Seth M. Cohen, a managing associate in the New York office, is a member of the Litigation Group. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation in state and federal courts, including insurance recovery, claims involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and other business disputes, RICO actions, government and regulatory investigations (including white collar criminal defense) and other forms of litigation involving clients in the entertainment industry.
Representative Matters
Insurance Recovery
- Mr. Cohen has represented Wyeth in a series of insurance coverage disputes arising out of mass torts involving products such as PPA, Prempro and Premarin, Duract and Thimerosal-containing vaccines.
- Cohen has represented various other entities, including chemical companies and a private equity fund, in connection with actions against their respective insurers for recovery of insurance proceeds.
Government & Regulatory Investigations
- Mr. Cohen represents a multi-billion dollar private equity fund in all aspects of an investigation brought by the New York Attorney General.
- Additionally, Cohen has represented several executives in connection with DOJ investigations involving allegations of improper accounting as well as alleged securities fraud and insider trading, and in response to various subpoenas.
Complex Commercial Litigation
- Mr. Cohen represents a large international consulting firm (as well as myriad individuals employed by the firm) in connection with alleged breaches of contract, fraud and RICO violations arising out of an Asset Purchase and Sale Agreement. A Manhattan federal court recently dismissed the RICO claims against our clients in full and remanded the state law claims to state court.
Entertainment
- Mr. Cohen represented the co-founder of CBGB, the iconic (now defunct) New York City rock club, in settling an intra-family dispute involving ownership of the trademarks CBGB and CBGB & OMFUG.
- iVillage/NBC. Mr. Cohen represented iVillage (which was acquired by NBC in 2006) in the complete dismissal of all federal claims, including trademark infringement and false advertising, asserted against iVillage in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California based on iVillage's use of certain trademarks on its astrology Web site.
- Mr. Cohen successfully represented a FOX News weather anchor in a contract dispute with the anchor's talent agent.
Emerging Companies
- LocalBacon.com. Mr. Cohen represents Localbacon, a unique Internet start-up catering to job seekers and employers.
Pro Bono
- Mr. Cohen has successfully represented several learning disabled students in actions against the NYC Department of Education (DOE) for failing to provide academic accommodations and services guaranteed by federal and state law. In one particular case that Mr. Cohen argued before an Impartial Hearing Panel, the Judge ordered the DOE to provide more than US$100,000 worth of private school tuition for its sustained failure to provide a free appropriate public education to the child.
Mr. Cohen sits on the Junior Board of Directors of Advocates For Children, a non-profit organization advocating for the educational rights of underprivileged students in New York City.
Before joining Orrick, Mr. Cohen was co-founder and vice president of NightFunk.com, a nationally recognized online entertainment guide for college students, from 1998-2000. In addition, Mr. Cohen served as an associate producer at ABCNews in New York from 2000-2002, researching and writing content for ABCNews.com and Good Morning America's website. Mr. Cohen has also produced content for the National Basketball Association (NBA), Music Television Network (MTV), and VH-1.
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