About Monique Renee
Monique Renee Sherman is a licensed attorney admitted to practice law in the State of California. She was admitted to the California State Bar in 2003. Her license is currently in active status. Ms. Sherman serves as Pro Bono Counsel at Cooley LLP, a law firm with offices in Palo Alto, California. She has been practicing law for over two decades, focusing on pro bono legal services and child welfare matters.
Ms. Sherman earned her Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center in 2003, where she was a member of the Georgetown Immigration Law Journal. Prior to law school, she completed her undergraduate education at Stanford University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1999. During her time at Stanford, she developed a strong foundation in political science, which has informed her legal career.
Ms. Sherman concentrates her practice on pro bono legal services, particularly in the area of child welfare. She has represented abused and neglected children in child welfare proceedings as a child advocate attorney at the Defender Association of Philadelphia. Her work has involved contested juvenile court hearings concerning child abuse and neglect, termination of parental rights, adoption, special education, and mental health. She has also been involved in landlord/tenant litigation, domestic violence advocacy, public benefits, and impact litigation. Her practice encompasses all stages of litigation, including initial case evaluation, discovery, mediation, settlement negotiations, and trial proceedings in both state and federal courts.
Throughout her career, Ms. Sherman has handled cases in various courts, including the Superior Court of California for the County of San Francisco and the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. She has also appeared before the California Court of Appeal on multiple occasions. Prior to rejoining Cooley LLP in 2012, she worked as an associate at the firm from 2003 to 2006, focusing on general civil litigation matters. After her initial tenure at Cooley, she represented children in child welfare proceedings in Philadelphia before returning to Cooley to lead the firm's pro bono efforts.
Ms. Sherman is an active member of the California Lawyers Association and has served as Chair of its Business Law Section. She has also been involved with the Bench Bar Liaison Committee of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California and the Bay Area Bankruptcy Forum. She is passionate about increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession and has served on the Board of the Black Women Lawyers of Northern California. Ms. Sherman is fluent in English and Spanish, allowing her to serve a diverse clientele effectively.
