Does Cooley pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Cooley employees rate their compensation and benefits as 4.5 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Cooley. This rating has improved by 5% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Cooley?

56% of Cooley employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Cooley 3.8 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.8 for culture and values and 3.9 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Cooley?

Associate (66) , Legal Secretary (21) , Paralegal (11) , Practice Team Assistant (10) , Associate Attorney (8) , Marketing Assistant (7) , Patent Agent (7) , Attorney (6) , Conflicts Analyst (5) , Marketing (4) , Associate Lawyer (3) , Legal Assistant (3) , Legal Assistant/Paralegal (3) , Manager (3) , Marketing Specialist (3)

What are the pros of working at Cooley according to real employee reviews?

"great people to work with" ((in 47 reviews)); "The provide great benefits and have supportive management" ((in 33 reviews)); "Cool clients and good culture" ((in 30 reviews)); "Great pay and good company" ((in 16 reviews)); "Good salary and place of work" ((in 13 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Cooley according to real employee reviews?

"Long hours and long nights" ((in 19 reviews)); "Management is absolutely ruthless, tons of ppl laid off" ((in 14 reviews)); "Little to no work life balance" ((in 8 reviews)); "There are too many directors and too many managers." ((in 4 reviews)); "Long hours (same for any law firm)." ((in 4 reviews))

What are employees saying about Cooley layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Cooley layoffs and their outlook for job security at Cooley in 2026.

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Cooley

Cooley reviews

3.9

56% would recommend to a friend

(380 total reviews)

Joe Conroy

87% approve of CEO

80% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.5

Compensation and benefits

3.9

Career opportunities

3.8

Culture & values

3.8

Diversity & inclusion

3.8

Work/Life balance

3.3

Senior management

Cooley has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 380 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Cooley employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Legal industry (3.8 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

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Reviews by job title

380 reviews

4.0

Mar 11, 2017

Decent place to work

Patent agent

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The work is engaging, and the attorneys and staff are generally pleasant to work with and show an interest in training inexperienced patent practitioners. The attorneys I work with are respectful of my opinion, and place significant trust and responsibility on me.

Cons

The hours are absolutely brutal, there is way too much work to go around, and compensation is somewhat below market in Boston. There has been some turnover in the practice which has contributed to the ever-increasing workload.

3.0

Mar 8, 2017

associate

Associate

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Very smart people. Strong team collaboration across different offices.

Cons

Some partners are extremely difficult to work with. Rigid policy committee.

3.0

Feb 8, 2017

Great firm, great clients, some leadership and management challenges

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great clients (particularly in Silicon Valley), great case experience. Lawyers were generally very bright and hardworking. Some major stand-out partners providing good mentorship and feedback. As good as any Biglaw firm to get your chops out of law school.

Cons

With a few exceptions, partners in my department were not interested in developing associate talent. I witnessed many associates being driven out instead of being developed, and this occurred more often with the female associates. There is a "blue collared shirt/khaki" club that dominates several practice groups. Working hours were long, billable pressure significant, but that is to be expected of any Biglaw firm. There were several rounds of layoffs during my time - they called them "performance based" reductions - but everyone knew the truth.

Viewing 34 - 36 of 380 Reviews

Jobs at Cooley

Office Technology Specialist

Communications Specialist (Awards & Rankings)

Litigation Case Assistant

Social Impact and Sustainability Coordinator

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Cooley

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Decent place to work

associate

Great firm, great clients, some leadership and management challenges

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