PHILADELPHIA – May 13, 2013 Cozen O’Connor announced today that two attorneys have joined the Philadelphia office. Ira C. Gubernick, formerly of Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg, joins the firm as a partner in the corporate practice. Richard S. Roisman, formerly with McCarter & English, joins as a partner in the real estate practice.
Mr. Gubernick focuses his practice on private equity, venture capital and other transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and general corporate counseling. He has extensive experience successfully coordinating sophisticated joint ventures.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ira to our corporate practice group,” said Chief Executive Officer Michael J. Heller. “Ira’s impressive background working in-house for major health care and technology companies has been invaluable to his clients, and will provide significant insight for many of our clients involved in nearly every stage of their corporate life.”
"Cozen O’Connor has a tremendous reputation, and the firm’s transactional attorneys are recognized for their ability to support a wide variety of sophisticated transactions,” Mr. Gubernick said. “I look forward to building on the firm’s national platform to expand my practice, particularly in the areas of private equity and venture capital.”
Another motivating factor in his decision to join Cozen O’Connor is the firm’s successful recent leadership transition, Mr. Gubernick said. Mr. Gubernick has known and worked with Michael J. Heller, who was named CEO of Cozen O’Connor this year. “It’s a large firm moving to a post-baby boom leadership. That’s very important to me, because I have quite a bit of my career ahead of me,” he said.
With more than 20 years of experience representing clients in transactional matters, Mr. Gubernick has worked extensively with clients in the health care and gaming industries. He served as vice president, secretary and corporate general counsel of Genesis Health Ventures, Inc., a NYSE listed public company, and during his tenure was involved in more than a billion dollars of mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures. His health care experience includes taking ElderTrust, a health care REIT, public in 1998 and its sale to Ventas in 2003.
Mr. Gubernick also served as general counsel for supply chain management start-up supplyFORCE.com, and contributed significantly to the company’s private equity investment raising. He began his legal career at Dechert.
Richard Roisman
Mr. Roisman has more than 30 years of experience in real estate, corporate and commercial financing. His experience spans a wide variety of projects, from multifamily projects to big box shopping centers, and includes acquisition and construction loans, permanent loans, asset-based and subscription lines of credit and commercial loans.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome Richard to the firm,” Said Herman Fala, chair of Cozen O'Connor’s Real Estate Practice. “Richard has been an integral part of the Philadelphia real estate community for many years, and has worked with a number of Cozen O’Connor attorneys. We’re happy he is now on our team.”
“This is a tremendous opportunity for me,” said Mr. Roisman. “I believe Cozen O’Connor has one of the best — if not the best — real estate departments in the region. In addition, I am very happy to be joining a firm that has a national and even international footprint.”
Mr. Gubernick is admitted to the bar in Pennsylvania and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He earned his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1989. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from The George Washington University.
Mr. Roisman earned his J.D. from the University of Miami, cum laude, in 1980 and his Bachelor’s degree from George Washington University in 1976.
About Cozen O’Connor
Established in 1970, Cozen O’Connor has 575 attorneys who help clients manage risk and make better business decisions. The firm counsels clients on their most sophisticated legal matters in all areas of the law, including litigation, corporate, and regulatory law. Representing a broad array of leading global corporations and middle market companies, Cozen O’Connor serves its clients’ needs through 22 offices across two continents.
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