Women in Law 2022

LAURIE BAUER PARTNER, FOUNDING PARTNER – Chicago Office Cooley LLP

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L aurie Bauer is a founding partner of Cooley’s Chicago office, which opened in May 2021. She joined the firm as a partner in its international, market-leading emerging companies and venture capital practice, and currently serves as co-head of Cooley’s Chicago corporate group. Laurie’s practice is focused on representing emerging and growth-stage companies and the investors who support them, including venture capital and private equity firms and family offices. She regularly advises clients on myriad capital raising transactions, ranging from seed to large late-stage financings. Laurie also counsels companies at all stages on a wide variety of day-to-day corporate matters. While her clients are not limited to northern Illinois, Laurie has focused on Chicago and the greater Midwest, and strived to make a meaningful contribution to the region’s growing venture ecosystem. In addition to maintaining her practice, Laurie’s leadership responsibilities at Cooley have included a wide range of strategic and hiring initiatives. The office opened with 10 partners and – just over a year later – now counts approximately 50 lawyers, more than half of whom are women and nearly half of whom are racially diverse or identify as LGBTQ+. Laurie has contributed to Cooley Chicago’s success by helping to recruit and build a transformative team of staff and lawyers who share a commitment to excellence, client service, innovation and the firm’s enduring dedication to building an enterprise that reflects equality for all. Acknowledging her own strong female role models, business partners and other mentors, Laurie prioritizes paying their influence forward by supporting, mentoring and providing opportunities to other female lawyers. Laurie has played an active role in growing Cooley Chicago’s formal mentoring program, which provides learning opportunities and support for lawyers in the firm’s Chicago office so they can develop their skills in Cooley’s collaborative culture. Beyond Cooley, Laurie works to promote growth and diversity in Chicago’s greater professional community, specifically in the startup ecosystem and entrepreneurial community. She serves on the board of directors of 1871, a Chicago nonprofit that serves to support founders with an idea, growth stage teams and corporate innovators. Laurie is also involved in Cooley’s partnership with Hyde Park Angels, a Chicago-centered venture capital group focused on angel investments. She believes the Midwest is an emerging global hub of opportunity and enjoys working with early-stage companies and entrepreneurs, including many with women founders. Laurie has lectured at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, the University of Michigan Law School and other organizations with large-scale reach on topics relating to venture financings and other corporate matters. She has three daughters and hopes they will find Chicago to be a community of immense opportunity and support in the future. Laurie earned her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School in 2005 after receiving her B.A. from Carleton College, where she was a three-sport varsity athlete. Before joining Cooley, she was a partner at Latham & Watkins, where she developed her practice and gained valuable experience working with a wide range of clients.

WOMEN IN LAW 2022