About Rodger R.
Rodger R. Cole earned his law degree from Santa Clara University School of Law in 1995 after completing a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Redlands in 1991. The chronological arc of his education places him among a generation of lawyers trained in the mid-1990s, a period that coincided with rapid technological and regulatory change. He completed his studies and moved into private practice at a time when federal courts and appellate work were growing more prominent for litigation teams.
He has practiced at Fenwick & West LLP. Over the years he has built a practice that regularly engages federal trial courts and the appellate bench. His courtroom work and filings have required admission in multiple federal districts and in the Ninth Circuit, and he conducts work that crosses district lines when a matter demands it.
Cole holds admissions to the State of California and to several federal courts. The list includes the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Central Districts of California, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Those admissions allow him to represent clients in a broad geographic swath of federal forums and on appeal when cases advance beyond the trial level.
His casework spans the phases of litigation from initial filings to appellate briefs. He prepares pleadings, participates in motions practice, and argues before judges in district court and in the Ninth Circuit when matters proceed to appeal. He works on litigation that requires coordination across jurisdictions, and he handles procedural and substantive aspects that carry a federal dimension.
Colleagues describe his courtroom work as methodical. He favors clear briefing and careful preservation of issues for appeal. He has experience managing complex procedural calendars and interacting with judges and opposing counsel across multiple districts. That practical steadiness is part of how he approaches matters that may require multi-district coordination or appellate preparation.
He is currently based at Fenwick & West LLP, where he represents clients in matters before California state courts and in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Central Districts of California, as well as before the Ninth Circuit. He currently practices in these federal and state forums.
