Cozen O’Connor was awarded the Philadelphia Bar Association’s inaugural Bar Champion Award at today's Fall Quarterly meeting. The award was created by association staff to honor law firms, law departments, legal service organizations, or law schools that fully support the organization through 100 percent membership, leadership roles, member engagement, and contributions to the community through public service.

“Cozen O’Connor has made numerous enduring and meaningful commitments to the Philadelphia Bar Association and to the community at large,” said Harvey Hurdle, executive director of the Philadelphia Bar Association. “They truly exemplify what it means to be a ‘Bar Star,’ and it is my pleasure to present them with the inaugural Bar Champion award.”

Cozen O’Connor has made a 100 percent membership commitment to the Philadelphia Bar Association since 2013. Twelve Cozen O’Connor attorneys currently serve as leaders of association sections and committees, including two of nine section committee chairs.

In accepting the award, Vincent R. McGuinness, Jr., the firm’s president and managing partner, acknowledged that the economic challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic have forced many in the legal community to make tough choices to deal with drops in revenue. But he said Cozen O’Connor leadership remained committed to reimbursing legal association dues for all 750 of its lawyers in the United States, Canada, and the U.K. despite the potential financial savings.

“We couldn’t let the pandemic derail our firm’s strategic direction, our mission and most importantly, our values; those things we did in the past to make us grow and thrive needed to continue,” McGuinness said. “Certainly, we understood sacrifices would be needed, but investment must endure. Our commitment to the Philadelphia Bar Association is one of those essential investments that our leaders unanimously agreed could not be forsaken.”