Cooley launches 2nd LA office with O’Melveny capital markets leader

The Cooley offices in Manhattan, New York City, U.S. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

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• Cooley has more than 70 lawyers in its existing Los Angeles office
• Having second office is ‘natural next step’

(Reuters) – Silicon Valley law firm Cooley on Monday said it is opening a second office in Los Angeles, nearly 10 years after it first planted roots in the city.

Cooley’s new downtown office will be led by John-Paul Motley, who led the capital markets practice at O’Melveny & Myers, a Los Angeles-founded firm. Motley’s clients included American Honda Finance Corp, an arm of car maker Honda Motor Company Ltd, and film production company Spyglass Media Group.

Motley is joining Cooley’s public companies practice, advising public companies on matters including corporate governance, transactions and litigation. Last year, the firm added a pair of partners from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett to the practice, including a private equity leader.

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Although Cooley has more than 70 lawyers in its existing Los Angeles office, which is located in Santa Monica, the most successful firms have two offices in the city, Motley said.

“It’s just a natural next step if you’re going to compete in the Los Angeles market,” Motley said, adding that having two locations can help firms attract and retain both clients and attorneys.

The city’s sprawling geography is one factor. Motley said it takes 20 minutes to commute from his Pasadena, California, home to Cooley’s new downtown office, but more than an hour to get to his Santa Monica location.

The new downtown LA office is Cooley’s second new office in less than a year. In May, the firm set up shop in Chicago with a group of partners from Latham, Winston & Strawn and DLA Piper.

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David Thomas

David Thomas reports on the business of law, including law firm strategy, hiring, mergers and litigation. He is based out of Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @DaveThomas5150.