David E. Mills

Cooley secured an appellate win on behalf of IonQ, a quantum computing hardware and software company, in the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, affirming the original dismissal of the securities class action and ruling that plaintiffs cannot adequately plead loss causation by relying on a self-interested short-seller report based on anonymous sources.

Cooley secured another win on behalf of IonQ, a quantum computing hardware and software company, when a district court issued an order denying the plaintiffs’ attempt to amend their complaint and request that the court reconsider its prior dismissal with prejudice of a consolidated securities fraud class action.

Cooley defeated an appeal in the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, affirming a jury verdict finding white nationalist leaders and organizations liable to plaintiffs for egregious and hateful conduct at the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Cooley pro bono team was led Alan Levine and David Mills.

Cooley represented IonQ, a quantum computing hardware and software company, in a consolidated securities fraud class action initially brought by former investor Michael Leacock.

The US Supreme Court ruled on April 1, 2021 that the Federal Communications Commission was within its authority to repeal or modify three long-standing media ownership controls. The decision aligned with arguments Cooley made in amicus briefs submitted on behalf of Gray Television that, after years of challenges, the FCC’s modernized rules finally should be allowed to take effect because the agency issued them in full compliance with its obligations under Section 202(h) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court found no issues with the agency’s 2017 decision, which eliminated bans on broadcast-newspaper and television-radio cross-ownership, nixed restrictions on cross-station advertising agreements and dropped a diversity-of-viewpoints rule for local markets. Lawyers David Mills, Robert McDowell and Barrett Anderson led the Cooley effort.