PHILADELPHIA, March 20, 2025 — Cozen O’Connor announced the promotion of 31 attorneys and Public Strategies professionals to member and senior principal positions. Cozen O’Connor promoted Janice Sued Agresti, James L. Ansorge, Heather Beale, Jeffery Bourgeois, Brian Browne, Kara Cheever, Germaine E. DeMartinis, Terence H. DeMarzo, Michael Deutsch, Kenneth Eng, Philip J. Farinella, Alex Farkas, Kendyl E. Gilmore, Benjamin Kim, Matthew Klahre, Andrew D. Linz, Tatiana Mejia-Uribe, Joseph Okon, Vincent Passarelli, C. Gregory Patton, Ethan Price-Livingston, Gianna Puccinelli, Samantha Rubin Stratford, Hayley Ryan, Christina Sanfelippo, Keturah Taylor, Jan Tomasik, Joshua Tumen, W. Gustin Vandiford, and Catherine Yun to member and Samuel Denisco, of Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, to senior principal.
“It’s always a pleasure to recognize the hard work and dedication of our attorneys and government relations professionals,” said Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael J. Heller. “This outstanding class of new members and senior principals will undoubtedly propel Cozen O’Connor’s ongoing success.”
Janice Sued Agresti (New York) represents employers in high-stakes matters and high-profile employment litigation, including trade secrets and employee mobility litigation; defends against race, sex, age, and national origin discrimination claims; and defends against whistleblower and retaliation claims. She has experience advising and counseling clients on many employment matters.
James L. Ansorge (New York), of Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, focuses his practice on legislative campaigns, budget advocacy, and regulatory approvals within New York City and state government on behalf of firm clients. He represents clients including companies, institutions, trade associations, and nonprofits. Ansorge has experience as a government affairs attorney and political aide.
Heather Beale (Boca Raton) concentrates her practice on elder law and litigation, including fiduciary litigation and will contests. She focuses on estate and trust administration and preparing estate planning documents such as wills, trusts, advance directives, and disability planning, including the applicable trusts and asset preservation planning.
Jeffrey Bourgeois (Boston) counsels institutions through investigations into sexual and gender-based harassment and violence, child abuse, safety and security issues, and other forms of misconduct. Prior to joining the firm, he served seven years as an assistant attorney general in the Human Trafficking Division of the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, where he represented the attorney general on the Massachusetts Statewide Child Fatality Review team.
Brian Browne (Washington, D.C.) represents businesses in various industries and has successfully litigated and resolved claims involving breach of contract, business torts, statutory violations, personal injury, and property damage. Browne also represents BIPA class action defendants in large BIPA class actions involving restaurant point-of-sale systems and voice recognition systems.
Kara Cheever (Philadelphia) concentrates her practice on complex commercial litigation and life insurance, representing clients nationwide in state and federal courts. She has experience drafting pleadings and dispositive motions, conducting and managing all aspects of discovery, preparing for mediation and trial, and coordinating and developing overall litigation strategy.
Germain E. DeMartinis (Philadelphia) assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts, regulatory compliance, private equity, corporate governance, and startup guidance. DeMartinis also has a passion for innovation that allows him to connect on a personal level with entrepreneurial, forward-looking clients.
Terence H. DeMarzo (New York) concentrates his practice on subrogation matters. He has experience litigating multimillion-dollar losses in state and federal court, conducting depositions, mediations, and court appearances, and drafting motions and briefs. DeMarzo negotiates and litigates in various subrogation matters, including but not limited to cyber and fidelity claims, property claims, auto claims, no-fault claims, product defect claims, and fine art losses.
Samuel Denisco (Harrisburg), of Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, has more than two decades of experience in government and public affairs. He provides advocacy and government relations services to clients in Harrisburg and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Michael Deutsch (Washington, D.C.) concentrates his practice on aviation regulatory/security and related matters. He advises a wide range of aviation industry clients on U.S. aviation laws and regulations, including those enforced by the DOT, FAA, TSA, and CBP. He also provides counsel on TSA compliance, U.S. sanctions laws, and PHMSA regulations.
Kenneth Eng (New York) focuses his practice on real estate and commercial business litigation matters. He has experience representing clients at all phases of litigation, advising clients on complex real estate regulatory and legalization requirements, and negotiating and drafting commercial contracts, sale of rights agreements, leases, and property transfer documents.
Philip J. Farinella (Philadelphia) focuses his practice on complex life insurance and financial services disputes. He aids his clients in litigating stranger-originated life insurance (STOLI) and counsels insurance clients on an array of complex claims, including breach of contract, bad faith, fraud, and unjust enrichment, in state and federal courts across the country.
Alex Farkas (Vancouver) focuses his practice on corporate and securities law, including capital markets and mergers and acquisitions. He has experience helping companies raise capital and navigate complex transactions across various sectors, including mining, technology, life sciences, and oil and gas. Farkas also assists clients with domestic exchange listings on the TSX, TSXV, CSE, and cross-border listings.
Kendyl E. Gilmore (Philadelphia) represents educational institutions, higher education, child-serving organizations, health care organizations, corporations, religious institutions, and not-for-profit organizations in connection with infrastructure, systems, policy, compliance, investigations, and governance.
Benjamin Kim (Las Vegas) represents insurance carriers seeking recovery against responsible third parties for various claims, including property damage claims involving fire and water losses. He has experience litigating complex, high-exposure cases involving product liability, construction defect, professional negligence, and public entity liability.
Matthew Klahre (Philadelphia) focuses his practice on technology, strategic outsourcing, and data privacy. He advises clients on technology transactions, outsourcing transactions, data privacy and security compliance, and transactions in the digital advertising ecosystem. Klahre also counsels clients on open source software (OSS) licensing, intellectual property protection, and infringement matters, including digital copyright fair use.
Andrew D. Linz (Philadelphia) focuses his practice on complex litigation, white collar defense, and internal investigations, representing companies and individuals in both criminal and civil matters. He has experience handling matters in arbitration, at trial, and on appeal.
Tatiana Mejia-Uribe (Washington, D.C.) represents developers, investors, operators, purchasers, sellers, borrowers, and lenders in real estate transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions, financings, development, leasing, and joint ventures and partnerships involving residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, and mixed-use properties.
Joesph Okon (Denver) concentrates his practice on a broad range of insurance coverage issues. He has experience litigating cases from pleadings through summary judgment and trial, as well as drafting numerous successful summary judgment and Rule 12(b) motions.
Vincent Passarelli (New York) focuses his practice on various aspects of commercial litigation disputes and insurance coverage, representing commercial general liability and property insurers, including first-party and third-party insurance coverage and litigation. He has experience representing commercial entities in litigation involving premises liability, construction accidents, and New York Labor Law disputes.
C. Gregory Patton (Philadelphia) represents clients in transactional and general corporate matters in various industries, including financial services, health care, sports, food and beverage, and automotive. He also advises clients on their securities regulation obligations, including Regulation D and state securities law registrations.
Ethan Price-Livingston (New York) focuses his practice on complex coverage disputes in the directors and officers, professional liability, and commercial general liability contexts. He has experience handling all aspects of coverage disputes and claims management, from inception through litigation, including discovery, dispositive motions, mediation, and settlement. He has represented insurers in a number of high-exposure cases.
Gianna Puccinelli (Washington, D.C.) focuses her practice on commercial litigation, assisting clients facing enquiries or investigations from state attorneys general (AGs). She has experience in all stages of litigation, from the development of strategy through discovery, document analysis, pleading and motion drafting and filing, expert witness deposition, and trial, if necessary. Puccinelli also prepares and analyzes materials for presentation to state AG offices.
Samantha Rubin Stratford (Washington, D.C.) focuses her practice on white-collar criminal defense, congressional investigations, and complex civil litigation. She defends individuals at various stages of criminal proceedings, guides individuals and organizations through congressional investigations, and helps defend companies against fraud allegations in criminal matters and civil proceedings.
Hayley Ryan (Chicago) concentrates her practice on complex commercial litigation and data privacy litigation, representing companies in litigation matters in state and federal courts. She represents BIPA defendants in multiple class actions, including drafting answers and affirmative defenses to BIPA claims, drafting motions to dismiss raising novel issues due to rapidly changing BIPA case law, and defending clients using purported voice recognition and facial recognition technology.
Christina Sanfelippo (Chicago) focuses her practice on financial restructuring and bankruptcy law. She represents debtors, trustees, and creditors in a range of Chapter 7 proceedings, including preference and fraudulent transfer actions and complex bankruptcy litigation, as well as assisting debtors and official committees of unsecured creditors in Chapter 11 proceedings. Sanfelippo also handles commercial disputes, including contract claims and business torts.
Keturah Taylor (Washington, D.C.) represents various clients facing state attorney general (AG) investigations and litigation, from entrepreneurial startups to Fortune 100 corporations. She assists clients in working with AG offices and navigating complex regulatory landscapes. Taylor also regularly advises clients on compliance and best practices designed to avoid regulatory scrutiny.
Jan Tomasik (Las Vegas) is the office managing partner of Cozen O’Connor’s Las Vegas office. His practice focuses on civil litigation defense and trial, and his experience encompasses all stages of complex litigation, from inception to verdict.
Joshua Tumen (New York) represents international and domestic insurers as litigation and coverage counsel in first-party property matters. He focuses his practice on issues arising out of, but not limited to, construction risks and defects, renewable energy losses, natural disasters, and fraud. Tumen also advises developing litigation strategies, evaluating and reducing risk, interpreting policy language, and claims handling.
W. Gustin Vandiford (Denver) focuses his practice on prosecuting large subrogation claims related to losses caused by fire, flood, product defects/failures, and construction defects. He has experience representing corporate and municipal clients in various matters, including insurance defense and coverage, worker’s compensation, creditor’s rights, and contractual disputes.
Catherine Yun (Philadelphia) focuses her practice on white collar defense and investigations. She has experience in civil and criminal matters, including those involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), health care fraud, fraud conspiracy, bank fraud, and tax fraud. Yun also provides civil litigation defense in both individual and class actions, in state and federal court, defending clients in cases pertaining to antitrust multi-district litigation and RICO claims.