2261CH - 2025 Summer Associate – Compensation & Benefits
Cooley LLP is recruiting 2L summer associates for the 2025 summer program to join our Compensation & Benefits practice in any of the following offices: Boston, Chicago, Santa Monica, New York, Palo Alto, Reston, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. Please only apply to one office and if you are open to other offices, feel free to include that information in the notes section of the application.
Our clients — ranging from emerging growth companies to large public corporations, as well as CEOs, other members of senior management, boards of directors, individual directors and fiduciaries of employee benefit plans — view us as their problem solvers, not just dispensers of legal knowledge. Our approach is grounded in the importance of delivering our services with technical proficiency, a prompt and concise response, creativity, practical application and genuine concern.
We regularly work with employers on projects driven by special needs, including employee benefits issues raised by mergers and acquisitions, workforce reductions, equity incentive programs for employers with expanding foreign operations and shareholder relation issues related to say-on-pay proposals, for the full lifecycle of a company.
We are well versed in all aspects of executive compensation, including public disclosure under SEC rules; institutional shareholder and proxy advisory firm "hot buttons"; the design, drafting and implementation of a wide range of compensation plans; and the tax, securities law, labor and corporate governance aspects of compensation programs and policies. We have extensive experience in formulating and negotiating employment and severance arrangements for senior executives, including change in control agreements and indemnification agreements, and dealing with "golden parachute" issues.
We provide regular counsel regarding tax-qualified retirement programs subject to ERISA, as well as exempt programs such as top-hat plans and severance pay arrangements. Our lawyers have deep experience with ERISA's plan asset regulations on behalf of our venture capital, private equity and other investment fund clients. On the health & welfare plan side, we assist clients in the establishment of all varieties of such plans, and help them navigate the regulatory landscape, including compliance issues arising under the Affordable Care Act.
The expected salary for this position is based on an annualized rate of pay of $225,000.
Qualified candidates will have excellent academic credentials and superior writing, oral communication, and analytical skills. An interest and enthusiasm in the practice is essential.
Learn more about the practice by visiting our website.