Cooley Enhances Seattle Presence With Addition of Two Leading Emerging Companies Partners

Seattle – February 3, 2026 – Lee Schindler and Jamie Nicole Johnson have joined Cooley’s Seattle office as partners in the emerging companies and venture capital practice. With deep experience advising clients from early-stage ventures to established enterprises, they bolster the firm’s position as a go-to advisor in Seattle for top technology and life sciences companies and a growing roster of innovative businesses across a range of industries.

Schindler and Johnson join from Perkins Coie, where they were partners in the emerging companies and venture capital practice.

“Lee and Jamie are exceptional lawyers, and we are delighted to welcome them to Cooley,” said Peter Werner, Cooley partner, chair of the firm’s global business department, and co-chair of the firm’s global emerging companies and venture capital practice group. “Their arrival builds on our long-standing presence in Seattle at a time of sustained demand in the market, and enhances our ability to support innovative and fast-growing clients across the firm, from formation through the most complex growth stages.”

Schindler and Johnson advise companies and investors on a range of governance and transactional matters, including formations, venture capital financings, growth equity, university and institutional spin-offs, acquisitions and family office matters – extending across sectors such as artificial intelligence, fintech, data security, cloud infrastructure and software systems, software as a service and enterprise software, life sciences and healthcare, and consumer and retail innovation.

“Since the Seattle office was established in 2008, we’ve recognized that the region is a dynamic hub for innovation,” said Nick Davis, partner in charge of Cooley’s Seattle office. “Lee and Jamie bring deep market knowledge and strong local relationships that further strengthen our ability to support high-growth companies and investors in this market. Their addition underscores our commitment to the Pacific Northwest and our goal of delivering sophisticated, growth-oriented counsel to clients across the firm.”

“I’m thrilled to join Cooley, a firm with an unrivaled reputation in the venture capital ecosystem and a track record of advising many of the most innovative growth companies,” said Schindler. “The firm’s long history of working with market-shaping businesses, combined with a deeply collaborative and global platform, creates a uniquely powerful environment for serving clients at every stage of their life cycle.”

Cooley is the go-to advisor to innovators and disruptors. As one of the most active firms globally advising on early- and late-stage financings, initial public offerings and M&A, Cooley combines a multidisciplinary platform with efficient, tech-enabled resources designed to provide clients with premium counsel through each stage as they scale. Cooley is deeply connected in the venture ecosystem, working with startups, boards, management teams and investors to support 7,000+ high-growth private companies reshaping the global economy.

With nearly 20 years in Seattle, Cooley lawyers are deeply embedded in the region’s innovation economy, bringing market-specific insight and top-tier legal capabilities to support technology, healthcare and life sciences clients, from startups to global investors. Backed by Cooley’s global platform, the firm’s Seattle team delivers strategic solutions across corporate, IP and litigation matters that shape the future of the Pacific Northwest. Chambers USA recently ranked the Seattle office for Corporate/M&A and Intellectual Property.

About Cooley LLP

Clients partner with Cooley on transformative deals, complex IP and regulatory matters, and high-stakes litigation.

Cooley has nearly 1,400 lawyers across 19 offices in the United States, Asia and Europe, and a total workforce of more than 3,000 people.