About Rachel B.
Rachel B. Proffitt is a certified attorney licensed to practice regulation in the State of California. She used to be licensed to the California State Bar in 2002. Her license is presently in lively standing. Ms. Proffitt is a partner and the Chief Executive Officer at Cooley LLP, a global law company headquartered in San Francisco, California. She has been working as an attorney for over 24 years, serving clients throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.
Ms. Proffitt earned her law degree diploma from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (now UC Law San Francisco), where she graduated in 2002. During her time at Hastings, she was a member of the Hastings International and Comparative Law Review and the Hastings Security Law Society. Prior to law program, she completed her undergraduate education on the University of California, Los Angeles, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and as part of the University Honors Program.
Ms. Proffitt concentrates her practice in corporate and securities law, representing public and private companies, as well as venture capital and investment banking companies and other institutional buyers throughout a broad variety of industries. Her practice focuses on general corporate and complicated transactional matters, which includes project capital transactions, public and personal securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and different strategic transactions, as well as public company disclosure and company governance. She has knowledge in all levels of those transactions, from preliminary bargaining sessions to closing and post-closing matters.
Throughout her profession, Ms. Proffitt has handled instances in various courts, which includes the Superior Court of California for the County of San Francisco and the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. She has additionally appeared earlier than the California Court of Appeal. Prior to joining Cooley, she used to be a companion at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where she started her legal career. In January 2024, she succeeded Joe Conroy as Cooley's Chief Executive Officer, becoming the company's first woman CEO. ([cooley.com](https://www.cooley.com/news/coverage/2023/2023-09-18-cooley-announces-rachel-proffitt-to-be triumphant-joe-conroy-as-firms-subsequent-ceo?utm_source=openai))
Ms. Proffitt is an active member of the California State Bar Association. She has been acknowledged for her leadership and contributions to the legal career, including being named to Forbes' listing of America's Top 200 Lawyers in 2024 and to Bloomberg Businessweek's list of Tech Ones to Watch in 2025. ([cooley.com](https://www.cooley.com/information/coverage/2024/2024-04-01-cooley-ceo-named-among-americas-top-200-lawyers?utm_source=openai)) She is also involved in network initiatives and serves as a part-time law professor at UC Law San Francisco, the place she shares her expertise with the next generation of attorneys. ([uclawsf.edu](https://www.uclawsf.edu/people/rachel-proffitt/?utm_source=openai))
