Cooley Augments Leading Mergers and Acquisitions Practice

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Feb 7, 2013) -  Cooley LLP announced today that Jamie Leigh has joined the firm's Business department as a partner and member of the Mergers & Acquisitions group. Leigh, who will be based in Cooley's San Francisco office, joins the firm from Latham & Watkins where she was a partner in the firm's Mergers and Acquisitions and Public Company Representation practices.

"Jamie is a great addition to our dynamic M&A practice," said Fred Muto, chair of Cooley's Business department. "Her experience handling complex, multi-billion dollar transactions, will add further depth to our group which has been consumed in recent years by an ever-growing number of transactions in this strategically important practice area."

Leigh's practice focuses on sophisticated, complex mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity investments and restructurings. She will augment and diversify the capabilities of Cooley's existing M&A group which in 2012 advised on more than 90 publicly announced mergers and acquisitions transactions. Of those deals, 34 were valued over $100 million, seven of which were valued at $1 billion or more.

Leigh was awarded both her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Virginia.

About Cooley LLP

Cooley's 700 attorneys have an entrepreneurial spirit and deep, substantive experience, and are committed to solving clients' most challenging legal matters. From small companies with big ideas to international enterprises with diverse legal needs, Cooley has the breadth of legal resources to enable companies of all sizes to seize opportunities in today's global marketplace. The firm represents clients across a broad array of dynamic industry sectors, including technology, life sciences, venture capital, clean energy, real estate and retail.

The firm has full-service offices in eleven major business and technology centers: Boston, MA; Broomfield, CO; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; Palo Alto, CA; Reston, VA; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; Washington, DC; and Shanghai, China.