PHILADELPHIA – March, 2013 – Cozen O’Connor announced that Lynnette Espy-Williams has been elected co-chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee. Espy-Williams will join current committee co-chair Kimya Johnson to spearhead the firm’s efforts to promote diversity and inclusion. The committee chairs are charged with the task of directing a variety of initiatives aimed at the retention and recruitment of lawyers and staff with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences as part of the firm’s ongoing commitment to diversity. The Diversity Committee also works closely with Cozen O’Connor’s Hiring Committee to increase diversity in the firm and in the bar in general. The success of the committee was recently recognized by Multicultural Law magazine, which selected Cozen O’Connor as a “Top Firm for Diversity.” The story will be released by the publication as part of its 10th Anniversary issue in May 2013.
Espy-Williams joined the firm’s Atlanta office in March 2007 as an associate in the Commercial Litigation Department, before joining the Global Insurance Practice Group in 2011. While she still handles commercial litigation, including matters pertaining to products liability, Espy-Williams focuses her practice on litigating matters pertaining to the health, life, accident and disability insurance industry. She also dedicates a significant amount of her practice to pro bono work, participating in multiple pro bono activities and volunteering in the Atlanta community.
Espy-Williams is currently the president of the Gate City Bar Association, the oldest African-American bar association in the state of Georgia. She is also actively involved with the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, American Bar Association, Atlanta Bar Association and the Atlanta Council of Younger Lawyers. She served as treasurer for the Young Lawyers Division of the National Bar Association from 2010 to 2012.
Espy-Williams has been recognized for her leadership in Georgia Trend Magazine’s Legal Elite, named as a Georgia Rising Star (2012 and 2013) amongst her peers, and was selected as Atlanta Business Chronicle’s “People in the News.” Lynnette is also a member of LEAD Atlanta (2013), Outstanding Atlanta (2012), and was selected as one of Atlanta’s Power 30 Under 30 (2010).
Lynnette graduated from Spelman College, with honors in economics. She earned her J.D. from the University of Maryland where she was a staff member for The Business Lawyer as well as an associate articles editor for the Journal of Business and Technology Law. Following law school, Lynnette served as a judicial intern to Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears of the Supreme Court of Georgia.
About Cozen O'Connor
Established in 1970 and ranked among the 100 largest law firms in the United States, Cozen O’Connor has 575 attorneys who help clients manage risk and make better business decisions. The firm counsels clients on their most sophisticated legal matters in all areas of the law, including litigation, corporate, and regulatory law. Representing a broad array of leading global corporations and ambitious middle market companies, Cozen O’Connor serves its clients’ needs through 21 offices across two continents.