Just days after the hiring of corporate and finance partner Jeremiah “Jay” Sullivan in Boston, DLA Piper has made another lateral hire, bolstering its Philadelphia-based transactional practice.
John Coogan comes to DLA Piper as a partner in Philadelphia. Coogan, who was previously at Duane Morris, specialises in representing private equity firms, investment firms, and public and private companies in M&A and debt and equity securities offerings. His clients are active in the technology, health care, energy, and consumer products sectors.
“Jay’s diverse industry and practice experience immediately enhances our platform providing complex transactional counsel in private equity and the capital markets,” said Jay Smith, chair of DLA Piper’s US corporate and finance practice.
In November 2011, Coogan acted as chairman of a conference held under the auspices of the Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies (PACT). In an interview published on the website of technology news network Technical.ly on June 24, 2011, Coogan discusses his role in the conference and relates how he came to Philadelphia from New York City in 1992 to work for Novacare, but decided he wanted to be at a law firm. As a Duane Morris partner, Coogan gravitated toward seeking out clients who lacked legal representation, namely “emerging and early stage companies.”
Coogan continues, "A young company working on a kitchen table in an apartment in West Philly is probably not camera-ready yet. But they can always be exposed to new ideas or a mentor that will give time or money."