After ten years as Chairman and CEO of Duane Morris LLP, John J. Soroko is stepping down.
Matthew A. Taylor, 53, currently vice chairman and head of the firm’s trial practice group, will take over in January as Duane Morris’ ninth Chairman and CEO, the Philadelphia firm announced today.
Soroko, 66, will become Chairman Emeritus and return full-time to his litigation, appellate and mediation practice, which he gave up when he became chairman in 2008. Taylor will hand over his role of vice chairman to Thomas G. Servodidio, currently chair of Duane Morris’ employment, labor, benefits and immigration practice group.
In his new role as Chair, Taylor plans to keep active as a trial lawyer, although he will have to scale back his practice to run the firm, he told Big Law Business.
Servodidio will take an active role as vice chair in managing the firm, giving Taylor time to serve as lead trial counsel in key matters. ...
Taylor said he’s “excited to get the ball” after working at Duane Morris for 20 years, and looks forward to visiting the firm’s 28 offices and recruiting new attorneys. While not interested in “growing for the sake of growing,” Taylor said he does hope to build out the firm’s corporate real estate and transactional work. Geographically, he sees opportunities to grow the firm’s home base in Philadelphia as well as in markets such as New York, Texas and California.
Soroko, the outgoing chair, told Big Law Business that he looks forward to being an active lawyer again and watching the firm flourish after doing “a lot of work in the garden.” ...
Soroko said he spent 18 months discussing the transition with 60 key partners, building “consensus and enthusiasm” for Taylor to take over leadership of the firm. Taylor has helped manage the firm as vice chair for two and a half years, and is well prepared for the top role, Soroko said. “It’s the next logical step for him,” said Soroko, “and this is perfect for me.” ...
“John and I have done this before,” Taylor told Big Law Business, explaining why he expects the transition to be smooth. “We’ve done this before together in a very seamless way.”
To read the full article, visit the Bloomberg Big Law Business website.
Matthew A. Taylor and John J. Soroko