NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - August 20, 2007) - Cooley Godward Kronish LLP announced today that Laura Grossfield Birger, former Chief of the General Crimes Unit in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, and Jennifer B. Coplan, a former counsel with Debevoise & Plimpton focusing on technology transactions, have joined the Firm's New York office as partners.

Birger is an accomplished trial attorney who served in a number of important leadership positions in the U.S. Attorney's Office since her arrival in 1997, including Assistant U.S. Attorney, Deputy Chief of the Appeals Unit and, since 2004, Chief of the General Crimes Unit. In two major recent cases with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Birger assisted in securing a life sentence against an armed robber under the federal "three-strikes" law and federal prison terms for two lawyers found guilty of an extensive client fraud scheme.

Coplan practices in the areas of information technology and intellectual property law primarily for technology, consumer electronics, media and financial services companies. At Debevoise & Plimpton, she advised on the negotiation of complex technology transactions, including technology development, licensing, and outsourcing arrangements, and advised leading international consumer electronics, technology and motion picture companies in connection with a variety of matters relating to digital rights management.

"We are extremely pleased to bolster our New York office with two talented attorneys of Laura and Jennifer's caliber," said Alan Levine, partner in charge of Cooley's New York office. "We are confident that their combined experience will prove invaluable in continuing to grow the Firm's litigation and transactional capabilities and provide additional resources to our clients in both white collar criminal defense and technology transactions counseling."

At Cooley, Birger will add to the Firm's already-deep bench of former prosecutors. She will focus on white collar criminal matters and will also support a variety of complex commercial litigation matters. Coplan will focus in the area of technology transactions and will be the first technology transactions group partner in the New York office.

Birger graduated magna cum laude from Brown University in 1990 with a B.A. and earned her law degree from Yale Law School in 1993. She clerked at the District Court level for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and then began her career in private practice in 1994 with Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson in New York. She joined the U.S. Attorney's Office in 1997.

Coplan is a 1986 graduate of Tufts University where she earned a B.S. summa cum laude in Computer Science. She worked as a software engineer before attending Yale Law School where she earned her J.D. in 1993. She began the private practice of law with Debevoise & Plimpton in 1993 and practiced with that firm until she joined Cooley.

About Cooley Godward Kronish LLP

Cooley Godward Kronish's 600 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, financial services, retail and energy.

The firm has full-service offices in major commercial, government and technology centers: Palo Alto, CA, New York, NY, San Diego, CA, San Francisco, CA, Reston, VA, Broomfield, CO, Washington, DC and Boston, MA.

For additional information, please visit www.cooley.com.

Contact Information: Media Contact: Ashley Kanigher 415.732.7802 akanigher@cooley.com