The Cozen O’Connor Women’s Initiative is dedicated to the development and enhancement of professional and personal relationships among our female attorneys and clients. Our long-standing commitment to providing a supportive, collaborative culture for female attorneys formally began in the late 1990s and continues to prosper today, creating a positive environment for the hiring, retention and promotion of female attorneys within Cozen O’Connor. The Women’s Initiative is led by Co-Chairs Calli Padilla and Kristi Zentner, and it has a dedicated Executive Board, Steering Committee, and subcommittees that represents all of the firm’s offices and that reflects the diverse issues confronting women in today’s legal workplace.
Our goals are:
• To educate and support our female attorneys, providing them with the skills and opportunities needed for professional and personal success and to invite all allies to participate in these endeavors;
• To encourage our female attorneys in order to pave the way to leadership in the firm and with professional, corporate, nonprofit and civic organizations;
• To create new business opportunities and expand networking relationships with other firm attorneys;
• To raise the profile of female attorneys in the business community;
• To encourage all attorneys in the firm to learn and work together to ensure the firm promotes an inclusive environment with paths for all attorneys to succeed; and
• Through the achievement of the above goals, to support the firm’s ongoing commitment to supporting women in firm leadership positions.
The implementation and achievement of these goals will allow Cozen O’Connor’s female attorneys to make unique and valuable contributions to the success of our firm, and will provide a deeply rewarding professional and personal experience upon which they can build their legal careers.
July 18, 2022
Sarah Schlossberg contributed an article to the August Issue of ALI CLE’s The Practical Lawyer, discussing how to navigate conversations about our country’s constantly evolving constitutional law landscape.
March 22, 2022
Sarah Schlossberg contributed an article to the April issue of ALI CLE’s The Practical Lawyer, discussing strategies to help yourself stay on task, become more productive, and feel better for those with ADHD or executive functioning challenges.
September 14, 2021
Sarah Schlossberg contributed an article to the October issue of ALI CLE’s The Practical Lawyer, discussing tips to ease the anxiety and pain of performance reviews.
August 10, 2021
Sarah Schlossberg contributed an article to the August issue of ALI CLE’s The Practical Lawyer, discussing reentry into the workplace following an unprecedented global crisis.
May 20, 2021
Sarah Schlossberg contributed an article to the June issue of ALI CLE’s The Practical Lawyer, discussing how microaggressions and implicit biases impact female and diverse attorneys.
February 01, 2021
Sarah Schlossberg contributed an article to the February issue of ALI CLE’s The Practical Lawyer, discussing Cozen O’Connor Women’s Initiative 19th Amendment Series.
Upcoming Events
April 10, 2025 - Amherst, MA
Wendy Venoit will speak on the “Women's Hall of Fame” panel at the 2025 Women Who Build Summit.
Past Events
October 23, 2024 - Philadelphia, PA
September 23, 2024 - Chicago, IL
July 24, 2024 - Chicago, IL
November 08, 2023 - Philadelphia, PA
October 16, 2023 - New Orleans, LA
September 27, 2023 - Washington, D.C.
September 12, 2023 - Webinar
July 19, 2023 - Chicago, IL
June 21, 2023 - Philadelphia, PA
June 20, 2023 - Philadelphia, PA
April 25, 2023 - Hollywood, Florida
March 30, 2023 - West Conshohocken, PA
January 18, 2023 - Webinar
November 16, 2022 - Conshohocken, PA
October 28, 2022 - Washington D.C.
October 17, 2022 - Washington, DC
September 27, 2022 - Webinar
September 14, 2022 - Webinar
September 12, 2022 - Webinar
August 04, 2022 - New York, NY
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March 08, 2024
Last year was a historical year for Cozen O’Connor – with no fewer than six of the seven members elevated to shareholder being women. In honor of International Women’s Day, the Cozen O’Connor Women’s Initiative hosted a panel discussion to discuss their unique backgrounds and career paths.
February 15, 2024
The firm announced several new practice group chairs, office managing partners, and leaders of firm committees and initiatives
November 14, 2023
Heather Marx was featured in a Hennepin Lawyer article discussing her practice, the unique challenges women face in the legal profession, and the advice she will never forget.
September 08, 2023
Heather Marx, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Commercial Litigation practice and vice-chair of the firm’s Trade Remedies practice, has been named by Minnesota Lawyer Magazine to its inaugural “Top Women in Law” list.
September 07, 2023
Cozen O’Connor is pleased to announce Wendy Enerson, Melissa Grossman, Susan Grueneberg, Suzanne Radcliff, Laura Reinhart, John Sullivan, and Cheryl Upham have been promoted to shareholder.
September 07, 2023
Jeremy Glenn, Kathy Jaffari, Howard Schweitzer, and Lynnette Espy-Williams will each serve a three-year term.
August 01, 2023
Under Sarah’s leadership of the Women's Initiative, Cozen O’Connor garnered a first-time spot on Seramount’s Best Law Firms for Women and Diversity list in 2023.
July 06, 2023
Josephine Bahn was featured in an American Bar Association Litigation Section Alumni Spotlight.
October 27, 2022
Susan Eisenberg spoke with Law.com in a Q&A to discuss her time in a leadership role at Cozen O'Connor.
August 18, 2022
Philadelphia attorney Jennifer A. Brandt, Chair of Cozen O’Connor’s Family Law Group, was elected Secretary of the American Bar Association Family Law Section (FLS) at the ABA’s annual meeting in Chicago.
August 05, 2022
Gary Gassman and Josephine Bahn, have been installed in ABA Chair Roles.
July 26, 2022
Moldenhauer was recognized at an awards ceremony on July 26, 2022.
July 18, 2022
Lynnette Espy-Williams, Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer, visited the "Standing in the Gap" podcast to discuss the importance of sustaining a purposeful and inclusive culture.
March 25, 2022
Ellen Morris has been selected as an honoree for the Daily Business Review’s annual Florida Legal Awards in the Innovator category.
March 02, 2022
Cozen O’Connor is pleased to announce that Lynnette Espy-Williams, member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation Department and chief culture officer, has been named by Savoy Magazine as one of the 2022 Most Influential Black Lawyers.
March 01, 2022
Cozen O’Connor is pleased to announce that Ellen Morris, member of the firm’s Elder Law Group, has been selected as an honoree in South Florida Business & Wealth’s 2022 Prestigious Women Awards.
January 14, 2022
Alycen Moss, co-chair of Cozen O’Connor’s Property Insurance Group, was named a fellow of the American College of Coverage Counsel (ACCC), the preeminent association that represents the interests of insurers and policyholders in disputes arising out of insurance policies.
December 09, 2021
Cozen O’Connor is pleased to announce that Leslie Gomez, vice chair of the firm’s Institutional Response Group, has been selected to Latino Leaders Magazine 2021 Top Latino Lawyers list.
November 23, 2021
Cozen O’Connor is pleased to announce that Gina Maisto Smith, chair of the firm’s Institutional Response Group, and Amorie Hummel, an associate in the firm’s Environmental Group, have been selected as 2021 Women of Distinction honorees by the Philadelphia Business Journal.
November 02, 2021
Leigh Ann Benson, director, career development at Cozen O'Connor, spoke at a mentoring launch party for the Philadelphia Bar Association.
August 10, 2021
Cozen O’Connor is pleased to announce that Alycen Moss, member of the Global Insurance Department and co-chair of the firm’s Property Insurance Group, has been named the 2021 recipient of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel’s John Appleman Award.
June 14, 2021
Cozen O’Connor is pleased to announce that Katie Schwab, managing director of the firm’s Public Strategies Group, has been named a board member of the Downtown Lower Manhattan Association (DLMA).
June 07, 2021
Cozen O’Connor is pleased to announce that Rose Christ, senior principal of the firm’s Public Strategies Group, was named to Crain’s Notable LGBTQ Leaders and Executives list.
April 20, 2021
Heather Marx, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Commercial Litigation practice and vice-chair of the firm’s Trade Remedies practice, has been named to The American Lawyer’s 2021 inaugural list of Midwest Trailblazers.
April 01, 2021
Cozen O’Connor is pleased to announce that Susan Eisenberg and Jennifer Taylor, members of the firm’s Labor & Employment Department, have been selected as honorees for the Daily Business Review’s Florida Legal Awards.
March 16, 2021
Cozen O’Connor is pleased to announce that Anupama Prasad, an associate in the firm’s Global Insurance Department, has been named to the National Association of Women’s Lawyers (NAWL) Rising List.
November 10, 2020
Philadelphia – November 10, 2020 – Suzanne Mayes, co-chair of Cozen O’Connor’s Business Law Department and co-chair of the firm’s Public & Project Finance Practice, has been selected as a 2020 Freda Johnson Trailblazing Women in Public Finance by the Northeast Women in Public Finance and The Bond Buyer.
October 20, 2020
New York – October 20, 2020 – Leni Morrison Cummins, a member of Cozen O'Connor’s Real Estate Practice, has been named a 40 Under 40 Rising Star by City & State New York.
October 06, 2020
Philadelphia, October 6, 2020- Helene Jaron, co-chair of Cozen O’Connor’s Private Client, Trusts and Estates Group, has been selected as a 2020 Woman of Distinction by the Philadelphia Business Journal.
September 08, 2020
Anna Wermuth was recently named to the list of Chicago’s “Notable Women in Law” by Crain’s Chicago Business.
April 02, 2020
Leni Cummins, a member of Cozen O'Connor’s Real Estate Practice, was named a Real Estate & Construction Trailblazer by the National Law Journal.
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