Legal News

Cozen O?Connor Adds Former Energy Sector GC

By Brian Harris

By Gina Passarella
Of the Legal Staff

Cozen O?Connor has added to its Denver office a former general counsel and Am Law 100 partner with ties to the energy sector. David Zerhusen will be resident in both the firm?s Denver and Washington, D.C., offices where he will bring both a litigation and corporate background.

He formerly served as executive vice president for administration and as senior vice president and deputy general counsel for El Paso Corporation, one of North America?s largest natural gas pipeline companies.
More recently, Zerhusen was general counsel for the privately held Texas-based energy company Fulcrum Power. Zerhusen joined Cozen O?Connor from a sabbatical during which he taught business law courses on cross-border transactions at national universities in Latvia, Mongolia and Albania, and also consulted extensively with energy companies and others on business law and litigation matters. Zerhusen previously headed the European legal operations for Tenneco Inc in London, and was a litigation partner with Jenner & Block in Washington.

?I have been fortunate during my legal career to work with many top business executives and with some of the finest in-house and outside lawyers in the world,? Zerhusen said in a statement. ?Possibly the most important thing I learned from my experiences with them is the value of legal advice that is on point, practical and timely -- and if you are lucky enough, that also is cost-effective. I immediately was attracted to Cozen O?Connor's emphasis on practical lawyering.?

Jeffrey Weil, head of Cozen O?Connor?s commercial litigation practice, said in a statement that Zerhusen has important experience in London, both with Tenneco and while heading the international arbitration program for El Paso, Weil said.

?Dave's experience in both the corporate and law firm worlds, and his participation on the national and international stage of law, will be of great value to Cozen O'Connor clients,? Weil said.

Full post as published by The Legal Intelligencer Blog on December 22, 2010 (boomark / email).