Cozen O'Connor

Want Big Law work at a firm that feels more mid-sized? Do as the Liberty bell (probably) says, and ‘Proclaim COZEN O’CONNOR throughout all the land.’

About the Firm

Hanging onto your roots as a firm can be tricky the bigger and further the work takes you. Yet for Philly-born Cozen O’Connor, Philadelphia is as important a part of the firm’s identity as ever, and that’s despite the fact that the firm has spread across the United States as smoothly as Philadelphia cream cheese. Cozen now has over 30 office locations on their plate (including offices in Canada and the UK), but the bulk of the firms’ larger offices (and therefore associate positions) are concentrated in the Northeast. Intent on continuing its spread across the country, in early 2026 the firm merged with Moss and Barnett P.A., bringing the firm over the 1000 lawyer mark. How has it retained an identity in this growth? “What stood out is that they actually take an interest in the individual, they are intentional about who they bring in,” one associate told us, “when they send an offer, there is an interest in each person. Cozen felt intentional.”

“They actually take an interest in the individual, they are intentional about who they bring in”

With over 40 ranked departments and more than double that number in terms of ranked lawyers, it’s fair to say the firm features prominently in the Chambers USA rankings. Cozen’s insurance group is particularly well regarded, with multiple ranked individuals and ranked departments in Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington. The firm is also acknowledged with top-tier rankings nationwide in corporate crime & investigations, State Attorneys General, shipping regulation, and aviation regulation.

Cozen O’Connor is recognized as a Strong Performer for Junior Satisfaction and a Strong Performer for Mid to Senior Satisfaction in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Summer Program

The summer program gives summer associates the opportunity to try work in a variety of departments. The program isn’t formally structured week by week but associates usually spend most of their time conducting legal research. Associates can also get involved with helping to draft motions, complaints and answers. They also conduct extra research that probably wouldn’t have been conducted otherwise, but this doesn’t mean you can’t undertake some invaluable work. One interviewee highlighted that they were able to create invaluable resources during the summer program (so much so that their team frequently still requests these resources to be sent to them).

Cozen O’Connor’s president and managing partner, Vince McGuinness, speaks about the company’s current trajectory: “I started at the firm in 1979. I'm proud to say every year I've been with the firm, it has grown in all different areas; by headcount, by financial metrics, by different practice areas that we've added on, and by businesses that we've acquired. I think that it is important to highlight that our trajectory is continuing to go upward.”

The firm has recently been making significant moves to expand its Canadian operations and ancillary business units. “Almost every year recently we've added a new ancillary business unit...We've diversified and provided these ancillary businesses, which are not populated or run by lawyers; they're professionals, but non-lawyer professionals that provide really important services to our clients,” McGuinness explains, “We’ve previously had clients reach out and ask us ‘can you help us with these needs that we have’, and so we've created these businesses.”

Read more from Vince McGuinness under the ‘Get Hired’ tab.

Cozen O’Connor is recognized as a Strong Performer for AI Integration in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

The Work

Philadelphia, New York and DC house the largest number of juniors, with the rest more or less evenly split between offices like Boca Raton, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and Minneapolis. We heard that work assignment varies a little depending on the department. First year litigation associates at Cozen O’Connor are issued work via a centralized litigation pool by senior attorneys and partners throughout the country. This range is intended to give associates a flavor of what each sub department does. In practice groups like corporate, there are group assignment coordinators who receive work requests from partners and try to distribute work evenly considering an associate’s interests as best they can.

“If you end up not liking the practice, they’re really supportive in moving you. You’ll never be stuck.”

We heard that juniors will be able to continue working on any matter they find themselves gravitating towards (providing you’re able to get approval from whoever’s heading up the team). As one junior associate put it: “Cozen wants you to find a group you are happy in. If you end up not liking the practice, they’re really supportive in moving you. You’ll never be stuck.”

Cozen O’Connor is recognized as an Excellent Performer for Work Allocation & Autonomy in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Career Development

A large chunk of the associate population seems to have their heart set on sticking around at Cozen for the long haul. Associates point towards the company’s attitude of developing home-grown talent as a reason for wanting to stick around. In the words of one associate, “Cozen O’Connor does a great job of mentorship and provides hands on experience. I’m not just reviewing documents; I go to court and speak to clients. I feel like a lawyer.”

The advantage of having a countrywide network of people to contact was something associates were keen to highlight. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Cozen's Philadelphia office is by far its largest. Interviewees commented that it was “definitely seen as the hub.” That said, we heard other offices have recently been “getting love and attention.” Associates did flag that working in smaller offices in more niche groups sometimes felt as though they had “fallen through the cracks when it comes to training.” That said, associates told us that while the path to equity partner can be a bit more mysterious, they were convinced that the path to non-equity partners is very clear and well laid out.

Cozen O’Connor is recognized as a Strong Performer for Career Development in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Hours & Compensation

Junior associates’ annual billable hour target depends on the practice group, but it doesn’t dramatically vary. Most practice groups sit in and around the ballpark of 1750- 1800 billable hours per year. As we’ve touched on, pro-bono usually accounts for around 70 hours, with around 50 additional training hours also baked in. Hitting your billable hours target isn’t necessarily a prerequisite for receiving your bonus at Cozen, but hitting your billable hours target will ensure a more susbtantial bonus. When calculating your bonus, we heard the firm considers a range of factors. This might be either accounting for how busy a practice area was that year, or whether associates are working under extenuating circumstances, such as parental leave, for part of the year.

This, along with the basic pay scale at Cozen after the first year, sometimes generates some “awkward but necessary” discussions about pay scales with fellow associates according to one. With this being said, one interviewee urged prospective associates to not “just think about the money” and made it clear that “for every factor apart from being the top paid firm, Cozen wins every time.”

Culture

Of course, pushing through some tougher periods (and burning the midnight oil every so often) is part and parcel of Big Law. While this firm is certainly no exception to this rule, associates were keen to highlight that it didn’t ever feel like they were taking on the brunt of the work alone. Interviewees also stressed that it was very culturally acceptable to take a brief step back in workload right after a busy period. We heard from interviewees that Cozen is also very understanding of the fact that sometimes certain sectors are busier than others, and that work sometimes comes in peaks and troughs. As one put it: “Cozen O’Connor is a place you work hard, but your time outside of work is respected.”

“…the recruitment process felt personal and intentional and didn’t feel like I was just part of a recruitment quota…”

More broadly, “the recruitment process felt personal and intentional and didn’t feel like I was just part of a recruitment quota,” one associate told us. Partners were described as easy to approach and interviewees even shared stories of partners getting themselves involved in some lighthearted videos to provide some much-needed comic relief: “In other words, the partners remember what it was like to be a junior associate.”

For associates who were previously at Moss and Barnett (a firm recently acquired by Cozen to bolster their ranks in the Midwest), there is a unique perspective on what life at Cozen is like compared to other firms. On the differences, one associate said: “I never thought I’d go into BigLaw. I feel like I’ve had the resume boost that comes with the BigLaw experience but Cozen still feels like it holds the same values as Moss and Barnet.”

Social events are far from just limited to happy hours. Exercise classes, dinners and musical events are just some examples of the social events associates partake in. Some of these will be tied to certain initiatives so to get the most out of your Cozen experience, make sure you’re part of one of these. We also hear that the coffee machine is very fancy at the Philadelphia office; something that the old Moss and Barnett employees are apparently pleased to no end about. We heard that in some offices, working in the office until 7.30pm will mean the firm will provide you dinner. In other offices there are cake days once a month (when a cake is bought to celebrate all the birthdays that month).

Cozen O’Connor is recognized as a Strong Performer for Culture in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Pro Bono

Pro-bono normally makes up about 70 hours of your billable hours target, but if you find yourself hitting your pro-bono target, there are opportunities to get your pro-bono quota upgraded. Pro-bono supervision is reportedly ‘easy to get’, and pro-bono supervisors are flexible. One associate highlighted that “every week, there are new pro-bono matters.” The pro-bono supervisors also help to take some of the administrative burden away from you. We heard examples of associates working on criminal expungements, immigration name changes, veteran upgrade discharges, work for educational non-profits, immigration green card cases and compassionate releases.

Cozen O’Connor is recognized as a Strong Performer for Pro Bono in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Inclusion

There are a wide variety of participation initiatives available to associates. Cozen has been running a women’s initiative since the 1990s, and there are also black and Hispanic attorney research groups. These groups appear to be active communities and will aim to meet at least quarterly. Associates that took advantage of these groups highlighted that “they’re really fun. It’s always nice to spend time with people facing similar challenges to you.” Commemorative events geared towards inclusivity, such as black history month, dedicated zoom lectures and educational programming opportunities are hosted by the firm.