Cooley Announces Details of 2009 Diversity Fellowship Program

03/04/09

Cooley Announces Details of 2009 Diversity Fellowship Program

Palo Alto, Calif.: March 4, 2009 Cooley Godward Kronish LLP announced today that it is accepting applications for its Diversity Fellowship Program for first-year law students, as part of the Firm's overall commitment to attracting, mentoring and retaining exceptional diverse attorneys. Through this year's program, Cooley will award up to $15,000 to eight first-year law students to assist with law school tuition. Each fellow will also receive an invitation to join Cooley's summer associate program following the conclusion of their second year of law school.

"Following up on the tremendous response to Cooley's inaugural diversity fellowship program in 2008, we are excited to announce the continuation of this program. It re-affirms our commitment to diversity and underscores our belief that a truly representative law firm is a stronger and more successful enterprise," said partner James Donato, chair of Cooley's Diversity Committee. "It also highlights our commitment to increasing the pipeline of diverse students into the profession."

To be considered for the program, students must complete an application and, if selected, commit to join the Firm's summer associate program following their second year of law school. Applicants will be considered based on a number of factors including commitment to promoting diversity, academic performance, personal achievement, demonstrated leadership ability and community service. Awards will be announced to the students in the summer following their first year of law school with the summer associate position to start following the successful completion of the recipients' second year of law school. For the purpose of the Program, diversity is broadly defined to include race and ethnicity, gender, physical disability and sexual orientation.

Applicants must be enrolled full-time in an ABA-accredited law school and be in their first year of law school at the time of application to be eligible for the fellowship. For students in the 2008-2009 school year, applications must be received by April 15, 2009. For more details on the application process and eligibility requirements, please visit: www.cooley.com/diversityfellowship.

About Cooley's Diversity Initiatives

Cooley is committed to attracting, mentoring and retaining an exceptional team of attorneys from as many backgrounds as possible. The Firm is active in local and national minority law organizations, diversity pipeline projects, law school diversity programs and community outreach. The Firm's Management, Hiring and Diversity Committees work closely together to create programs and policies to advance its goals. For details on Cooley's diversity initiatives, please visit www.cooley.com/about/about_diversity.aspx.

About Cooley Godward Kronish LLP

Cooley Godward Kronish's 675 attorneys have an entrepreneurial spirit and deep, substantive experience, and are committed to solving clients' most challenging legal matters. From small companies with big ideas to international enterprises with diverse legal needs, Cooley has the breadth of legal resources to enable companies of all sizes to seize opportunities in today's global marketplace. The Firm represents clients across a broad array of dynamic industry sectors, including technology, life sciences, clean technology, real estate, financial services, retail and energy.

The Firm has full-service offices in major business and technology centers nationwide: Palo Alto, CA, New York, NY, San Diego, CA, San Francisco, CA, Reston, VA, Broomfield, CO, Washington, DC, Boston, MA and Seattle, WA.