Thomas "Tad" is vice chair of Cozen O’Connor and a senior partner in the firm’s Corporate Practice. He currently practices general corporate law with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, alternative dispute resolution, and government strategies, as well as serving as a nationally recognized arbitrator.
Tad has held numerous leadership positions at the firm, including as chief executive officer (2007-2012) and, before that, as managing partner (2000-2004). He is widely credited as having led Cozen O’Connor through a period of transformational growth and having helped the firm successfully transition from founding-generation to second-generation leadership.
From 2004 to 2007, Tad served as the inaugural chairman of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, appointed by Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell. During his tenure, Tad was responsible for overseeing the administration of Pennsylvania Act 71, which legalized slots gambling at a select number of sites within the commonwealth.
Prior to joining Cozen O'Connor, Tad held senior executive positions in a number of major public corporations, including Saint-Gobain Corp, where he was chief operating officer and general counsel. He served as executive vice president, chief administrative officer, and general counsel at Unisource Worldwide and Asbury Automotive Group.
Tad’s knowledge and leadership have also benefited a long list of nonprofits and legal associations. He currently sits on the boards of five nonprofits — the Gesu School, Committee of Seventy, Greater Philadelphia YMCA (former board chair), Kimmel Center President’s Leadership Council (former board vice chair), and Chairman’s Council of the Philadelphia Zoo (former board member). He is a member of the board of Armada Acquisition Corp 1 and was previously on the boards of the public companies ACTUA and Pierce Leahy Corporation.
He is also the former chair of the Philadelphia Municipal Authority, former board member of the Delaware River Port Authority, former chair of the Business Law Section of the ABA’s Committee of Corporate General Counsels, and former chair of the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners. He served on the board of the American Corporate Counsel Association and was the first president of its Delaware Valley Chapter.
Tad earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1971 and his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968. He served in the U.S. Army, earning the rank of captain.