Goodwin Procter is expanding again in Silicon Valley.

Joshua Cook, the head of Gunderson Dettmer's San Francisco office since 2013, and his colleague, Jon Novotny, have joined Goodwin Procter in the city as members of its technology companies practice.

After spending nearly 14 years at the Silicon Valley firm, Cook said he has been looking for a global platform, such as one provided by Goodwin Procter, to cater to the evolving needs of his emerging company and investor clients.

Josh Cook

“When I look at Goodwin's platform, it presents a lot of opportunities for growth,” said Cook, explaining his new firm's capital markets and technology sector roots and how they fit with the future needs of his clients.

Cook made partner at Gunderson Dettmer in 2012, having joined the firm in 2005 from Seyfarth Shaw. Novotny made partner at Gunderson Dettmer last year after joining the firm in 2010 from Latham & Watkins, where he was an associate.

“This is more of a forward-looking decision,” said Novotny, echoing Cook's sentiment about the impetus in jumping to Goodwin Procter.

Novotny focuses his practice on advising emerging growth companies and venture capital firms on general corporate counseling, venture capital financings, M&A deals and public offerings. Cook's focus industries include consumer internet, software, blockchain and entertainment technology companies.

“The legal needs of my clients are more sophisticated than earlier in their life cycle,” Novotny said. “Having the broader platform can really allow us to service more of the needs that our even early-stage clients are having.”

In a statement, Gunderson Dettmer wished its departing partners well at Goodwin Procter.

“The firm's San Francisco office has performed exceptionally, and remains well-positioned to continue that performance,” Gunderson Dettmer said.

Jon Novotny

In August, the firm raided fellow Silicon Valley stalwart Fenwick & West for its ex-corporate finance and securities co-chair Jeffrey Vetter, who now leads Gunderson Dettmer's public offerings and companies practice.

“We have been very fortunate to attract people like Josh and Jon to the practice,” said Anthony McCusker, a former Gunderson Dettmer partner who joined Goodwin Procter in 2010 and now co-chairs the firm's technology companies practice. “The firm's strategy is to educate and make [others] understand how robust our platform is and the types of things we can do for clients in the areas that we practice in, like technology, life sciences and private equity.”

Goodwin Procter, which rebranded itself as “Goodwin” in 2016, has about 230 lawyers in its technology and life sciences practice. Cook and Novotny's arrival also follows a stream of recent hires by the firm in Northern California, including former DLA Piper corporate and technology partner Shane Albright, who joined its Silicon Valley office in August.

Also joining Goodwin Procter in August was former Vinson & Elkins partner Darryl Woo, a onetime head of the litigation group at Fenwick & West, in San Francisco. Earlier this year, Goodwin Procter also welcomed aboard ex-Fenwick & West private equity partners Scott Joachim and David Johanson in Silicon Valley. Sidley Austin did hire Goodwin Procter private equity partner Jared Jensen this past summer in San Francisco, where the firm also recently watched partner Veronica McGregor join Swiss cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift as its new chief legal officer.

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