Wake Up Call: Cooley’s ‘Best Year’ Sees Profits Surge 28%

In today’s column, a White & Case lawyer is still working for a sanctioned Russian oligarch; Goodwin Procter hired a former Justice Department health-care fraud chief as partner in D.C.; more firms matched Cravath’s pay scale for associates.

• Leading off, Cooley chairman and CEO Joe Conroy called 2021 “the best year in the history of this firm,” powered by its emerging companies practice and boosted by increasing litigation work. The Palo Alto-headquartered firm, which opened a new office in Chicago and expanded in Asia, increased revenues 28% to $1.987 billion in 2021, while its average profits per equity per partner ...