorney hiring and advancement; and we renewed our commitment by adopting its minority goals and timetables for 2010.
Signed BASF's "No Glass Ceiling" initiative, a commitment to promoting women in leadership roles within the legal community. As one of the signatory firms participating in BASF's 2005 survey, Cooley has committed to having at least one woman as a managing partner by the end of 2006.
Regularly participates in the Association's Bay Area Diversity Career Fair, which brings together prominent law firms and government legal departments in the San Francisco Bay Area and highly qualified, diverse second-year law students from distinguished local law schools as well as other top schools from around the nation to participate in summer associate programs.

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Accomplishments & Accolades

Cooley is proud of the positive environment we offer our attorneys and staff and the impact that we have in our communities. It is uplifting to receive recognition from our peers and the community for our work, including:

The National Law Journal named Roel Campos to their list of "50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America" for having a national impact in the legal field and beyond. (2008)
Cooley’s efforts to promote diversity, our deep and long-standing commitment to pro bono, and the overall satisfaction of associates across the Firm were important factors in propelling Cooley to the 13^th spot on The American Lawyer’s “A-List.” (2005)
Kay Chandler received the Athena Pinnacle Award in the service category for her leadership and contributions to San Diego-based businesses as well as for hiring, mentoring and empowering women in the workplace. (2004)
The American Lawyer ranked Cooley in the top 10 for the second year in a row among the "Best Places to Work" nationally. Cooley also ranked # 4 among the “Best Places to Work” in San Diego and #3 (Palo Alto) and #6 (San Francisco) in the San Francisco Bay Area. (2005)
Cooley scored high in several categories in the 2005 – 2006 Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms, including 4th for formal training program, 11th among the “best firms to work for,” 12th for pro bono practice and 19th for associate/partner relations.
California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA) recognized Cooley for our efforts to protect the constitutional right of access by CRLA to migrant farm workers living in suburban work areas. (2004)
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area awarded Vilma Celis, a coordinator in the San Francisco office, the Anthony S. Logan Award for outstanding contributions by a non-attorney. (2005)
Cooley received The National Law Journal's Pro Bono Award for its representation of a nationwide class of lawful permanent residents in a successful challenge against the Department of Homeland Security to issue proof of lawful status. The case, Santillan, et al. v. Gonzales, et al., was selected as one of the country's top four pro bono cases of 2005. The National Law Journal full article (2006 )
California Lawyer named partner Steven Friedlander “Attorney of the Year for Pro Bono” for his work on the Lucas case (2005)
Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach awarded Cooley its “Legal Impact Award” for our work representing immigrant women subjected to domestic violence and abuse. (2004)
The ABA Business Section presented Cooley with its “National Public Service Award” for the pro bono efforts of our business attorneys and for our overall commitment to pro bono. (2005)
The Public Interest Law Firm, a program of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, presented Cooley with its “Public Interest Counsel Champion Award” for our work on a number of litigation matters. (2004)
Bay Area Legal Aid honored Cooley for its leadership role in sponsoring legal services in the Bay Area. (2004)
The Volunteer Legal Services Program of the Bar Association of San Francisco selected Cooley as its “Outstanding Law Firm in Public Service.” (2004)