Cooley Elects 12 New Partners

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwire - Dec 1, 2011) - Cooley LLP announced today that it has elected 12 attorneys to join the firm's partnership, effective January 1, 2012.

"We are extremely proud to welcome these accomplished attorneys into our partnership," said Joe Conroy, Cooley's chief executive officer. "They are part of the next generation of firm leaders and I am confident they will each play an instrumental role in our future success."

The new partners are:

Orion Armon (Broomfield, Colo.). Mr. Armon's practice focuses on patent litigation, with an emphasis on software and electronics patent litigation cases. He has recently litigated patents involving blade servers, malware-detection software and encryption of multimedia data for broadcast IPTV. He earned his J.D. with honors from The University of Texas School of Law in 2003, and is a registered patent attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Thomas A. Blinka (Washington, D.C.). Dr. Blinka specializes in patent procurement and counseling in various chemical technologies including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, organic, inorganic and polymeric materials, organic synthesis, catalysts and composite and nano-composite materials. Dr. Blinka earned a J.D. from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in 2002. He also holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and is an inventor on 21 U.S. patents.

Peter F. Burns (Palo Alto, Calif.). Mr. Burns' practice is focused on complex technology-related transactions with a particular emphasis on deals involving business process and information technology outsourcing. He represents clients ranging from emerging companies to public multinationals across a broad spectrum of sectors, including renewable energy, wireless, Internet, semiconductor, banking, software and hardware. Mr. Burns earned a J.D., cum laude, from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 2000.

Sean M. Clayton (San Diego, Calif.). Mr. Clayton represents both public and privately-held companies in general corporate matters and SEC reporting, as well as a broad range of transactions, including venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions and public offerings. Mr. Clayton earned a J.D. with high honors from Stanford Law School in 2003.

Benjamin G. Damstedt (Palo Alto, Calif.). Mr. Damstedt focuses on patent and technology litigation, and has litigated across a wide range of technologies, including cellular telephony, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless networks, digital broadcast television, graphics accelerators, cache memory, viral load testing for AIDS treatment and smart utility grid technologies. Mr. Damstedt earned a J.D. from Yale Law School in 2003, and was an Articles Editor for the Yale Law Journal.

Gordon H. Empey (Seattle, Wash.). Mr. Empey represents emerging technology, life sciences and healthcare companies and venture capital and private equity firms. He represents clients in a wide range of transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, venture capital financings, corporate partnerships, commercial agreements and corporate matters. Prior to joining Cooley, he served as executive vice president and general counsel of Radiant Research. Mr. Empey earned his J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall in 1994.

Lila Weiqiao Hope (Palo Alto, Calif.). Dr. Hope represents technology companies ranging from privately held start ups to Fortune 500 industry leaders. Her practice focuses primarily on the life sciences industry, with a particular emphasis on transactions involving complex intellectual property, business and operational issues, including strategic partnerships, discovery and option deals and asset purchases. She also assists life sciences clients with transactions pertaining to their operational priorities such as manufacturing, distribution and clinical trials. Dr. Hope earned a J.D. from Duke University School of Law, magna cum laude, in 2002, and holds a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Stanford University School of Medicine.

Stephane Levy (New York, NY). Mr. Levy concentrates his practice on emerging growth technology companies and has represented technology and life science companies, venture capital firms and leading investment banks in numerous private and public offerings of securities as well as mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Levy graduated with great distinction from the McGill University Faculty of Law in 2002.

Michael J. McGrail (Boston, Mass.). Mr. McGrail represents companies and investors in a full range of corporate legal matters, including mergers and acquisitions, private financings, corporate partnerships and technology licensing, with a primary focus on the medical devices and life sciences industries. Fluent in German, Mr. McGrail devotes a significant portion of his practice to international transactions. He earned his J.D. from Boston College Law School, cum laude, in 2001.

Danielle Naftulin Reed (Palo Alto, Calif.). Ms. Naftulin Reed focuses her practice on the representation of high-growth technology and life sciences companies and their investors, from formation through financing and exit. As part of her practice, she also counsels emerging companies and their investors on recapitalizations, mergers and acquisitions, spin-outs and initial public offerings. Ms. Naftulin Reed earned a J.D. from University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 2000.

David G. Peinsipp (San Francisco, Calif.). Mr. Peinsipp's practice focuses on the representation of private and public emerging technology companies, venture capital firms, private equity firms and investment banks. Mr. Peinsipp assists clients with entity organization and governance matters, financings and other securities transactions, SEC and stock exchange compliance and reporting and mergers and acquisitions. In addition, Mr. Peinsipp also specializes in representing issuers and investment banking firms in public offerings of equity and debt securities. He earned a J.D. from New York University School of Law in 2001.

Nicole K. Peppe (Boston, Mass.). Ms. Peppe's practice is concentrated on the formation of domestic and international investment funds, including venture capital, growth capital, mezzanine, buyout, distressed opportunity, special situations and real estate funds and funds-of-funds. Ms. Peppe also advises fund managers with respect to day-to-day legal and operational matters, including internal general partner and management company issues. In addition, Ms. Peppe represents institutional investors with respect to investments in venture capital and private equity funds. She earned a J.D., cum laude, and a M.B.A., concentration in Finance, from Boston College Law School/Carroll School of Management in 2001.

About Cooley LLP

Cooley's 650 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 major business and technology centers across the United States: Palo Alto, CA, New York, NY, San Diego, CA, San Francisco, CA, Reston, VA, Broomfield, CO, Washington, DC, Boston, MA and Seattle, WA.