Recognized as one of the 50 Most Influential Women Lawyers in America by The National Law Journal and a 2014 and 2013 Insurance MVP by Law360, Robin Cohen, head of the firm’s insurance recovery group, is one of the nation’s preeminent insurance litigators, focusing her practice on representing insureds in complex insurance coverage matters. With more than 25 years of experience, Ms. Cohen is a seasoned trial attorney who has tried and litigated many of the most significant and cutting-edge insurance coverage cases, including asbestos, product liability, toxic tort, environmental, directors and officers, first-party, employee dishonesty, and employment coverage matters. She has negotiated large insurance settlement recoveries for her policyholder clients, including recoveries of more than several hundred million dollars. In total, she has helped her clients obtain more than $5 billion in insurance assets.
Robin's talents have been recognized in numerous publications, including 2014 Chambers USA, 2013 Chambers USA (“outstanding in all aspects), 2012 Chambers USA (“a real standout – innovative and fabulous all-around attorney”), 2011 Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (“spectacular and confidence-inspiring” and “she always knows how to resolve matters, whether to settle or fight”), 2010 Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (“an outstanding oral advocate and strategic thinker”), 2009 Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (“is always thinking three to five steps ahead on each issue”), 2008 Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business ("is always strategic and very thorough in her approach—she is someone you can trust for the truly large matters") and Lawdragon 500 (“a top-flight advocate for insurance clients”). Robin was selected by Business Insurance as one the 2011 "Women to Watch" and was recognized as both a national and local "litigation star" in Benchmark Litigation and Benchmark Plaintiff, as well as named as one of the "Top 250 Women in Litigation" by Benchmark for three consecutive years. Robin is noted as a "Leading Lawyer" in The Legal 500’s guide to outstanding attorneys nationwide for Insurance: Advice to Policyholders and has been consistently named as one of the Top 500 “Leading Lawyers in America” by Lawdragon 500. Robin was featured as a “winning” litigator by The National Law Journal in 2013; only one of five attorneys selected nationally for overcoming tough odds in a case with high financial stakes.
Before joining Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP in January 2010, she was managing partner of the NY office at Dickstein Shapiro LLP.
Notable Representations
Lead counsel to IMO Industries, Inc. in securing a landmark appellate decision affirming policyholder rights to coverage for tens of thousands of underlying asbestos claims under its $1.8 billion dollar insurance coverage program. In an extensive 114-page opinion, the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed trial court rulings in favor of the policyholder after a four-day bench trial as well as rulings in the policyholder’s favor in nearly a dozen substantive motions decided by the trial court.
Lead counsel to MBIA in securing a victory just four months after the filing of the complaint, in which the Southern District of New York granted judgment in favor of MBIA and declared that the London market must pay tens of millions of dollars of MBIA's costs in defending suits arising from its restructuring of core business operations.
Lead trial counsel for a Warren Pumps, Inc. in a trial against more than a dozen insurance companies seeking coverage for thousands of asbestos-related claims, she secured a decisive jury verdict worth hundreds of millions of dollars
Lead counsel to Visa Inc. in its insurance coverage action against its primary Professional Liability, Technology and Multimedia insurer, Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s. In a ruling issued in January 2012, Robin obtained a summary adjudication ruling from the San Francisco Superior Court in favor of Visa, successfully arguing that fixed, minimum statutory damages available under California's Invasion of Privacy and similar statutes are not excluded under the policies.
Lead counsel to Cushman & Wakefield in securing a dismissal of breach of contract and negligent misrepresentation claims brought by a property owner, Orient Overseas Associates, alleging failure to provide sufficient coverage limits for recovery costs incurred as a result of Superstorm Sandy.
Lead counsel to Syracuse University in securing a victory from New York’s Appellate Court stating National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa. is liable for defense costs the University incurred responding to and conducting an investigation in connection with a number of state and federal grand jury subpoenas relating to allegations of sexual abuse against its former Associate Basketball Coach, Bernie Fine. In March 2013, the University was awarded initial summary judgment for this particular claim under a Not-For-Profit Individual and Organization Insurance Policy. In December 2013, New York’s Appellate Division, 4th Department, unanimously affirmed this ruling.
Lead counsel for Convergys Corp in a coverage dispute in which the District Court for the Southern District of Ohio granted summary judgment ordering the policyholder's umbrella insurance company to immediately pay the policyholder's costs of defending two privacy class actions.
Lead counsel on behalf of ABT Building Products Corp. ("ABTco") in a case against the insurance industry that obtained one of the largest jury verdicts ever in the North Carolina United States District Court. After Robin reached settlements with all of ABTco's carriers except AIG, ABTco was awarded trebled damages for violation of North Carolina's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act after a nine-day jury trial against AIG. In addition, the Court awarded ABTco all of its attorneys' fees and pre-judgment interest. The jury verdict and Court award were affirmed in their entirety by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Lead counsel representing a major pump manufacturer in an insurance coverage action pending in Delaware. The action involves dozens of insurance policies sold by nearly 20 different insurance carriers. In October 2009, the Delaware Court issued an unprecedented 88-page ruling that allowed the pump manufacturer to access excess-layer insurance coverage and to allocate liability among those policies on an "all sums" allocation basis. This was the first decision to apply an "all sums" allocation methodology under New York law.
Lead counsel to Philips Electronics North America Corporation and its subsidiaries in numerous insurance coverage actions around the country, involving hundreds of millions of dollars in insurance coverage. In connection with these representations, Robin successfully obtained numerous favorable rulings, and negotiated settlements worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Lead counsel to Philips Lighting Company in its lawsuit against several insurance carriers in West Virginia concerning insurance coverage for approximately 4,000 toxic tort claims. Robin successfully obtained summary judgment requiring the carriers to provide a complete defense to Philips, after which all aspects of the coverage claim were fully and very favorably resolved for tens of millions of dollars.
Lead counsel to the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (“Port Authority”) in connection with the pursuit of insurance coverage arising from liabilities resulting from the 1993 terrorist bombing of the World Trade Center. The insurer who issued a $50 million insurance policy to the Port Authority initiated an arbitration against the Port Authority in Connecticut and the Port Authority responded with a suit in Essex County, New Jersey. Because of the events of 9/11, the Port Authority has lost many of its insurance records. Ms. Cohen led a team of Kasowitz attorneys who successfully convinced the trial court to issue an order temporarily staying arbitration and providing the Port Authority with an opportunity to conduct discovery regarding the terms and conditions of the subject policy. While discovery was in the early stages the Port Authority agreed to a beneficial confidential settlement that confirmed that the insurer would meet its coverage obligations.
Lead counsel for major accounting firm in coverage disputes for professional malpractice in which Robin successfully negotiated settlements with various insurance companies for defense and judgment of the underlying suit.
Robin has been retained to testify as an expert on United States insurance law in an Italian lawsuit involving insurance subrogation rights under a policy controlled by U.S. law for tens of millions of dollars in damages resulting from a fire at facilities located in Milan, Italy.
Robin also frequently represents clients on various regulatory matters before the New York Insurance Department.
