Former U.S. Senator William “Mo” Cowan, a member of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. and the president and CEO of ML Strategies, the law firm’s government relations and business advisory affiliate, has been named one of Boston Business Journal’s Power 50: Game Changers. This annual award honors those individuals who are making a difference in the business communities, “blazing trails” and leaving a mark on the local economy.
“Those of us who have had the pleasure of working with Mo over the years have seen first-hand how dedicated Mo is to serving his clients, the Boston business community, and the constituency of the Commonwealth,” said Robert I. Bodian, Managing Member of Mintz Levin. “This is a most fitting recognition of someone who is a great asset to the community, and we congratulate Mo on this well-deserved honor.”
After serving as the interim Senator for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts following the appointment of John F. Kerry to Secretary of State in 2013, Cowan rejoined Mintz Levin and ML Strategies as senior vice-president and chief operating officer before being named president and CEO earlier this year. Senator Cowan practiced law at Mintz Levin for more than a decade before serving in the following leadership positions for Massachusetts Governor Deval L. Patrick: chief legal counsel (2009-2011), chief of staff (2011-2013) and senior advisor (2013). He also served as a fellow at the Harvard University Institute of Politics.
As chief legal counsel to the governor, Cowan served as the general counsel for the Executive Office, advising Governor Patrick on all legal and policy matters. He managed legislative and regulatory policy setting for the Office of the Governor. Cowan oversaw all legal operations for the Patrick-Murray administration, including management of five deputy counsel, eight cabinet-level general counsel and several hundred in-house and outside counsel — the largest legal practice in the Commonwealth. Senator Cowan also administered the selection and nomination of chief justice of Supreme Judicial Court and nearly two dozen additional judicial appointees to state administrative law panels, trial courts and appellate courts.
Prior to his public service, Cowan was a member in the firm’s Litigation Section where he represented a diverse array of commercial clients in matters involving corporate governance, financial mismanagement and malfeasance and money laundering investigations. He led many internal investigations, providing litigation counseling and crisis management services to corporate clients, representing individuals and institutions in SEC and SRO enforcement actions, and class action proceedings. Cowan also served for six months in 2000 as a special assistant district attorney in the Office of the Middlesex County District Attorney.
