Joseph Tilson, chair of Cozen O'Connor's Labor & Employment department, and Michael Heller, President & CEO of Cozen O'Connor, discuss the MB&T and Cozen O'Connor merger last summer in Chicago Lawyer Magazine. “We immediately replaced all of the signage in our firm and got a big supply of Cozen O’Connor mugs,” says Joe. “For those of us who were named partners, it was a bittersweet feeling seeing the sign come down, but we wasted no time in rebranding.” More than signing paperwork and shooting off news releases, a successful merger is a long and difficult process. A new brand has to be introduced to a crowded marketplace. Rate structures need to be merged. Support departments need to be either integrated or disintegrated. Entire new workflows need to be designed. As Michael puts it, “These mergers live and die on not just economic but on the cultural fit.”

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