Robert A. Cohen is co-head of the firm’s global international dispute resolution practice. He has served several times on the firm’s Policy Committee. His more than 40 years of experience has included the litigation (including jury trials), arbitration and mediation of complex commercial disputes, often with an international dimension. In the 2012 edition of Benchmark Litigation, Mr. Cohen was recommended as a New York Litigation Star in several litigation areas.
In recent years, a principal focus of Mr. Cohen’s practice has been litigation and judgment enforcement proceedings against foreign governments and government instrumentalities. Chief among his representations in this area is his litigation on behalf of Elliott Associates, a large New York-based hedge fund. Mr. Cohen has managed successful and on-going worldwide efforts to obtain and enforce judgments of hundreds of millions of dollars of defaulted sovereign debt.
Significant Representations
- Represented a Netherlands based pharmaceutical company in ICC arbitration in Geneva, under New York law, relating to drug licensing agreement with a U.S. based manufacturer.
- Represented a U.S. based investment banking firm in ICC arbitration against Brazilian entity relating to entitlement to ongoing fees calculated based on revenues derived from enterprise financed by investors identified by the banker.
- Defended Hong Kong based arbitration by Hong Kong public company brought against People’s Republic of China corporation alleging fraudulent misrepresentation in connection with investment.
- Advised a major pharmaceutical company in connection with dispute arising from co-promotion agreement.
- Represented Getty Oil Company in the defense of many antitrust class actions (price fixing, contrived shortage, Robinson-Patman, tie-in and other claims) brought against it and other members of the oil industry in federal and state courts around the country.
- Represented Philip Morris in the defense of several purported class actions brought against it and other cigarette manufacturers in New York.
- Represented a private equity fund as a plaintiff in a federal securities fraud jury trial.
- Represented Crown Cork & Seal in the defense of a claim for an investment banking fee in connection with the restructuring of Crown’s $10 billion debt.
- Represented Northrop Grumman Corporation (formerly Lucas Aerospace) in the defense of a series of litigated and arbitrated matters seeking more than $100 million as a result of alleged breaches of contracts for the re-engining of a class of business jets.
- Defended a Delaware-based limited partnership and its general partner in a claim made by former limited partners that the general partner withdrew more than $20 million from the fund improperly and issued misleading financial statements.
- Represented a New York Stock Exchange member company in a jury trial and in arbitration in a case alleging racial discrimination
- Represented one of the nation’s largest developers of planned residential communities in purchase price adjustment litigation relating to $900 million purchase of residential sites.
Education
Lake Forest College, B.A., 1967
Washington University School of Law, J.D., 1970
University of London, Graduate studies
Court Admissions
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Supreme Court of the United States
Bar Admissions/Qualifications
New York
Memberships
Mr. Cohen is a former chair of the Subcommittee on Litigation of the International Dispute Resolution Committee of the New York State Bar Association’s International Law and Practice Section and a member of the Litigation and Antitrust Law Sections of the American Bar Association.