Cooley partner John Dwyer, a go-to lawyer for eBay Inc., will represent Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Meg Whitman in securities class actions stemming from HP’s ill-fated acquisition of British software firm Autonomy.

Dwyer, co-chair of Cooley’s securities litigation group, and Stephen Neal, the firm’s chairman, will defend Whitman against accusations that she knew of problems with the 2011 Autonomy deal and gave false assurances to the public, said attorneys involved in the litigation.