Cooley Announces Ian Shapiro as Chair of Global Litigation Department

New York – February 4, 2025 – Cooley announced today that Ian Shapiro will chair the firm’s global litigation practice, succeeding Michael Attanasio. Shapiro, who joined Cooley in 2003, is a veteran litigator who has served as vice chair of the litigation department and is partner in charge of the New York office. Attanasio will continue his litigation practice at Cooley and remain on the board of directors.

“With more than two decades at Cooley, a stellar career as a litigator, and a wealth of leadership experience, Ian is perfectly positioned to lead our elite, rapidly growing litigation practice,” said Rachel Proffitt, Cooley’s CEO. “I have full confidence that he will successfully drive forward the vision, strategy and execution of the department’s goals as we continue to build the elite litigation practice of the next generation.”

“I would also like to extend my deepest gratitude to Mike for his exceptional leadership and dedication during his nearly 12 years as our litigation department chair,” added Proffitt. “Thanks to Mike’s direction and vision, we regularly compete for the most coveted litigation talent and work and have been widely recognized as the go-to litigation department for the modern economy.”

In his broad and diverse practice as a litigator, Shapiro represents individuals and companies in complicated and hard-fought commercial disputes in state and federal courts and arbitrations throughout the US, advising on matters ranging from complex commercial litigation and consumer class actions to shareholder and M&A disputes, trade secret and employment litigation, bankruptcy litigation, and more.

“Ian has demonstrated time and time again his impressive capabilities as a litigator, his passion for the firm, and his dedication to our incredible people and growing roster of innovative and high-growth clients,” Attanasio said. “I am fortunate to have led the department through a period of tremendous growth as our clients confronted escalating scrutiny from the Department of Justice, state attorneys general and federal agencies, and I have no doubt that Ian will be exceptional in leading the department into this next chapter.”

“I am honored and excited to lead our litigation department,” said Shapiro. “Cooley has emerged as one of the most formidable litigation practices and the leading practice for the representation of innovative and disruptive companies. We have done it, and will continue to do it, by recruiting and promoting the most talented and hardest-working next-generation lawyers who share our ambition to build something special and to do it together.”

Cooley’s litigation department is known for its defense of disruptive companies and innovators, and its litigators are known for their courtroom advocacy and counseling across the global innovation economy. They frequently advocate for companies in cases that help shape the laws affecting emerging industries while also anticipating the new regulations that inevitably challenge innovation. In the past five years, the department has recruited more than 40 litigation partners across multiple practice groups in the US and Europe, including numerous senior prosecutors and enforcement attorneys from some of the most prominent US attorneys’ offices, federal agencies, leading technology companies and competitor firms. This growth and infusion of talent has positioned the firm to meet the evolving needs of its market-leading tech and life sciences clients.

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