Russell Cohen

Practice Areas

Russell P. Cohen is a partner in Dechert’s antitrust/competition group, representing some of the world’s top technology companies in their most complex antitrust and business disputes. An experienced litigator, Mr. Cohen focuses his practice on antitrust and unfair competition disputes, venture capital and other high-stakes litigation, particularly in the technology sector.

Mr. Cohen recently defended Microsoft in a high-profile lawsuit brought by Elon Musk which sought to unwind Microsoft’s strategic partnership with OpenAI. In May 2026, a unanimous nine-member jury ruled in Microsoft’s favor, and the court subsequently dismissed all remaining claims, including Musk's claim that Microsoft aided and abetted the alleged breach of charitable trust – marking a complete trial win and earning American Lawyer’s Litigator of the Week distinction.

He has represented market-leading companies, including Netflix Inc., LinkedIn and Zillow Group, in federal and state court and arbitration proceedings. He is lead trial counsel representing LinkedIn in an antitrust class action challenging its API partner program and was part of the trial team that secured a complete victory for Zillow in a high-stakes antitrust litigation case, which was widely covered by Law360, Bloomberg Law, and Reuters Legal. This significant win led to Mr. Cohen and Dechert partner Jay Jurata being honored as runner-ups in American Lawyer’s Litigator of the Week.

Mr. Cohen maintains an active pro bono practice, acting as counsel in the successful Alien Tort Statute case against an assassin involved in the murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero in El Salvador. Other pro bono matters include representing a parent and child separated at the southern border of the United States, former Guantanamo detainees pursuing damages for torture and unlawful detention, and a group of Canadian and international human rights organizations and scholars in the U.S. Supreme Court in Arar v. Ashcroft.