Maureen P. Alger is a partner in the Cooley Litigation department and also serves as the Firm's Pro Bono Partner. She joined the Firm in 1999 and is a resident of the Palo Alto office.

As Pro Bono Partner, Ms. Alger is responsible for the development and administration of the Firm's Pro Bono practice. She also supervises many pro bono matters.

Prior to her focus on the Pro Bono practice, Ms. Alger's practice focused on complex commercial litigation matters and appellate and writ proceedings. She has represented clients in a wide range of appeals and writ proceedings in the United States Supreme Court, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Ninth and Federal Circuits, and the California appellate courts.

Ms. Alger is also a leader in the promotion and coordination of pro bono work regionally and nationally. She is a founder of the Bay Area Pro Bono Roundtable, the Bar Association of San Francisco's Pro Bono Committee, and the national Association of Pro Bono Counsel (APBCo). She is also an active member of the State Bar of California's Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services (SCDLS). In 2011, Ms. Alger was recognized for her outstanding achievements by the YWCA Tribute to Women Awards Program.

Before joining Cooley, Ms. Alger served as a law clerk to the Honorable Martha Craig Daughtrey of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Ms. Alger received a JD from Columbia University School of Law, where she served as an editor for the Columbia Law Review. She received a BA degree with high honors from the University of California at Berkeley, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Ms. Alger is a member of the State Bar of California. She is also admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth and Ninth Circuits, and the United States District Courts for the Northern and Central Districts of California.