Cooley’s Chicago Office Adds Three Litigation, Privacy Partners

A little more than month after opening its Chicago office, Cooley is expanding it, adding three partners in litigation and cyber, data, and privacy.

Matthew Kutcher, Bobby Earles and Lei Shen are joining the 10-partner team that formed the core of the Chicago office that was launched in May to capitalize on the legal needs of growing venture capital and emerging companies.

“We’re committed to have an office that is not an outpost but offers a full range of services,” Travis LeBlanc, a member of Cooley’s litigation department and vice chair of the firm’s cyber, data, and privacy practice, said in an interview.

The firm is building on a strong 2020, when its revenues soared in the double digits to $1.55 billion, according to American Lawyer data. In addition to extending its physical presence with the Chicago office, it has been adding litigators in other locations and now has 1,200-lawyers in the U.S., Asia and Europe.

Cooley recruited a variety of Big Firm and other partners to stock its expansion into the Midwest from its base in Silicon Valley. “This is not the end of hiring in Chicago,” LeBlanc said. “There will be a further phase.”

Kutcher, who joins the firm’s litigation practice from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, worked as an assistant U.S. attorney since 2015 and was deputy chief in the general crimes section. He previously chaired Latham & Watkins’ litigation group in Chicago.

He said Cooley offer him a chance “to work across white collar, investigations and securities practices nationally.”

Earles is joining Cooley’s business litigation practice and will focus on private equity, venture capital and M&A‐related disputes. He was a Kirkland & Ellis commercial litigation partner, handling matters ranging from white collar to bankruptcy litigation.

Shen, who was a partner at Mayer Brown, joins Cooley’s cyber, data and privacy practice for clients on litigation matters and corporate transactions. She has advised clients on general data protection regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act.

“Cooley has built a truly elite global cyber/data/privacy practice that spans all aspects of cybersecurity, data use, privacy and related high-profile litigation and regulatory engagements,” she said.