Josephine M. Bahn: A Big Dreamer and A Strong Mother

• Jo Bahn grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania, working towards her big dreams. 
• She believes in confidence and being nurturing towards others as human beings. 
• Jo enjoys spending time with her children, hoping they grow up to be strong women and bosses. 
• She believes that patience is a virtue, and lives by it as her main principle in life. 

1. Can you tell us about your childhood and what values shaped who you are today?

I grew up in a small and pretty rural town in Pennsylvania. I always dreamt of living in New York City and law was always what I wanted to do. I read ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ and was inspired by Atticus Finch. I thought that was the kind of work I could do, stand up and protect. And so, I credit my 10th grade English teacher, Mrs. Reduzzi, who I always mention, in these kinds of conversations as sort of forging the path that led me to being in law school.

I graduated with 532 people, I knew everyone’s name. You couldn’t go to the grocery store on Sunday without seeing people you went to high school with. And it’s still the case. I went back home 3 weeks ago and saw people at the grocery store that I went to high school with.  It is that kind of small-town values that I still take into practice today. Everyone deserves an opportunity to be heard and has a story to tell. It’s my job, if I’m representing them, to tell that story and it’s my job if I’m not representing them or I meet them to learn from it

2. Tell us more about your dynamic professional journey as a litigator. How did you find your way into construction and commercial litigation, and what pivotal moments defined your career?

I went to law school knowing I wanted to be a litigator and had kind of a weird entree into securities and finance. I clerked in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, or federal trial court, my first year out of law school and that sort of was my LLM in litigation. I always say my judge was great in teaching us how to improve our writing skills, how to identify good and bad oral advocacy; because frankly it’s about learning the nuances of each and figuring out how you’re going to either insert that into your practice. After that, I ended up applying to a bunch of federal government postings because I knew I was coming down to DC and I wanted to be confident that I could have a strong job opportunity. I landed at the FDIC as one of two honors attorneys in my class. I was fortunate enough to get handed the second chair opportunity on the FDIC’s largest fraud in its history on my second full day of work. 

It was kind of one of those things where somebody said, “I don’t know if this is going to end up being anything,” and it ended up being the case of a lifetime. So I cut my teeth on that case, did my first real big motions, my first advocacy to judges on that case. I credit it with teaching me how to practice and master deadlines; making sure that you’re keeping the mission or the client’s goals at the forefront.

While at the FDIC, I happened to be at an ABA Section of Litigation meeting at a dinner with one of Cozen’s Philadelphia partners. He really liked my presentation, or who I was at this dinner and we hit it off. I ended up interviewing at the firm with the head of our women’s initiative at the time who was the vice chair of the commercial litigation department. I remember her saying, “You’re great. We’d love to have you, but the only opening is in construction.” I figured, how hard could a practice shift be?  I’ve been able to build a practice here for the last three years– it’s been the ride of a lifetime.

3. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced as a litigator and a leader? How did you overcome these, and what lessons did they teach you?

It’s fair to say that the law and construction, the industries that I find myself teeter tottering in and finance to the same degree are still male-dominated. And so, I will have an opposing counsel that thinks he can ‘little girl’ me. That is a term of art that I use when I’m talking to people who kind of forcibly tell me how to practice, or tell me I’m doing something wrong. Even though I’ll have the Virginia code up, and it literally says this, I am reading it. I’ve had to have a lot of patience in this practice and it’s a lot of having to assert myself and make sure that I am being mindful that when I’m right I need to be confident about it.

Asserting myself and confidence are two things that I’ve had to really learn and grow over the last couple of years in particular. Because that’s what your clients are asking you to do. They’re asking you to advocate for them. If you can’t advocate for yourself while you’re advocating for them, you’re not going to be very effective. 

The biggest hurdles for me have been overcoming the gender and age gap in the practice of law in construction and finance, and also how to continue navigating and growing in that space. I also have two small kids, so balancing an active practice with all the travel and all the marketing outside of the office that I do, but making sure that I’m still fully and 100% present when I’m with them. I tell people a lot but my daughter says that her mom’s job is to be a mom and a boss. This year when they asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up as part of her introduction to her classmates, that’s what she wrote down. The hardest things are asserting myself and remaining confident while still coming off as approachable, but also making sure I’m still raising a little mom and a little boss, too.

4. If you could go back and do one thing differently in your career, what would it be, and why?

I got some feedback from my first job about the dress I should wear to go to court and how I should present myself. I wish I could go back and tell that person that you really don’t have to wear black suits and it’s okay to show some personality. It’s okay to be you in a courtroom because your clients are hiring you, not some model that you’re going to be. There’s the guy that hired me at Cozen, who literally only wears black suits, and it’s just not someone or something I could be.

So I wish I could tell my first year of practice, “You’re going to wear a plaid jacket to court one day and win that motion to dismiss that you are defending against and it’s going to be okay.” So just being yourself and finding you is what I wish I could go back eight years and tell myself.

5. Are there other characteristics that you believe are essential to your success?

Outside of being assertive what has worked for me 1 million percent of the time has been attentiveness and being nurturing. So I’m the friend that’s going to remember your birthday and make sure you have flowers on your birthday. But I’m also going to be the person that knows when to read your face and understand you’ve had a hard day and I’m going to ask you about it.

Whether or not you want to tell me at that moment, just asking and letting you feel seen is important to the person who’s receiving it. I try to be really perceptive and give people space to be human. This life is way too hard to just all be robots, so I take the time to be human and treat others like one. That doesn’t work for everybody, but I want other people to be human around me.  So, I would say that that’s some of the characteristics. As far as the mentorship side, I have a bunch of mentors. 

It’s folks that I call on when I am thinking about coming to Cozen or people that I have a question about whether I should take a case or if I have a question about certain marketing. There are people that I have identified as, “You are not my sole mentor,” but I have this one specific thing that I know you’re good at and I want to learn from. It’s people that I’ve grown with, that I’ve added to kind of the mentorship roster to learn and grow from, but also realize that who they are is not who I am. I can’t just have anyone as a mentor. I have to take components of each person to try and make myself the best human I can be.

6. What is one characteristic that you believe is essential for success in a challenging and competitive field like law?

Try to do anything, be outside of your comfort zone. If something works, great. But 95% of the time, it’s not going to work. I have this saying that I have been 100% successful in all of my pitches for marketing because eventually it will come. I have this philosophy because it’s about continuing to try new things and try new spaces and places.  So, for me, it’s pivoting and being willing to just put yourself out there and knowing that it’s not going to be successful. So, you just have to keep trying and trying and trying different things.

7. What advice would you give to young women aspiring to careers in law particularly in traditionally male-dominated fields like construction litigation?

It’s not going to be about your work product. It’s not going to be about your client relationship. It’s not going to be about the advice you give or the research that you do.  It’s going to be about the time that you made one mistake or the day that you didn’t give a perfect work product or you have to stop second-guessing yourself that you can’t do this job. I promise you most people that stick it out for as long as you have to get through law school and then do whatever licensing you have to do in your home jurisdiction, you’re good enough to practice. It’s just a question of whether you believe in yourself to make yourself great. Get ready for the hard days because they will come. But realize that at the end of every hard day is an opportunity for a good day.

8. Have you ever built passions or interests that help you shape your perspective and drive up to now?

I guess I get fed up with other people, so I’ve kept the same group of friends from middle school and we were just messaging each other this morning. I’ve grown and built and developed from the same relationships that have grown and built me my whole life. It’s not about how, on paper, I’m fairly successful, but it’s making sure that I’m still the best friend. That is the kind of structure that I want to build. Because at the end of the day, I’m going to stop practicing law at some point, and I want there to be a life for me outside of that. It’ll be pretty lonely if I still don’t have my same middle school best friends.

9. What’s your favorite way to relax and recharge outside of work? how do you balance the demanding nature of litigation with your personal life?

My favorite thing to do is hot yoga. I like it at 105 and it’s because you have to be completely zoned into what you’re doing and if you think about something other than the pose that you’re in, you fall out and then I feel like I’ve failed because I’ve fallen out of the pose. It reminds me that I need to stay grounded and stay rooted in that pose. That’s my outlet to try and keep the litigation pressures down. I also spend a good bit of time with my littles. Saturdays are girls’ days, so we take horseback riding lessons, and then we usually do a girl lunch date and then we have ballet class. So that is my fun. Saturdays are like my zen day.

10. Is there a particular quote or mantra or book that resonates with you and serves as a guiding principle in your life?

I say, “Patience is a virtue,” a lot to my little but that’s just because they fight and so I’m trying to remind them to be patient. Mitch Albom is my favorite writer, and he has these books about internal development of who you are on earth and then what becomes of you after and kind of what your legacy is if you’re a good and kind person. I have just tried to be a good and kind person and the rest of the persona I guess is sort of a blessing that has kind of come. But I’m still the same person who grew up in a small town that wanted to, and worked really hard to get where they are. I’m still truly at my happiest when doing my small hometown life and any chance I get to do that, I take. 

Jo Bahn’s journey is a testament to resilience, ambition, and unwavering authenticity. From her small-town roots to navigating the complexities of litigation, she has embraced challenges with confidence and grace. Balancing a demanding career with motherhood, she not only leads in the courtroom but also inspires the next generation of strong women. With a commitment to patience, kindness, and lifelong growth, Jo continues to carve a path that reflects both her professional excellence and personal values.