Robin L Cohen

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.

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.

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.

University of Pennsylvania Law School

J.D.

University of Pennsylvania

B.A.

Insurance MVP

Law360

Top 200 Lawyers

Forbes

Notable Woman in Law

Crain’s New York Business

Distinguished Leader

New York Law Journal

50 Most Influential Women Lawyers in America

The National Law Journal

Advice to Policyholders Hall of Fame

Legal 500

Best in Insurance & Reinsurance

IFLR Women in Business Law Awards

Top 100 Trial Lawyer, Insurance Lawyer of the Year, Top 250 Women in Litigation

Benchmark Litigation

500 Leading Lawyers in America

Lawdragon

500 Leading Litigators in America

Lawdragon

Legal Leadership Award

Profiles in Leadership Journal