Alessandra Murata, a veteran compensation and benefits partner in Silicon Valley, is leaving Goodwin Procter to join Cooley.

Murata joined Cooley's Palo Alto office Tuesday as a partner. She came from Goodwin's Redwood City office, which she joined about three and a half years ago from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

"The compensation and benefits practice at Cooley is very dynamic and also offers me the opportunity to work again with one of my former Skadden colleagues," said Murata. At Cooley, Murata is reuniting with former colleague Barbara Mirza, who joined Cooley's Los Angeles office from Skadden in 2015.

Alessandra Murata, with Cooley.

Murata moved from New York to Northern California in 2011. She focuses her practice on counseling companies, particularly those in the technology, life sciences, private equity and REIT sectors, on executive compensation and benefits issues that arise from mergers, acquisitions, initial public offerings and other extraordinary corporate events, including private equity and leveraged buyout transactions.

"Prior to joining Goodwin, three years ago, I'd not really worked with any startup companies," said Murata, noting that she expanded her practice to include work with emerging companies.

According to Murata's firm bio, some of her representations include handling executive compensation matters for companies involved in transactions such as DCT Industrial Trust Inc. on its $8.4 billion acquisition by Prologis Inc., Surface Oncology on its $119.5 million initial public offering and Planet Payment Inc. on its $257 million acquisition by Fintrax.

Murata also advises clients on the adoption, revision and negotiation of executive employment and severance arrangements.

"Ali brings an exceptional range of transactional and counseling experience and is highly respected for advising on the most complex executive compensation issues," said Amy Wood, partner and chair of Cooley's compensation and benefits practice, in a statement. "Her experience and passion will prove a strong asset to our clients, and we are thrilled to welcome Ali to our team."

Cooley's compensation and benefits practice group has a total of 29 attorneys and staff, including eight partners and 12 associates.

In a statement responding to Murata's departure, a spokesperson from Goodwin said: "We thank Ali for all of her contributions to Goodwin and our clients, and we wish her well."

While at Goodwin, Murata served as chair of the Women@Goodwin program in Silicon Valley, which provides support for female attorneys throughout their careers. She also served as the ERISA and executive compensation representative on the diversity and inclusion committee.