Philadelphia Attorney Jennifer McHugh to Receive Norton Award at PBA Commission on Women in the Profession 25th Annual Conference in Hershey

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, April 10 -- The Pennsylvania Bar Association issued the following news release:

The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Commission on Women in the Profession will present its annual Lynette Norton Award to Philadelphia attorney Jennifer M. McHugh.

An awards ceremony honoring McHugh will be held during the commission's 25th annual conference, "Empowering Women," May 9, at the Hershey Lodge, Hershey.

The Norton Award was created in memory of Lynette Norton, a founding member of the PBA Commission on Women in the Profession who died in 2002. Norton was an advocate for young women in the legal profession and worked to promote literacy and women's rights. The award is designed to recognize and encourage female attorneys who excel in litigation skills and who are devoted to mentoring female lawyers.

McHugh is a partner at Cozen O'Connor where she represents corporate clients in insurance, professional liability, commercial, real estate and medical malpractice litigation. Since joining the firm, she has played a leading role in some of its most significant insurance and professional liability litigation, including second chairing Cozen O'Connor's defense of The Chubb Corporation in massive insurance litigation following the fall of Enron and obtaining the zoning and land development approvals required to build a 24/7 combination Wawa and gas station in Conshohocken after more than two years of litigation and 27 zoning hearings.

McHugh briefly left Cozen O'Connor from 2004-2005 after being appointed deputy insurance commissioner of the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. In this role, she was responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Mcare fund.

A frequent author and lecturer on insurance law and commercial litigation-related topics, McHugh co-authored a chapter titled "Issue and Claim Preclusion" in Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts, a legal series in its fourth edition published by Thomson Reuters and the American Bar Association Section of Litigation. She continues to work on annual updates and revisions of the chapter.

Throughout her career, McHugh has been dedicated to mentoring junior attorneys--especially women--in formal and informal activities. An active member of the PBA Commission of Women in the Profession (WIP) since 1996, she has served as chair and co-chair of the WIP, as well as an executive committee member. McHugh also acts as a liaison between Cozen O'Connor's Women's Initiative and the WIP, enabling an exchange of information and ideas.

At Cozen, she tutors associates needing help with their legal writing and litigation skills. She also offers support and counsel to women at the firm who are trying to balance a successful career with raising a family.

McHugh is a member of the Pennsylvania, Dauphin County and Philadelphia Bar associations. At the PBA, she is past chair of the Quality of Life/Balance Committee, past chair and vice chair of the Quality of Life Task Force and a member of the Technology Task Force. She is a member and past chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation Louis J. Goffman Award Committee and a former Zone One delegate representing Philadelphia County.

McHugh graduated from Duke University and Dickinson School of Law.