Very simply, substance over form. Why a partnership as opposed to a more traditional merger? Myriad pragmatic reasons. For one, Tracey McLean deservedly became a name partner at Vaughan McLean less than a year ago, and nobody wanted to eliminate that very deserving ascension for her. Similarly, before the founders of the Cohen Cunningham firm had ever even met Joe Vaughan, they worked hard to develop a vision of what a law firm should be, how it should operate, and what it should prioritize. The vision was, in some respects, materially different from the model that Joe (and then Joe and Tracey) had built to this point. Each of them played an integral part in what they collectively envisioned, and each of them was, from the outset, envisioned to be a name partner of the firm they wanted to build together. Nobody wanted to mitigate the significance of what each had contributed to the ideals they shared and developed together.
Because the nine founders came together from six different firms – ranging from an esteemed litigation boutique, to several large multistate firms, to a 700+ lawyer international firm, we believe that our composition and our experiences in a variety of law firm environments uniquely positions us to break the mold of the “traditional” law firm, improve upon the positives and steer clear of the negatives that we all individually and collectively have experienced at firms large and small – and to put all those lessons learned to good use.
