PHILADELPHIA – Four attorneys from Cozen O’Connor have been recognized by The Legal Intelligencer with 2023 Professional Excellence Awards. The awards recognize outstanding achievement across the full breadth of the Pennsylvania legal community.
Thomas Decker, firm vice chair, was honored in the Lifetime Achievement category. Thomas “Tad” is also a senior partner in the firm’s Corporate Practice, concentrating his practice on general corporate law with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, alternative dispute resolution, and government strategies. He has held several leadership positions at the firm, including as chief executive officer (2007-2012) and managing partner (2000-2004).
He is widely credited as having led Cozen O’Connor through a period of transformational growth and having helped the firm successfully transition from founding-generation to second-generation leadership, adding 200 lawyers and breaking into the Am Law 100 for the first time during his four years as managing partner. In his 55 years in practice, Decker has served as the inaugural chairman of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, has held senior executive positions at a number of major public corporations, and currently serves on the boards of five nonprofits.
Helene Jaron, chair of Cozen O’Connor’s Private Client Services (PCS) practice, has been honored with the Law Firm Innovator award, which recognizes lawyers who think outside the box and have demonstrated an ability to distinguish their brands in a crowded market. Jaron concentrates her practice on assisting high-net-worth families and individuals with their complex estate, gift, and income tax planning. A keen observer of economic and demographic trends, Jaron recognized the demand for integrated services to assist the PCS client base. With full support from firm management, she has spent the last three years leading the ground-up development of HomeBase – The Family Office at Cozen O’Connor, the first and only program of its kind among Am Law 100 firms. HomeBase provides an independent multi-family office platform to high-net-worth families and uses state-of-the-art technology to coordinate family “operations” — closely held businesses, shared investments, residences, and trusts.
Honored in the Unsung Heroes category, Pamela Dorian (interviewed for the June 2023 issue of CSC’s Third Thursday and pictured here) concentrates her practice on complex commercial litigation in antitrust, appellate, construction, product liability, consumer fraud, and business torts. Since 2020, Dorian has served as a lead associate on various construction defect cases. Dorian took the initiative to orient, organize, and delegate, developing a tracking system for concurrent litigation and helped to coordinate attorney assignments and responsibilities. She was instrumental in the defense’s discovery effort, overseeing thousands of discovery requests. A testament to her efforts, when Dorian was on maternity leave last year, she was greatly missed by the team. She is also actively involved in law student and lateral recruiting, as well as mentoring summer associates and junior associates.
Honored with the Lawyer on the Fast Track award, Kaan Ekiner focuses his practice on corporate and commercial matters in the Delaware Court of Chancery. In contrast to many Delaware-based litigators, Ekiner maintains a diverse docket. He represents companies and individuals in all aspects of corporate control and governance matters, contractual and commercial litigation, post-M&A issues, stockholder class actions and derivative lawsuits, and board of director and stockholder disputes, as well as complex business tort and contract actions in state and federal court, ranging from unfair competition to administrative appeals. Though he joined the firm less than two years ago, he is the firmwide point person for many matters concerning Delaware corporate law. As a complement to his role as lead counsel in commercial matters, Ekiner also serves as Delaware local counsel to several practice groups within the firm, sophisticated out-of-state boutiques, and fellow Am Law 100 firms. He has also served on the Delaware State Bar Association’s executive committee for five years and as chair of the International Law Section for six years.
The Legal Intelligencer will host the winners at an awards dinner set for June 14, 2023, at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel. Cozen O’Connor is a Presenting Sponsor of the Construction Super Conference.
