- Leading Lawyer for U.S. Corporate/M&A Law, Chambers, 2006 – 2022
- "MVP of the Year" for Technology, Law360, 2019
- "Lawyer of the Year" for Technology and Telecom Dealmaking, The Deal, 2018
- "Hall of Fame," The Legal 500, 2018 – 2022
- Top 100 Attorneys in California, The Daily Journal, 2006, 2013, 2018
- 500 Leading Dealmakers in America, Lawdragon, 2021 – 2022
One of the nation's leading M&A lawyers, Doug has advised companies on more than $175 billion in mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.
He also advises technology and life sciences clients on strategic and commercial transactions, corporate counseling and governance, securities matters, shareholder activism and takeover defense. He has led Fenwick’s M&A practice for over 20 years and served as a member of the firm’s executive committee for 10 years.
Doug's transactional experience spans more than 25 years and includes cross-border transactions in the software, cybersecurity, internet, life sciences, medical devices, telecommunications, networking, semiconductor, computer hardware and consumer products industries.
He is ranked by Chambers & Partners as among the world’s leading lawyers for U.S. Corporate/M&A in both the Global and USA guides. He is also recognized as a Notable Practitioner in the Nationwide Corporate/M&A–Highly Regarded listing. Client testimonials in the Chambers guides have consistently referred to Doug as “strategic”, “innovative”, and an “incredible negotiator who sees the big picture”.
Doug has served as director of Intergovernmental Relations for the New York City Planning Commission. He has also lectured on transactional law at Columbia University Law School, Stanford University Law School and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
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Representative Technology Transactions
- Over 150 deals for Cisco Systems, including the acquisitions of:
- Scientific-Atlanta for $6.9B
- NDS Group for $5B
- Acacia Communications for $4.5B
- AppDynamics for $3.7B
- WebEx Communications for $3.2B
- Starent Networks for $2.9B
- Sourcefire for $2.7B
- Duo Security for $2.3B
- BroadSoft for $1.9B
- VeriSign's $21B merger with Network Solutions
- Symantec’s $10.7B sale of its Enterprise Security business to Broadcom
- Concur’s $8.3B acquisition by SAP
- GitHub's $7.5B acquisition by Microsoft
- Symantec’s $7.4B sale of the Veritas information management business to The Carlyle Group
- Excite's $7.2B merger with @Home
- Symantec's $4.65B merger with Blue Coat
- NetScreen Technologies' $4.3B merger with Juniper Networks
- Macromedia's $3.4B merger with Adobe Systems
- Symantec’s $2.3B acquisition of LifeLock
- Fitbit's $2.1B acquisition by Google
- ArcSight’s $1.5B acquisition by Hewlett-Packard
- Elantec Semiconductor's $1.4B acquisition by Intersil
- Over 150 deals for Cisco Systems, including the acquisitions of:
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Representative Life Sciences Transactions
- Loxo Oncology’s $8B acquisition by Eli Lilly
- Cepheid’s $4B acquisition by Danaher
- Audentes Therapeutics’ $3B acquisition by Astellas Pharma
- Agilent Technologies’ $1.5B acquisition of Varian
- Amunix’s $1.2B acquisition by Sanofi
- Dermira’s $1.1B acquisition by Eli Lilly
- Connetics' $930M merger with Stiefel Laboratories
- Veracyte’s $600M acquisition of Decipher Biosciences
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Representative Consumer Products Transactions
- Clif Bar & Company's pending $2.9B acquisition by Mondelēz
- Fitbit’s $2.1B acquisition by Google
- Diamond Foods’ $1.3B acquisition by Snyder’s-Lance
- Diamond Foods’ $615M acquisition of Kettle Chips
- Cisco Systems’ $590M acquisition of Pure Digital
- Cisco Systems’ $500M acquisition of Linksys
- Diamond Foods’ acquisition of the Pop Secret business from General Mills
“A fantastic lawyer and a true counselor to the business and legal team,” Doug Cogen represents companies and boards of directors in significant corporate transactions and governance issues, and sits as co-chair of the firm’s M&A practice. One source reports: “He is strategic, thinks on his feet and is always looking out for clients’ backs but aiming to get a deal done.”
—Chambers USA
2021 Edition
Professional Achievements
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Additional Recognition
- Leading Lawyer, United States - M&A/Corporate, The Legal 500, 2014 – 2019
- “Deal Maker of the Year,” Finance Monthly, 2015, 2017
- Listed, Top 50 Global M&A Lawyers, Global M&A Network, 2014
- M&A Lawyer of the Year, Global M&A Network, 2010
- Ranked, M&A, Who’s Who Legal, 2014 – 2022
- Ranked, Corporate Governance, Who’s Who Legal, 2018 – 2022
- “Elite Dealmaker,” IFLR1000, 2018
- Best Lawyers in America, M&A, U.S. News - Best Lawyers, 2011 – 2021
- Northern California “Super Lawyer,” Super Lawyers, 2006 – 2021
Education & Admissions
J.D., cum laude, University of Michigan Law School
B.A., magna cum laude, with academic honors, Architecture and Society
Brown University
Phi Beta Kappa
Admitted to practice in California and New York