Top Biglaw Firm Announces Its First Female CEO In History

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Women continue to soar to new heights in Biglaw, and today, one of the top firms in the country welcomes a woman into its top leadership role.

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Cooley recently announced that Rachel Proffitt, who currently serves as head of the firm’s San Francisco corporate practice, will become its next chief executive officer. Proffitt will assume the role from firm veteran Joe Conroy, who has served as CEO for more than 15 years.

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Proffitt, a graduate of UC Law SF (née UC Hastings), joined Cooley in 2017 from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. She currently serves as a member of the firm’s board of directors and currently co-chairs the firm’s legal education committee. In an interview with Bloomberg Law, Conroy said, “Rachel really stood out as the clear choice. She’s the perfect steward for us, and the next generation.”

Cooley has experienced some pain points over the past year or so, with layoffs and deferrals disrupting the firm’s trajectory, but Proffitt hopes to change things for the better. Here’s more from Bloomberg:

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Top of mind for Proffitt as she steps into her role in a few months is to strengthen and reinforce the firm’s culture, leaning into its innovative spirit that will allow it to continue to shape its unique, strategic vision for the future ahead, she said.

“There’s no perfect roadmap,” Proffitt said. “There’s an evolving landscape ahead of us and just as our clients are dynamic, we’re going to need to be the same and continue to evolve as their needs do.”

Proffitt will officially take the reins as Cooley’s CEO on January 1, 2024. Congratulations!

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Cooley’s Rachel Proffitt Will Become Its First-Ever Female CEO [Bloomberg Law]

Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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Biglaw, Cooley, Partner Issues, Women's Issues