Having made its long-awaited entrance into the London market at the start of 2015, Cooley has today (21 September) launched a UK online resource centre for startups and investors in the technology community.
Cooley GO gives guidance on a variety of areas including funding and expansion, and provides the ability to generate core legal documents.
Cooley GO was first unveiled in the US in July 2014, since when the site has received visitors from nearly 8,000 cities in 190 countries around the world and more than 17,000 documents have been created.
“The momentum of Cooley GO has been outstanding,” said Craig Jacoby, San Francisco-based partner and chair of Cooley’s global emerging companies practice. Jacoby co-founded Cooley GO with fellow Bay Area-based partners Matthew Bartus and Peter Werner. “We knew there was a need for something of this quality and agility in the startup world, but the pickup has defied even our most optimistic expectations. It’s great to be so helpful to what we hope will be the next generation of Cooley clients, across the United States and now in Europe.”
According to Tech UK, London has become the FinTech capital of the world with 44,000 people employed in the sector – more than any other city worldwide. London was ranked second worldwide for supporting innovation and entrepreneurship, and with more than 5.2 million small companies in the UK.
“At Cooley, we work with a wide range of companies and financial institutions, from startups to global giants,” said Justin Stock (pictured), managing partner of Cooley’s London office. “Core to our firm are the tech, life sciences and VC industries. Launching Cooley GO in the UK enables some of tomorrow’s most exciting companies to get ahead, with the ability to access key legal documents 24/7.”
Cooley launched in London after hiring partners from Morrison & Foerster and Edwards Wildman Palmer to create a 55-lawyer practice. Stock was formerly head of Morrison & Foerster’s London corporate practice.
The Palo Alto-headquartered firm has continued to grow, including most recently hiring corporate partner Paula Holland and a team from WilmerHale to build Cooley’s emerging companies practice in Europe.