Mark B. Pitchford has been a member of Cooley's senior management team since 2000, and currently serves as Cooley's Administrative and Legal Practice Partner.

Mr. Pitchford has been with Cooley his entire legal career, joining the Firm in 1984, after having been a summer associate in 1983. He resides in the Firm's Palo Alto office.

Prior to undertaking management roles on a full-time basis, Mr. Pitchford maintained a diverse business litigation practice in both federal and state courts, and he remains a partner in the Firm's Litigation Department. While engaged in his litigation practice, a significant portion of Mr. Pitchford's practice was devoted to complex commercial contract litigation and license disputes. In addition to practicing in state and federal courts, Mr. Pitchford handled matters in a variety of alternative dispute resolution forums. He also advised numerous of the Firm's emerging company clients on a myriad of issues that potentially impacted their businesses. In 1989, Mr. Pitchford served as a Deputy District Attorney for the County of Santa Clara as part of a cooperative program between Cooley and the District Attorney's office.

Mr. Pitchford received a JD, cum laude, from Santa Clara University School of Law in 1984. He attended Stanford University on a basketball scholarship, where he received an AB in International Relations with distinction and departmental honors in 1981.

In 1999, California Law & Business named Mr. Pitchford one of California's top 20 up and coming lawyers under the age of 40.