Cooley's Philip Bowman. Courtesy photo.

Adding to its expanding roster of East Coast lateral hires, Cooley on Thursday announced the addition of Boies Schiller Flexner partner Philip Bowman to its litigation practice in New York.  

Bowman, who joins as a partner in the firm's commercial litigation practice, began his legal career in 2001 as an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. He joined Boies Schiller in 2006 and made partner two years later.

“Looking at all the law firms out there and what they're doing, I think Cooley is the law firm of the future,” Bowman said.

The Palo Alto, California-based firm has developed a large stable of emerging companies as clients, Bowman said, adding that many of those clients promise to become dominant players in the technology and other industries.

“Cooley can take these new companies, and if it can provide all their legal services for them—not just the startup, venture funding and the IPO [work], but all of their litigation going forward—then Cooley becomes the law firm of the economy of the next 10, 20, 30 years,” Bowman said.

“That was the vision that was shared with me and it just rang true,” he said.

Over the years, Bowman has represented financial institutions in securities, commodities, financial products and antitrust litigation and worked with sports and entertainment clients in arbitration and litigation involving Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and the America's Cup sailing race.

At his new firm, Bowman said he hopes to help build inroads with some of his clients in the financial services industry and to serve as a resource for Cooley's existing clients, whether that be in securities or general litigation matters.

“[Bowman] brings first-chair trial experience from high-profile cases and is widely known among many leading financial institutions,” said Mike Attanasio, chair of Cooley's global litigation practice, in a statement.

“Cooley's East Coast momentum is unparalleled in the market today. I'm excited for what we all will achieve together,” Attanasio noted.

In recent months Cooley, which saw its gross revenue hit $1.07 billion last year, has been growing in New York, expanding its corporate and venture capital offerings as well as its commercial and securities litigation practices.  

Late last month the firm added longtime Goldman Sachs & Co. in-house lawyer Jonathan Kim as a partner in its commercial litigation practice. Before joining the Palo Alto-based firm, Kim served as vice president and associate general counsel for the financial services giant's litigation and regulatory proceedings.

Cooley also added the chair of Katten Muchin Rosenman securities litigation and enforcement practice Eric Kuwana in May as a partner in its New York and Washington, D.C., offices.

Earlier this summer Alanna Rutherford, once the youngest and only African-American partner at Boies Schiller, left the firm to join Visa Inc. as vice president of litigation.