PHILADELPHIA – July 20, 2018 – Gina Maisto Smith, chair of Cozen O'Connor’s Institutional Response Group, has been selected to The Business Journals’ Influencers: Law list, a list that spotlights 100 executives who have an impact on business and legal matters in communities across the nation. Smith was selected by editors and staff writers across The Business Journals’ network of more than 40 publications, including the Philadelphia Business Journal. Smith has been featured as part of The Business Journals’ continuing coverage of the newsmakers in those cities. Smith was one of three Philadelphia attorneys to receive the honor.
Smith is one of the nation’s go-to attorneys for representing colleges, universities, public and private schools, religious organizations, corporations and nonprofit institutions in their response to sexual misconduct. Among those involvements have been the high-profile sexual-misconduct investigation at Baylor University and University of Virginia case following a controversial Rolling Stone article that later was largely discredited.
Smith focuses her practice on the institutional response to sexual and gender-based harassment and violence, child abuse, and other forms of harassment, discrimination, and criminal conduct. Smith provides consulting, counseling, and legal advice on all aspects of the institutional response to misconduct. She assists institutions in designing effective institutional responses that integrate the complex federal and state regulatory framework with the unique dynamics of trauma and the impacts of interpersonal violence on individuals and communities. Smith regularly advises educational and child-serving institutions including public and private K-12 schools and colleges and universities about policies, changes in the law, and investigations into allegations of child abuse and sexual misconduct, including sexual violence. She regularly conducts policy audits and assists in the development of policy and the design and implementation of internal operating procedures. In addition, Smith conducts training for K-12 administrators and multiple university constituencies, including Title IX coordinators, sexual assault response teams, judicial hearing boards, investigators, and members of the campus community. Before entering private practice, Smith spent nearly two decades in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office where she investigated numerous cases, handled more than 100 jury trials, and developed unmatched experience in the investigation and prosecution of sex crimes, child abuse, and domestic violence. Smith received her undergraduate degree from Saint Joseph’s University and her law degree from Temple University School of Law.
About Cozen O’Connor
Established in 1970, Cozen O’Connor has more than 825 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 middle market companies, Cozen O’Connor services its clients’ needs through 32 offices across two continents.
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