Community Service Community service and leadership are among the core values of Cozen O'Connor. The firm actively encourages the investment of time, energy and resources by its attorneys and staff into each community in which we maintain offices. Cozen O'Connor attorneys actively serve on dozens of boards of directors, frequently moving to chair these boards or assuming other leadership responsibilities in key committees. Community service organizations that benefit from our active involvement include a broad array of civic and social service organizations, health and welfare organizations, youth groups, senior citizen organizations, religious groups, colleges, universities and law schools, and the arts community. Cozen O'Connor, through its Charitable Foundation, generously supports charities and nonprofit organizations in the communities in which we practice law. Responding to the needs of our communities is a core value of our firm, and we are justly proud of our record in doing so. Beneficiaries include schools, medical centers, cure organizations, civic, social and cultural institutions. Cozen O’Connor has been recognized by Law360 as one of the 10 most charitable law firms in the country. Our efforts are well known to organizations such as: ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Adoption Center (formerly National Adoption Center) Alzheimer’s Association American Cancer Society American Heart Association American Red Cross Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Boys and Girls Clubs of America Catholic Charities USA City Year Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Girl Scouts of the USA Habitat for Humanity Innocence Project JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) Jewish Family and Children's Services March of Dimes NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund National Multiple Sclerosis Society PAL (Police Athletic League) Ronald McDonald House Charities Support Center for Child Advocates The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research The YTM United Way Women’s Way Cozen O'Connor attorneys and staff also serve as mentors and youth leaders in their communities. An example of our commitment is our involvement with mentoring programs organized and facilitated by the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization at two Philadelphia charter schools: The Freire Charter School, a unique college-preparatory high school that cultivates advanced educational theories, and The Russell Byers School, a public elementary school that emphasizes high achievement through hands-on learning, character growth and teamwork. When The Freire Charter School opened in 1999, it only accommodated eighth grade students. At that time, dozens of Cozen O'Connor employees responded to the call to serve as volunteer mentors. Since then, The Freire Charter School has added grades 9-12, and each year additional Cozen O'Connor employees volunteer to serve as mentors to the school’s students. In 2004, Big Brothers/Big Sisters initiated a mentoring program with The Russell Byers School, providing Cozen O'Connor employees with the option to mentor a younger child. The firm proudly contributes to both charter schools, knowing that we impact the lives of numerous youngsters, and continually provides and encourages ongoing and valuable mentoring support to the community. Cozen O’Connor has supported the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia for over two decades, both financially and through volunteer leadership on the board of directors. Founded in 1887, this historic institution serves over 15,000 children at twelve locations, including two Philadelphia Housing Authority sites. Two Cozen O’Connor attorneys have served as chairman of the organization, advancing its mission of “helping all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.” The firm’s leadership and generosity helps the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia fulfill their mission to serve the city’s most disadvantaged youth through core programming that instills in each child a sense of belonging and achievement. It truly is the Positive Place for Kids. Cozen O'Connor is also the proud sponsor of a Police Athletic League dedicated to the memory of Samuel D. Cozen. As one of the 27 Police Athletic Leagues located in Philadelphia, the Cozen Police Athletic League is supervised by Philadelphia police officers, and offers children a large variety of free sporting, educational and recreational programs. Everyone at Cozen O'Connor has the opportunity to volunteer and participate in programs and activities benefiting the Cozen PAL kids. The firm sponsors a wide variety of enrichment programs for the benefit of the Cozen PAL kids, including a Summer Job Program, aimed at assisting the children in developing job skills, and a Positive Images Program, designed to expose the children to positive role models. In connection to the Summer Job Program, Cozen PAL kids have worked as clerks at the firm under the mentorship and guidance of many Cozen O'Connor employees. The firm also sponsors community outreach programs to benefit the community in which the Cozen PAL is situated. In this regard, prior to Thanksgiving 2005, Cozen O'Connor employees and PAL kids hosted a "turkey drive" in connection with the Barristers' Association of Philadelphia. Through this effort, 425 families were provided with complete turkey dinners large enough to feed six people. A similar outreach program was conducted during the 2005 December holiday season. Firm employees continually support the Cozen PAL center throughout the year by offering their time and energy for the betterment of the community. In the arts community, Cozen O'Connor attorneys serve as volunteers, bringing both legal and leadership skills to this nonprofit community sector. One example of our commitment is demonstrated by the leadership role we played in helping to underwrite and launch a world-renowned performing arts center in Philadelphia, The Kimmel Center. Through our initial gift of $250 thousand to facilitate the building construction, and the service of our attorneys on various planning committees and the board of directors, the firm facilitated the realization of the city’s most highly acclaimed regional performing arts center, which opened in December 2001. Home to eight resident company performing arts organizations, The Kimmel Center has a rich diversity of programming and performances by artists from around the world, and supports the arts in education though its connection with a local art college. Today, the firm continues to support The Kimmel Center by providing ongoing monetary gifts and by serving on its board of directors and corporate board committee. Cozen O'Connor is extremely proud to have taken part in this exemplary community arts project and of its continual support of the arts in our communities. Through the charity of Cozen O'Connor employees, the firm contributed to the devastated victims of Hurricane Katrina, by donating $75 thousand to the Katrina Fund, which directly supported the hurricane victims residing in the Houston, Texas area who lacked permanent housing. From the generosity of all employees at Cozen O'Connor, the firm's culture was strengthened through our efforts of giving back to a community that desperately needed help. An area that is of utmost importance to the firm and citizens in general is abused and neglected children in our communities. Our firm has been providing financial and volunteer support to the Support Center for Child Advocates in Philadelphia, the country's oldest and largest pro bono legal and social services agency for children, over the past number of years. Cozen O'Connor is the most vigorous law firm in the Delaware Valley supporting this organization with 43 attorneys and paralegals from our Philadelphia and West Conshohocken offices offering assistance to the Support Center and four of our attorneys serving as distinguished advocates. Due to our continued support to this organization, Cozen O'Connor was nominated for the Citizens Pro Bono Award by the Philadelphia Bar Association. On a global front, Cozen O'Connor reached out to the victims in the communities of South Asia and East Africa devastated by the Indian Ocean Tsunami by making a monetary donation to support the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the widely destructed areas. Partnering with one of our clients, American International Group, Inc. (AIG), the firm donated $25 thousand, of which AIG matched, bringing the total aid amount for the Chamber of Commerce of Indonesia to $50 thousand. Whether nationally or internationally, Cozen O'Connor is committed to doing whatever it can to assist those in need when a tragedy of this magnitude strikes a community. Cozen O'Connor’s growth and success over the past four decades is matched by giving back to those communities where we have placed our roots and built our firm. We strongly believe in building and maintaining relationships with organizations that support our communities through a variety of enriching, useful, and necessary services and programs. Community Service Learn More EXPERIENCE ALUMNI BLOGS & PODCASTS CLE PROGRAMS SUBSCRIBE TO PUBLICATIONS Affiliates COZEN O’CONNOR PUBLIC STRATEGIES MARGOLIS HEALY NATIONAL SUBROGATION SERVICES Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Attorney Advertising