Philadelphia-based law firm Cozen O’Connor has significantly expanded its presence in Vancouver, aiming to establish itself as a comprehensive business service firm in Canada. The firm recently brought on a team of 22 professionals, including 13 lawyers specializing in various practice areas such as finance, mergers and acquisitions, and family office services. This team joins from Clark Wilson, along with nine support staff, boosting Cozen’s Vancouver office from three to 28 lawyers within a span of two and a half years.
“From that perspective we need to bulk up and look at different areas,” said Rory Godinho, a member of Cozen’s Canadian executive committee and co-chair of its capital markets and securities practice group. This move forms part of the firm’s strategy to grow amidst challenging market conditions, such as expensive credit and geopolitical tensions, that have led other firms to scale back.
The firm’s approach to new hires is also distinctive, as it does not require capital contributions from incoming shareholders and employs a director of lateral integration to streamline the addition of new lawyers and staff. Virgil Hlus and Cam McTavish, both respected lawyers in international finance and M&A, and family attorney Chantal Cattermole are leading the incoming team.
According to Godinho, tougher times make it easier to attract talent. “If you’re doing well and people are happy, it’s so much more difficult to convince people to move. In good times, it is more difficult to recruit, whereas when times are a little tougher, it’s not.” This has been echoed by Cam McTavish, who highlighted the appeal of Vancouver’s market for Canadian lawyers, noting its diversified and industry-agnostic nature.
For more detailed insights into Cozen’s expansion strategy, see the full article on Bloomberg Law.