PHILADELPHIA — Cozen O’Connor has announced that former Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge James Gardner Colins has joined the firm as a member in the General Litigation department. He concentrates his practice in the areas of public utility and insurance regulation.

A judge with the Commonwealth Court since 1984, Colins, who stepped down from the court in January 2008, is the longest-serving judge and the only one to have served two five-year terms as president judge. During his tenure, he led the court to its lowest inventory in 28 years, with the shortest time elapsing between case assignment and opinion filing in its history.

An active participant in the judicial and legal communities, Colins served as a member and chairman of the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board, handling and investigating complaints of judicial misconduct, and currently serves on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s Special Committee on Judicial Education.

Before being elected to the Commonwealth Court, Colins served on the Philadelphia Municipal Court for three years following the private practice of law. He also served as an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia County under U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter. He is a frequent lecturer for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the Pennsylvania Defense Institute, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, numerous county bar associations and other professional organizations.

Colins is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (BA, 1968) and Villanova University School of Law (JD, 1971). A frequent author and speaker on legal topics, he has been honored with the American Hellenic Lawyers’ Outstanding Service Award, the John Peter Zenger Law Society’s Distinguished Jurist Award and the Philadelphia Flag Day Association’s Public Service Award. Colins is also a Fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia and a member of Scribes — The American Society of Writers on Legal Subjects.

Founded in 1970, Cozen O’Connor is ranked among the 100 largest law firms in the United States, with more than 500 attorneys practicing in 23 offices. The firm has 21 offices across the United States and international offices in London and Toronto.