Joseph A. Gerber is senior counsel at Cozen O’Connor in its Philadelphia office from which he chairs Client Relations and serves in the leadership of the Cozen O’Connor Foundation.
He joined the firm in 1970 and served on the firm’s Executive Committee for more than 30 years.
Prior to joining the firm, Joe served as a federal law clerk to the Honorable Charles R. Weiner of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
During his more than 40 years with the firm, Joe has tried to verdict many civil and criminal matters in both jury and non-jury settings. Representative litigation matters included products liability cases, insurance coverage disputes based upon terms and conditions, ambiguity, policy definitions, triggers of coverage, asbestos litigation, mold claims, catastrophic injury defense assignments, arson and fraud defense, dram shop defense matters and bad faith and punitive damages defense issues.
Today, Joe serves as the firm “point of contact” for a number of major clients. He works with these clients to ensure the ongoing compliance with client litigation management guidelines, overall client satisfaction, and otherwise serves as a liaison between the clients and Cozen O’Connor.
Joe is actively involved in the leadership of a number of professional and community organizations. He is chairman of the board (Emeritus) of The Chubb Foundation; chairman of the board (Emeritus) of the Insurance Society of Philadelphia; and a trustee of the Jewish Family and Children’s Agency, where he serves as chair of its Human Resources Committee. As an associate member of the Loss Executives Association, he is the recipient of two President’s Awards for service. In 2001, Joe received the Whelan Award for Excellence in Professional Education. In 2005, Joe received the Franklin Award from the Philadelphia chapter of the CPCU Society for outstanding lifetime achievements and contributions to the insurance industry in the Delaware Valley. He received the Cronin Award from the Loss Executives Association in 2006 for promoting professional and ethical development of the claims profession.
He is a frequent keynote speaker, panel member, and guest lecturer before a wide variety of organizations, including the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania graduate course on negotiation; Insurance Society of Philadelphia Continuing Legal Education and Continuing Professional Education workshops; and numerous presentations at the Property Loss Research Bureau and Liability Insurance Research Bureau Managers Conferences, where he served as chair of the Executive Leadership Forum.
A former chair of the Large Firm Management Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association, Joe served as an officer of the Law Practice Management Division of the Association.
Joe received his undergraduate degree from Albright College in 1966 and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1969.
