About Bill S.
Bill S. Galliani combined technical training and legal study before entering private practice. He earned both a B.S. in electrical engineering and a B.A. in English from Northwestern University. He then turned to law, receiving his J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law. The mix of engineering and humanities shaped his approach to problem solving and made the transition to legal work a natural extension of his earlier studies.
His legal career brought him to firm practice. He is a partner at Cooley Godward Kronish LLP and works out of the firm’s Palo Alto office. Over time he has balanced the demands of firm partnership—managing client matters, mentoring junior lawyers and coordinating with colleagues across offices—while maintaining an individual caseload. His title reflects a senior role within the firm and a continuing presence in a major technology market.
Galliani holds admissions in multiple jurisdictions. He is licensed to practice in Illinois and California, and he is registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Those credentials allow him to represent clients in state matters in two states and to appear before the USPTO on patent-related filings and proceedings.
Colleagues describe his method as precise and careful. He brings technical training from engineering together with legal judgment shaped by his law school education. That combination often proves useful when legal questions touch on technical subject matter or require attention to detailed documentation. He has worked on matters that require coordination among inventors, outside counsel and in-house teams, and he has experience preparing the kinds of written work product that patent offices and courts expect.
Outside the office he has remained engaged in the professional life of the practice. He participates in firm initiatives and works with colleagues across practice groups. He has also been part of continuing legal education efforts that help younger lawyers understand both the technical and procedural aspects of practice.
He continues to practice from Cooley’s Palo Alto office, representing clients in matters that make use of his engineering background, admissions in Illinois and California, and his registration before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
