Robin L Cohen

Practice Areas

In her 30-plus-year career as one of the nation’s foremost litigators, Robin Cohen has consistently taken on—and beaten—the world’s largest insurance companies. Recognized as one of the most effective and innovative insurance lawyers in the world, Robin has recovered over $10 billion for policyholder plaintiffs like Pfizer, Walmart, CBS, Verizon, and AMC. These and other blue-chip corporations repeatedly choose her to secure coverage for catastrophic losses.

Among other groundbreaking results, Robin secured the extremely rare reversal of a jury verdict, while representing Conduent State Healthcare in its pursuit of insurance coverage relating to a $236 million Medicaid settlement. The decision was recently upheld by the Delaware Supreme Court. Robin’s work has also established precedent in vital areas of D&O insurance, including a recent major win for Harman International Industries, when the Delaware Supreme Court held that a “bump-up” exclusion in a D&O policy did not bar coverage for Harman’s $28 million settlement of an underlying shareholder class action.

Outside the courtroom, Robin focuses on bet-the-company insurance issues that materially impact the bottom line for her clients. Organizations rely on her to address coverage questions stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic, governmental investigations, securities litigation against directors and officers, regulatory developments, and computer system breaches.

Career

In 2021, Robin co-founded Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna, which has quickly become a national powerhouse. Under her leadership as chair, the firm has more than tripled in size, attracting top talent from Am Law 100 firms and Fortune 100 companies. Before founding Cohen Ziffer, Robin practiced at McKool Smith, Kasowitz, and Dickstein Shapiro.

Awards

Education

Work Highlights

Robin’s career highlights have involved the biggest threats to business of the day. Early on, she earned a $1.85 billion trial award (upheld on appeal) to cover the asbestos liabilities of a manufacturer. After Superstorm Sandy, Robin secured a first-of-its-kind decision from the New Jersey Supreme Court, allowing the NJ Transit System to access $400 million in coverage.

In a current dispute with little precedent, Robin represents Walmart in its lawsuit against nearly 40 insurers over their refusal to provide coverage for defense costs, settlements, and judgments in 2,400 underlying actions related to the sale and distribution of opioids. Robin has already achieved key wins, including a finding that Walmart’s insurers must pay its defense costs in related lawsuits—a victory that addressed multiple issues of first impression under Arkansas law.

Robin also won a landmark victory for AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. in an issue of first impression, when the Delaware Superior Court found that AMC’s payment of shares to settle a lawsuit brought by AMC’s shareholders satisfied its insurance policy’s definition of loss. The decision was recently upheld by the Delaware Supreme Court, setting a vital precedent for policyholders seeking coverage for settlements paid with non-cash compensation and confirming that policy interpretation starts—and ends—with the words of the policy itself.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Robin is admitted to practice before the following courts:

• U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit

• U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit

• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit

• U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit

• U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit

• U.S. District Court, Tenth Circuit

• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York

• U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York

• U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York

• U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey

• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania

• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas

• U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois