Vincent R. McGuinness, Jr.

President and Managing Partner

Vincent R. McGuinness, Jr. is president and managing partner of Cozen O’Connor as well as a senior member of the Subrogation & Recovery Department.

In his firm leadership roles, Vince oversees all administrative functions of the firm’s 33 offices, five ancillary businesses, and nearly 1,600 attorneys and staff. His portfolio encompasses responsibility for finances, operations, human resources, facilities, technology, recruitment, and strategic planning. Vince is also broadly in charge of fostering a positive firm culture, from guiding diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to directing lateral integration programs.

Vince is uniquely well positioned to undertake these diverse tasks, given his long history at Cozen O’Connor. Hired in 1981 as the firm’s 19th lawyer, Vince now has 40 years of institutional knowledge and firmwide friendships to call upon in his day-to-day work. He has been an integral part of all the changes that have occurred within the firm and the legal profession over those decades and continues to seek out new insights and innovations to support the firm’s ongoing development. 

In his private subrogation practice, Vince focuses on prosecution of complex property damages claims and has tried more than 30 cases to verdict in state and federal courts across the country. He remains the primary point person and account manager for a number of longstanding insurance clients and stays current in all recovery-related legal trends. He is frequently asked to lecture on subrogation law and is famous for his use of clips from Hollywood movies to illustrate key points in those presentations.

Over the years, Vince has held a number of high-profile positions in legal, philanthropic, and civic organizations. He is currently active with the Philadelphia Bar Association, serving as co-chair of the Large Firm Management Committee. He previously served as chair of the Justice Brennan Distinguished Jurist Award Committee and was a member of the bar association’s Strategic Planning Core Team.

Vince coordinated the firm’s COVID-19 response, and has been involved in multiple COVID-19 response initiatives locally, nationally, and internationally, including: serving on the Philadelphia Bar Association’s COVID Task Force; speaking as a guest lecturer with Tenant-Talks; participating as a panelist with American Heart Association Community Conversations; and as an invited guest speaker at the Osaka Japan Bar Association conference on COVID. For his extraordinary efforts to support the Philadelphia Bar Association and it member firms during the COVID pandemic, Vince and Cozen O’Connor received the organization’s inaugural “Champion of the Bar Award” in 2020. In addition, he was the 11th lawyer named on the 2022 Law Power 100 by City & State Pennsylvania.

Vince is also a member of the Corporate Leadership Council for the National Constitution Center and a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, an honorary society of lawyers and judges limited to 1 percent of the lawyers admitted to practice in the United States. He has been closely involved in the U.S. squash community as well and continues to serve on the boards of SquashSmarts and the Philadelphia Squash Racquets Association (both of which he previously chaired). He is a former board member of Legacy Youth Tennis & Education and US Squash.

Vince earned his Bachelor of Arts from Drew University in 1978 and his law degree from Villanova University in 1981, where he was a member of the Villanova Law Review and authored a comment titled “Insurance Law-Asbestos Duty to Indemnity and to Defend,” which was published in volume 26 of the Villanova Law Review.

News

Vincent McGuinness Elected to Advisory Board of the Girard-diCarlo Center for Ethics, Integrity and Compliance

October 25, 2023

Other members of the advisory board include former Congressman Charles W. Dent and Judge Marjorie O. Rendell.

Hybrid Work Policies Reinforce 'Caste System' Among Lawyers and Staff

July 21, 2023

Vincent McGuinness and Michael Schmidt spoke with The American Lawyer about the challenges law firms face with hybrid work.

To Mandate or to Suggest? Law Firms Weigh Hybrid Policy Approaches

April 20, 2023

Vincent McGuinness and Michael Schmidt spoke with The American Lawyer about the challenges of getting employees back in the office and the impact of remote work.

Cozen O’Connor Releases Film Short on New York Real Estate’s Future

December 19, 2022

New York, December 19, 2022 – Cozen O’Connor and its affiliate, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, announce the release of an innovative short documentary, “New York City: What’s Ahead? A Real Estate Perspective,” with keen observations about this current unprecedented and transformative period.

Vince McGuinness Named to City & State’s 2022 Law Power 100

July 11, 2022

The 2022 Law Power 100 profiles district attorneys, federal prosecutors, attorneys, law school deans, and bar association leaders who are shaping the direction of the commonwealth.

Vincent McGuinness Honored as a 2021 Distinguished Leader by The Legal Intelligencer

June 01, 2021

Vincent McGuinness, president and managing partner of the firm, has been recognized by The Legal Intelligencer as a 2021 Professional Excellence Award winner in the Distinguished Leaders category.

Cozen O’Connor Recognized in Numerous Categories for Legal Intelligencer’s 2021 Professional Excellence Awards

May 25, 2021

Cozen O’Connor is pleased to announce the firm’s achievements in The Legal Intelligencer’s 2021 Professional Excellence awards, which includes Cozen O’Connor being selected as a Law Firm of the Year finalist for the second year in a row.

Michael Heller Unanimously Re-Elected CEO of Cozen O’Connor

April 14, 2021

Cozen O’Connor is pleased to announce that Michael J. Heller has been unanimously re-elected to a fourth, three-year term as CEO of the firm.

Cozen O’Connor Awarded Inaugural Bar Champion Award

October 28, 2020

Cozen O’Connor was awarded the Philadelphia Bar Association’s inaugural Bar Champion Award at the recent Fall Quarterly meeting.

'Change Is Needed': Amid Protests, Law Firm Alliances With Prosecutors Draw Scrutiny

June 22, 2020

Vincent McGuinness was featured in The American Lawyer discussing Cozen O'Connor's secondment program with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office which began in 2009.

Cozen O’Connor Names Its 2007 Pro Bono Honor Roll

April 08, 2008

Cozen O’Connor has announced that 61 attorneys and 8 paralegals have been named to the firm’s 2007 Pro Bono Honor Roll.

Publications

Summer 2008 [Subrogation and Recovery Observer]

July 01, 2008

Summer 2008 - Subrogation and Recovery Observer -

Sports and Entertainment Law Observer [Fall 2007]

November 07, 2007

Specifically, in this issue, we examine two topics currently at the forefront of the sports and entertainment industries. First, we explore the ongoing strike between the Writers Guild and the Association of Motion Picture and Televisions Producers. Next, we outline the various immigration issues and options for foreign athletes who seek employment in the United States.

Subrogation and Recovery - Articles and Papers [Five Steps to Maximize Subrogation Recoveries]

June 01, 2006

Subrogation and Recovery - Articles and Papers - Five Steps to Maximize Subrogation Recoveries - Five Steps to Maximize Subrogation Recoveries

Circumventing Waivers of Subrogation, Exculpatory Clauses and Other Limitations [Subrogation and Recovery - Articles and Papers]

January 13, 2006

Circumventing Waivers of Subrogation, Exculpatory Clauses and Other Limitations - Subrogation and Recovery - Articles and Papers - 5 pgs total. Subrogation rights may be lost in one of two ways: the insurance company, by conduct or agreement, can waive its subrogation rights; or exculpatory or waiver clauses entered into by an insured can relieve the tortfeasor from liability. The waiver may also be challenged as an exculpatory clause that must be strictly construed; and avoided where there is a showing of gross negligence or willful and wanton misconduct.

Subrogation and Recovery - Articles and Papers [Avoiding Six Phantom Roadblocks to Subrogation Claims]

January 13, 2006

Subrogation and Recovery - Articles and Papers - Avoiding Six Phantom Roadblocks to Subrogation Claims - As we begin the new century, claims handlers, recovery specialists and subrogation counsel can expect new and varied challenges to subrogation claims. For the past several years, the courts have viewed subrogation claims with some disdain; and have issued peculiar and in some instances legally insupportable opinions that limit a...

Industry Sectors

Education

  • Villanova University School of Law, J.D., 1981
  • Drew University, B.A., 1978

Awards & Honors

City & State Pennsylvania, 2022 Law Power 100

Philadelphia Legal Intelligencer, Professional Excellence Award, 2021

  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court -- New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court -- Southern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court -- Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • American Bar Association
  • New Jersey State Bar Association
  • New York State Bar Association
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • Philadelphia Bar Association
  • Philadelphia Bar Association, Chair, Justice Brennan Distinguished Jurist Award Committee, 2022
  • Philadelphia Bar Association, Strategic Planning Core Team, 2021-2022
  • The David F. and Constance B. Girard-diCarlo Center for Ethics, Integrity and Compliance, Advisory Board