Cozen O'Connor DC Office Tour
Cozen O'Connor moved into its new office at 1200 19th on Monday. This morning DC managing partner Barry Boss showed us around.
Barry joined Cozen in '04 as the third lawyer in its DC office. That number has since leapt to 60 and Cozen has outgrown its old space, which spread across three floors of the Army and Navy Club Building overlooking Farragut Square. The firm's new space, at 63k SF, is nearly twice as large, though its layout over two floors with an internal staircase allows for more attorney interaction.
In '04, Cozen committed to expanding its DC shop into a full-service office, and growth in the District continues to be a strategic priority for the firm. They're talking to a number of individuals and groups, Barry says.
The new office, 1200 19th, was originally built out for Squire Patton Boggs. Rather than creating corner offices for partners, all of those areas are occupied by conference rooms. Thislight-filled conference room overlooks 19th and M streets in the LEED Platinum office.
Blake Rutherford is part of the State Attorneys General practice that was recently formed by 10 lawyers who transitioned from Dickstein. In the last week, the office has added former FERC lawyer Bob Fallon and real estate lawyer David Tiger. It's still looking to grow in healthcare and the regulatory space in a variety of ways, including FDA, along with expanding existing strengths like transportation, white collar criminal work and the State AG practice.
We snapped Emily Gurskis, who was part of an associate committee that gave input on the new office. Having the associates contribute, Barry tells us, was a meaningful way to play a role in the office. Emily enjoys the new whiteboard cupboard doors, as well as the new coffee machines brewing Starbucks coffee.
On our walk through the office we also came across Bisnow Ventures 40 Under 40 honoree Dan Hardwick, who had his award up on the shelf. A co-founder of the Fathers of Daughters Club of DC, Dan showed us on his desk letters of support from fathers, including Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
We walked by conference rooms with easy to remember names like the "Situation Room," and a central oval-shaped room atop the stairs called, yep, the "Oval Office."
Glass-on-glass rooms mean good views for everyone. Administrative assistant Cathy Rodriguez happily told us that she could see trees from her desk for the first time in 30 years. Barry says he's busy with online gaming matters (past matters have included repping Full Tilt during the Black Friday events and arranging a deal where it was acquired by PokerStars), white collar crime work, and co-authoring a book on federal criminal law.
