Michael Platt
                About Michael
Mike is partner in charge and head of the business and finance group in Cooley’s Colorado office. Mike represents emerging companies throughout their life cycle, with a particular emphasis on exit transactions, including complex M&A and public offerings.
Mike started his career in the Silicon Valley and is a nationally recognized venture capital and M&A lawyer, with clients extending to both coasts. He was recognized as a leading lawyer by Best Lawyers in America for Venture Capital Law, Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law, and Corporate Law; the Legal 500 US for M&A/Corporate and Commercial – Venture Capital and Emerging Companies; and Chambers USA for Corporate/M&A. Michael was recognized as a “Lawyer of the Year” in the 2026 edition of “The Best Lawyers in America” and highlighted for his high-caliber work in venture capital and leveraged buyouts and private equity law. He also was named a Colorado “Super Lawyer” in Mergers and Acquisitions.
Mike assisted in the formation of Techstars, a leading startup accelerator, and has acted as a mentor and outside counsel to some of their most successful graduates, including SendGrid, Sphero, Occipital and Next Big Sound. Mike was a contributing author to “Do More Faster” by David Cohen and Brad Feld and “Startup Boards” by Brad Feld and Mahendra Ramsinghani.
Education
- 
            University of California, Hastings College of the Law (now UC Law San Francisco)
                
JD, Order of the Coif - 
            University of Colorado at Boulder
                
BS, Business, Beta Gamma Sigma 
Rankings and accolades
Chambers USA: Corporate/M&A – Colorado (2020 – 2025)
The Best Lawyers in America: Venture Capital Law, Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law and Corporate Law (2022)
The Best Lawyers in America: Lawyer of the Year - Corporate Law (2018, 2020, 2021)
Legal 500: M&A/Corporate and Commercial – Venture Capital and Emerging Companies
Super Lawyers: Mergers and Acquisitions
Memberships and affiliations
- Colorado Bar Association
 - The State Bar of California