For partners considering a lateral move, ask yourself one simple question before selecting a firm: where will I have the platform and opportunity to create an exceptional practice?
Cozen O’Connor offers a particularly attractive platform, and our recent lateral lawyers tell us that we are one of the best-managed businesses in the Am Law 100 today. In just four decades, the firm has grown from a dozen attorneys in Philadelphia to a firm of more than 850 attorneys with 32 offices across two continents. During the recession, when many prestigious firms announced layoffs, Cozen O’Connor made strategic additions from a position of fiscal strength, and we continue to do so today.
Cozen O’Connor also empowers lateral lawyers from the start because we fully appreciate what it takes to transfer and expand a practice. This is not a policy - it’s part of our DNA. Cozen O’Connor was started by entrepreneurs. We understand that building a business means taking calculated risks, seizing opportunities as soon as they arise, and challenging well-established competitors. Because we understand, we do not constrain our partners with bureaucratic requirements and red tape. We give them the authority to move quickly and take decisive action.
This firm is institutionally adept at integrating lateral lawyers and leveraging their existing business because that has been its modus operandi since its founding. Today, many members of senior management, including our Executive Chairman and CEO, and the leaders of most of our practice groups and senior administrative and executive teams, joined Cozen O’Connor as a lateral lawyer. We know exactly what new lateral lawyers need to thrive.
First, they need on the ground support from associates, assistants, and professional services to ensure a smooth transition. Every attorney who joins Cozen O’Connor works directly with the marketing and business development team, as well as the integration director, to develop and execute an individualized practice plan. This plan typically includes support for presentations, seminars and speaking opportunities, the production of white papers and marketing collateral, and introductions to key client contacts from other firm practices and industry groups. Lateral lawyers also receive comprehensive technical support to get them up and running immediately.
New partners need meaningful leadership opportunities. While Cozen O’Connor is avowedly nonbureaucratic, the size of the firm demands that we maintain a formal leadership structure. Whether chairing a practice group, mentoring junior attorneys, or assisting in the management of the firm as a whole, lateral partners bring a wealth of valuable knowledge and experience. Cozen O’Connor is actively seeking partners who can help guide Cozen O’Connor to the next stage of its development.
Finally, lateral partners need the support of a cooperative firm culture. Despite Cozen O’Connor’s robust growth, we have carefully grown the Firm with attorneys who share our commitment to having a warm, respectful, and collegial workplace. Our culture is more important than any single portable book of business. The camaraderie that exists among employees of all ranks truly sets us apart. We believe this environment is particularly beneficial for lateral lawyers because the day you step in the door, you become one of us.