Peter Burns is a partner in the Technology Transactions and Clean Energy and Technologies practice groups and a member of the Cooley Business department. He initially joined the Technology Transactions Group in 2000 and, after several years as an antitrust litigator, rejoined the Firm in early 2005. He is resident in the Palo Alto office, where he focuses on outsourcing and transactions involving the acquisition, development and commercialization of technology.

Mr. Burns' practice focuses on domestic and international intellectual property and technology related transactions with an emphasis on structuring and negotiating deals involving business process and information technology outsourcing, clean technology, Software as a Service, OEM, VAR and other distribution arrangements and other technology related matters. He represents emerging to multinational public companies in the renewable energy, wireless communications, semiconductor, Internet, banking, software, services, and hardware industries. He also counsels clients on the intellectual property aspects of strategic alliances, joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions, and financings. Mr. Burns was named by The Legal 500 as a leading lawyer in the field of technology transactions.

Prior to joining Cooley in 2000, Mr. Burns worked for six years at Wang & Wang, LLP. As its Intellectual Property Manager, he focused primarily on the protection of U.S. entities' intellectual property rights in Taiwan and China. Prior to rejoining Cooley, Mr. Burns was an antitrust litigator at Thelen Reid & Priest.

Mr. Burns received a JD, cum laude, from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, in 2000. He served as President of the student body at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Mr. Burns earned a MA in East Asian Studies from the University of San Francisco in 1996 while working full time and a BA in History and Psychology from Tufts University in 1989.

Mr. Burns served as President of the Hastings Alumni Board of Governors. He is a former Chair of the Law and Technology Committee of the American Bar Association's TIPS Section. He has been Program Chair of numerous CLE programs addressing the intersection of technology and the law. He is also a frequent speaker on topics such as outsourcing, Software as a Service, patent licensing, and negotiating technology transactions. Mr. Burns is a member of the Licensing Executives Society and the ABA's Intellectual Property and Science and Technology Sections.