Pamela Dorian

Innovation Lead for Litigation

Pamela Dorian serves as the Innovation Lead for Litigation. In this unique role, she leads strategic efforts to strengthen the firm’s litigation practices through innovative workflow design, attorney training, and knowledge management. She oversees the implementation of innovation initiatives across all of the firm’s litigation departments — including commercial litigation, subrogation, and global insurance — and advises individual attorneys on practical technology solutions, from pleadings and discovery to trial preparation and appeals. Her ability to vet emerging technology through the lens of a seasoned litigator helps to empower attorney teams and accelerate client results.

Acting as a bridge among litigators, clients, vendors, and the Legal Practice Innovation team, Pamela leads training and education programs that improve attorney efficiency while maintaining the highest standards of confidentiality, security, and privilege. Her work is defined by a commitment to end-to-end process mapping, where she identifies friction points in the litigation lifecycle to design tech-enabled workflows that are both efficient and defensible. Through this structured approach, she guides the firm in the responsible use of artificial intelligence within its broader information governance framework. Pamela also works closely with the firm’s AI engineering team to design and build novel tools that streamline day-to-day litigation work and translate complex legal processes into scalable litigation efficiencies.

Pamela brings cutting‑edge expertise to her leadership role. Recognizing the transformative impact of generative AI on the legal profession, she completed executive education programs at Harvard Law School and UC Berkeley Law focused on computer science and generative AI, respectively. She further refined her technical skill set through advanced generative AI prompting certifications developed by the University of Michigan Law School and Vanderbilt University. In 2025, she shared her insights in a CLE presentation on advocacy and legal writing, which she delivered to approximately one hundred attorneys across firm practice groups.

Pamela’s approach to innovation is anchored in a decade of experience in the firm’s Commercial Litigation department. She represented Fortune 500 companies, global manufacturers, and industry leaders across sectors — including health care, construction, gaming, and insurance — in high-stakes, high-complexity cases. Her litigation experience spanned the full arc of commercial disputes, from pre‑suit strategy through trial and appeal. She brought a rare blend of courtroom tenacity and strategic foresight to every matter.

Pamela’s notable achievements include winning summary judgments, securing favorable verdicts in jury trials, and negotiating settlements that save clients significant time, cost, and reputational risk. She handled a wide range of complex matters, including contractual disputes, antitrust, appellate, construction, product liability, consumer fraud, medical malpractice, environmental torts, and business torts. That same meticulous preparation and strategic approach now guide her innovation mission, ensuring that technology and AI governance align with how litigators actually work on the ground.

A standout moment in Pamela’s career was her selection to serve as an Assistant District Attorney in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office through Cozen O’Connor’s secondment program. Over one year, she prosecuted hundreds of misdemeanor trials and felony preliminary hearings in Philadelphia Municipal Court, tried numerous bench trials to verdict, and argued dozens of evidentiary hearings on behalf of the Commonwealth. Regularly handling charges such as attempted murder, drug trafficking, aggravated assaults, burglaries, robberies, DUIs, and firearm possession. This front-line courtroom experience grounds her credibility with trial teams and informs her commitment to streamlining workflows that survive the heat of a courtroom.

Pamela has been previously recognized by her peers in the Pennsylvania legal community. She received the Legal Intelligencer Professional Excellence Unsung Hero Award in 2023 and was repeatedly named a Rising Star by Pennsylvania Super Lawyers.

In further recognition of her leadership, Pamela was previously appointed by firm management as a co‑chair of the Associates Committee. Later, as a Member, Pamela was selected as an Assignment Coordinator for the firm’s summer associate program. She remains involved in law student and lateral recruiting, as well as mentoring summer associates and junior attorneys. She is also committed to community engagement, including volunteering as a judge for mock trial competitions.

Pamela received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where she was awarded a three-year Dean’s Merit Scholarship and the H. Kruger Kaprielian Scholarship. While at UVA, she served on the Journal of Law & Politics, advised undergraduates interested in law school, represented local residents in the Criminal Defense Clinic, and spent a summer as a judicial intern on the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

Prior to law school, Pamela graduated magna cum laude from Pennsylvania State University with three bachelor’s degrees — in philosophy, political science, and communication arts and sciences — and two minors in international studies and classics. She graduated with distinction from the Schreyer Honors College and the inaugural class of the Paterno Fellows Program, earning multiple scholarships and awards, including the Eugene N. Borza Award and the Ray H. Dotterer Award.

test

Experience

News

36 Cozen O'Connor Attorneys Named Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

June 02, 2025

Selection to Super Lawyers is based on peer nominations and evaluations are combined with independent research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement.

31 Cozen O'Connor Attorneys Named Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

June 11, 2024

Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only 5 percent of attorneys are named Super Lawyers; only 2.5 percent of attorneys are listed as Rising Stars.

Expanding Scope Of Practice: Pamela Dorian Reflects

June 22, 2023

In an interview with Third Thursday, Pamela Dorian, a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation Department, discussed her experiences with construction defect cases and the advice she would give to construction law attorneys looking to handle these types of cases.

42 Cozen O'Connor Attorneys Named Pennsylvania Super Lawyers & Rising Stars

May 24, 2023

Super Lawyers has selected 42 Cozen O'Connor attorneys to the 2023 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.

Four Cozen O'Connor Attorneys Recognized by Legal Intelligencer Awards

April 28, 2023

Four Cozen O'Connor attorneys have been recognized by The Legal Intelligencer's 2023 Professional Excellence Awards.

Cozen O'Connor Promotes 29 Attorneys to Member

March 20, 2023

Cozen O'Connor is proud to announce the promotion of 29 attorneys to member.

49 Cozen O'Connor Attorneys Named Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

June 01, 2022

Super Lawyers has selected 49 Cozen O'Connor attorneys to the 2022 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.

Publications

Law School's Missed Lessons: Adapting To The Age Of AI [Law360]

September 10, 2025

Pamela Dorian contributed an article to Law360 discussing adaptability during the rise of generative AI.

Supreme Court Confronts Difficulty of Moderating Social Media Platforms [The Legal Intelligencer]

April 26, 2024

Stephen Miller and Pamela Dorian contributed an article to The Legal Intelligencer discussing two cases, Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton, before the U.S. Supreme Court that will impact the future of social media content.

US Supreme Court Revisits Gerrymandering and the Voting Rights Act [The Legal Intelligencer]

February 07, 2023

Stephen Miller and Pamela Dorian published an article in The Legal Intelligencer discussing the U.S. Supreme Court’s consideration of the issue of gerrymandering in Merrill v. Milligan.

US Supreme Court Confronts Independent State Legislature Doctrine [The Legal Intelligencer]

January 06, 2023

Stephen Miller and Pamela Dorian published an article in The Legal Intelligencer discussing The Supreme Court’s consideration of the Independent State Legislator theory in Moore v. Harper.

Supreme Court Considers State Ban on Political Apparel in Polling Place

April 13, 2018

Stephen Miller, vice chair of Cozen O'Connor's Criminal Defense & Internal Investigations Practice Group, and Pamela Dorian, an associate in the firm's Commercial Litigation Department, co-authored, in The Legal Intelligencer "Supreme Court Considers State Ban on Political Apparel in Polling Place."

Events & Seminars

Past Events

Education

  • University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 2015
  • Pennsylvania State University, B.A., magna cum laude, 2012

Awards & Honors

Pennsylvania Super Lawyers "Rising Star" 2022-2025. This award is conferred by Super Lawyers. A description of the selection methodology can be found here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Unsung Heroes, The Legal Intelligencer Professional Excellence Award, 2023

  • Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey