Thomas”Tad” A. Decker is the firm’s vice chairman. Most recently, Tad served as chief executive officer of Cozen O’Connor from 2007 to 2012. He concentrates his practice in general corporate law with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, alternative dispute resolution, and government strategies.
He brings more than 25 years of corporate management and general counsel experience to Cozen O’Connor. Tad is also a nationally recognized arbitrator having served on scores of arbitration panels across the United States. Tad first joined the firm in May of 2000 as the firm’s managing partner.
In 2004, he was appointed by Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell as the inaugural chairman of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. During his three-year tenure as the chairman of the gaming board, Tad was responsible for overseeing the administration of Pennsylvania Act 71, which legalized slots gambling at a select number of sites within the commonwealth.
A nationally known and respected corporate attorney, Tad sits on the boards of directors of Actua, the Gesu School and is a vice chair of the President’s Leadership Council for the Kimmel Center. He is currently vice chairman and board member of the Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA and was formerly chairman of the board of the YMCA of Philadelphia and Vicinity.
He is also currently on the Chairman’s Council of the Philadelphia Zoo. Tad is a former chair of the Philadelphia Municipal Authority and a former board member of the Delaware River Port Authority, Port Authority Transit Corp. (PATCO), Pierce Leahy Corporation, and the Philadelphia Zoo.
Prior to joining Cozen O’Connor, Tad held senior executive positions for a number of major corporations, including Saint-Gobain Corp, where he was chief operating officer and general counsel, and Unisource Worldwide and Asbury Automotive Group, where he was executive vice president, chief administrative officer, and general counsel.
He also held the position of chairman of the Committee of Corporate General Counsels of the American Bar Association’s Section of Business Law, and, as former chair of the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners, he was appointed by the state Supreme Court to oversee admission to the Pennsylvania Bar.
He served on the board of the American Corporate Counsel Association and was appointed the first president of its Delaware Valley Chapter, DELVACCA. Tad earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1971 and his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968. He served in the U.S. Army, earning the rank of captain.
EDUCATION :
- University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 1971
- University of Pennsylvania, B.A., 1968
BAR ADMISSIONS : Pennsylvania
AFFILIATIONS :
- Board of Directors, ACTUA
- Board of Directors, Gesu School
- Board of Directors, Freedom Valley YMCA
- President’s Leadership Council for the Kimmel Center, Vice Chair
- Chairman’s Council, Philadelphia Zoo
- American Bar Association
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Philadelphia Bar Association
Cost
Rate : $$$