Elizabeth Holmes prosecutor John Bostic is set to join Cooley LLP as a partner in their Palo Alto office, a move aligned with the firm’s efforts to bolster its white collar, litigation, and investigation practices. Bostic, who served nearly nine years as an assistant U.S. attorney, played a pivotal role in the high-profile Theranos cases, which saw Holmes and the company’s former COO Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani convicted of fraud.
“Finishing up those projects felt like the end of a chapter for me,” said Bostic in a recent interview. “When a chapter ends, you start thinking about what the next chapter is going to be.” Cooley’s growth in white collar and litigation practices provided an appealing next step for Bostic.
Cooley’s client base features prominent names such as Apple Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., and Nvidia Corp. The firm has been actively expanding its team, recently bringing in seasoned professionals like Heather Sawyer and Rebekah Donaleski, who have reinforced its expertise in congressional investigations and white collar defense, respectively (Bloomberg Law).
Bostic’s background includes a tenure at litigation boutique Keker & Van Nest before his time as a federal prosecutor, where he worked on cases involving securities fraud, bank fraud, insider trading, and computer hacking. Notably, his prosecutorial efforts led to Holmes receiving an 11 1/4-year sentence in 2022 for investor fraud and Balwani receiving a 13-year sentence. Cooley itself had previously represented Holmes in civil litigation, only to eventually withdraw due to unpaid bills (Bloomberg Law).
Cooley’s strategic hiring decisions reflect the increasing importance of legal expertise in sectors under heightened regulatory scrutiny, particularly around data privacy, cybersecurity, and antitrust matters. Michael Attanasio, chair of Cooley’s global litigation department, reaffirmed this strategy, stating, “We are on a mission to add elite, next-generation talent to our litigation team. John fits perfectly into that strategic plan.”