Cooley Godward is set to abandon its high profile search for a merger partner amid growing internal pressure for the embattled Silicon Valley giant to remain independent.
Senior Californian lawyers have told Legal Week Global the top 50 US firm is shifting its strategy after concerns that a string of abortive merger discussions are damaging Cooleys’ reputation.
The move follows the 23 July break-up of long-running talks with San Francisco’s Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe – Cooleys’ third public failure to secure a merger in the past 12 months.
