Cooley has launched an official presence in Miami’s rapidly developing technology and venture capital hub with the opening of the firm’s 19th global office. Cooley’s Miami location will support fast-growing, innovative companies and their investors based in Florida and Latin America to guide them in raising capital, navigating regulatory or compliance challenges, accessing global capital markets or continuing their success as a public company.
“Miami has quickly become a go-to destination for some of the best and brightest talent in the tech and venture capital community,” said Joe Conroy, chairman and CEO of Cooley. “We are excited to grow our presence in the region – and to leverage our expansive and market-leading capabilities to best support high-growth, disruptive companies and investors as they look toward future expansion.”
Initially, Cooley’s Miami office will include a core team of five lawyers relocating from existing Cooley offices and will be led by Derek Colla, a corporate and M&A partner with extensive experience representing emerging companies in the US and Latin America.
“Several of our major tech and venture capital clients are already based in Florida, and our physical presence will allow us to deepen our existing relationships even more,” Colla said. “We are also excited to extend our reach within Miami’s incredibly dynamic and increasingly international business community to provide the full capabilities of Cooley’s global platform.”
The core team will collaborate closely with the firm’s deep bench of experienced practitioners already active in this developing market, with future organic growth anticipated. Leaders in Cooley’s capital markets, M&A, fund formation and emerging companies practices – including Matthew Bartus, David Peinsipp, Adam Dinow, Jordan Silber, Kristin VanderPas and Miguel Vega – will be actively involved in the launch and early operations of the office, which is located at 350 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, Florida.
Cooley serves as primary fund counsel to 600+ investment fund organizations and represents venture funds or corporate investors in 700+ private financings each year. Unmatched by our competitors, our deal volume and immersion in the venture space gives us a deeper understanding of current market conditions – including terms and participants – and unparalleled access to the world’s largest and most influential network of investors.
Our ability to connect our client base of 7,000+ private companies with our network of investors can make all the difference for a company in search of funding – and can help VC firms find outstanding emerging companies in which to invest. Cooley’s advice evolves with clients as they grow, demonstrated by our representation of issuers and investment banks in 50+ IPOs each year while serving as primary corporate governance and securities counsel to more than 240 public companies.