With a diverse practice that includes both litigation and transactional elements, Jonathan Cohen's focus at Gilbert Oshinsky LLP is on the resolution of complex, multiparty disputes involving insurance and bankruptcy issues.

Jonathan has represented corporate and other policyholders with respect to a wide range of coverage matters, including product recall coverage, bodily injury and property damage coverage, directors and officers coverage, technology-related property damage coverage, advertising injury coverage and pharmaceutical-related coverage issues.  Jonathan has worked at the forefront of insurance issues relating to mass-tort bankruptcies, representing corporate debtors, claimant committees and bankruptcy trusts in numerous proceedings and negotiations.  Additionally, Jonathan has advised corporate and other clients regarding global resolutions to mass tort problems, including settlement class actions, super-excess insurance products and bankruptcy.

Some examples of Jonathan’s recent representations include:

• Representing two international  food companies in connection with claims and losses arising out of alleged contamination of its products
• Advising a Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company with respect to insurance claims for various pharmaceutical and asbestos-containing products
•  Negotiating insurance settlements for claimant committees and a future claimant representative in numerous asbestos-related bankruptcies, securing substantial insurance recoveries for the benefit of the creditors
• Arguing insurance-related issues in a U.S. District Court in an appeal in a bankruptcy case involving more than a billion dollars in insurance assets
• Counseling a claimant committee in a significant hospital bankruptcy with respect to insurance coverage for directors and officers claims and medical malpractice liabilities
• Negotiating an insurance settlement agreement for an insulation contractor regarding asbestos-related liabilities, securing hundreds of millions of dollars for the client
• Representing bankruptcy trusts in litigation and negotiations to successfully obtain insurance coverage for predecessor companies’ liabilities 

Jonathan also has an active pro bono practice and is co-chair of the Firm’s Pro-Bono Committee.  Together with other Gilbert Oshinsky lawyers, Jonathan wrote amicus briefs in four U.S. Supreme Court cases involving race-based civil rights issues, including affirmative action cases and a case involving a voter identification requirement.  He assisted a client in preparing testimony before Congress supporting the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act.  He drafted a brief filed in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals successfully challenging the constitutionality of INS regulations on behalf of a Kosovar Albanian applying for political asylum.  Jonathan negotiated a change in the policy of the Washington, D.C. police department regarding the unconstitutional use of a collateral requirement as applied to homeless individuals.  Jonathan has also provided insurance-related advice with respect to the federal September 11 Victims' Compensation Fund.

Prior to entering private practice, Jonathan served as a law clerk for Judge Ferdinand Fernandez of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  Additionally, he assisted both Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge William Fletcher of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in preparing for their respective confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Recent Publications

Protecting Against Product Liability and Recalls, Risk and Insurance, April 15, 2008

Insurance Coverage for Contractors’ Asbestos Liabilities: Key Settlement Issues, NIA News, December/January 2008

Non-Products Coverage for Contractors' Asbestos Liabilities, NIA News, August 2007 

Plan Response to Food Crisis, California Farmer, April 9, 2007

Protecting Your Company from Consumer Protection Claims, The Corporate Counselor, April 2007

On Backdating Battles, Legal Times, August 21, 2006

A New Front in the Backdating Stock Options Battle, San Jose Business Journal, August 4, 2006

Inside Appellate Courts: The Impact of Court Organization on Judicial Decision Making in the United States Courts of Appeals (University of Michigan Press, 2002)

Noteworthy

• Editor-in-Chief, International Tax and Business Lawyer, 1994 - 1995

• Member, Board of Editors, The Corporate Counselor, 2007 - present

• Black belt in Tae Kwon Do

• Member, National Advisory Counsel for the Asian American Justice Center, 2008

• Managing the Risks of Chinese Manufacturing and Imports
• Protecting Against Product Liability and Recalls
• Insurance Coverage for Contractors' Asbestos Liabilities: Key Settlement Issues

• 13th Annual Drug and Medical Device Litigation, December 10, 2008, Expert Strategies for Leading Litigators and In-House Counsel
• Food Borne Illness Litigation, December 3, 2008, Advanced Strategies for Assessing, Managing and Defending Claims of Food Contamination
• American Conference Institute: Defending Fraud Claims in Consumer Class Actions, October 15, 2007
• Defending Consumer Protection Class Actions: Consumer Products Crisis Management -- Dealing with the Media Frenzy and Preserving Your Corporate Integrity, May 21, 2007

• Back to Backdating
• GHR Receives Pro Bono Award
• On the Move