Firm Watch
Jul. 30, 2002
Cooley Godward Seats New Business-Department Chair
Cooley Godward has announced a substitution in the not-so-coveted position of business department chairman. Mark Tanoury, 47, served as chairman of the business department during the height of the technology boom. On July 9, firm Chairman Stephen Neal tapped Robert Jones, 47, a corporate partner and chairman of Cooley's life sciences practice, to replace Tanoury. Both men have worked at the firm more than 20 years.
Mark Tanoury, 47, served as chairman of the business department during the height of the technology boom. On July 9, firm Chairman Stephen Neal tapped Robert Jones, 47, a corporate partner and chairman of Cooley's life sciences practice, to replace Tanoury. Both men have worked at the firm more than 20 years.
As chairman of the business department, Jones will oversee day-to-day management of the firm's 350 corporate lawyers specializing in finance, corporate securities, startup companies and venture capital. He will make decisions about layoffs, recruiting, promotions and lateral hires.
"[Tanoury] took over at what in many ways was a terrible time in the law practice," Jones says, referring to the boom. "It was an unhappy time because nobody could support their practice. Nobody could staff their deals. It was an extremely less-pleasant time in law practice than it is today."
By the end of Tanoury's tenure as chairman of the group, things had become bad in an entirely different way. Almost one year ago, Cooley Godward laid off 85 associates and senior counsel and 50 support staff, many of them from the business department.
The firm's head count has dropped from a high of 680 to 573.
Jones, who concedes that business continues to be "slow as ever," will play a significant role in deciding the futures of the remaining associates.
Cooley Godward employs 214 lawyers in Palo Alto and 144 in San Francisco. The firm has 215 attorneys spread throughout offices in San Diego, Menlo Park, Kirkland, Wash., Broomfield, Colo., and Reston, Va.
Joel Rosenblatt
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