|
Jeffrey L. Cohen is a partner in the Bankruptcy & Restructuring practice group. Mr. Cohen joined Kronish Lieb Weiner & Hellman LLP in 2002, which was merged into Cooley Godward Kronish LLP in 2006, and is a resident in the New York office.
Mr. Cohen's practice is concentrated in the area of Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, liquidation and related litigation. He frequently represents creditors' committees and debtors in Chapter 11 cases, as well as fee committees, purchasers of assets, parties to executory contracts and unsecured creditors. Mr. Cohen has handled a multitude of contested bankruptcy matters and adversary proceedings, including, but not limited to, professional fee disputes, executive compensation, asset dispositions, disclosure statement approvals and confirmations, contested financing, claims litigation, motions to convert cases to Chapter 7 liquidations, equitable subordination, recharacterization and constructive fraud actions and related investigations and discovery through Bankruptcy Rule 2004.
Mr. Cohen has served as counsel to the Creditors' Committee in several of the most prominent retail Chapter 11 cases in the country as follows:
- Current representations include: Alexander Gallo Holdings, Inc., Signature Styles (dba Spiegel, Newport News and ShapeFx), Archbrook Laguna Holdings, Blockbuster, Oriental Trading Company, Claim Jumper Restaurants, Pizzeria Uno and Filene's Basement.
- Prior representations include, among others: KB Toys, Lenox Group, Sports Collectibles, Goody's Family Clothing, Boscov's, The Sharper Image, Wickes Furniture, The Bombay Company, Levitz Furniture, Harvey Electronics, Bachrach Clothing, Rag Shops, Norstan Apparel Shops, Troutman's Emporium, The Walking Company, Bob's Stores, Christopher's Men's Stores and Cornell Trading.
Mr. Cohen's other noteworthy representations include:
- Counsel for Crabtree & Evelyn, as debtor in possession, in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.
- Counsel for the senior lender in Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of a luxury condominium and retail project in Denver, Colorado, wherein the senior lender successfully defeated the debtor's attempt to prime $100 million prepetition facility and attempt to use cash collateral on non-consensual basis.
- Co-counsel for the Official Fee Review Committee in the Adelphia Communications Corp. bankruptcy cases in which, over the span of 5 years, the Fee Committee reviewed in excess of $600 million in fees and expenses and negotiated a cost savings to the debtors' estates of approximately $60 million.
- Counsel for the architect of a global solution for all interested parties in the Whitehall Jewelers bankruptcy case, resulting in payment in full of the first lien lender, return of all consignment goods to vendors and the prospect of a substantial distribution to general unsecured creditors.
- Bankruptcy counsel to eBay and shopping.com, an eBay affiliate, in several matters including, among others, the Circuit City bankruptcy case.
- Counsel for a tranche C lender owed in excess of $150 million in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases of Delphi Corporation, an automobile parts supplier to General Motors and others.
- Significant contribution to the collective effort of Cooley bankruptcy team in its representation of Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc., provider of a nationwide optical fiber network, wherein $5 billion in debt was successfully restructured and compromised resulting in the company's emergence from Chapter 11 as AboveNet, Inc.
- Lead trial counsel for the creditor's committee in the Troutman's Emporium bankruptcy case pursuing recovery of multi-million dollar breach of contract action against the purchaser of designation rights of unexpired real property leases in the Chapter 11 case. Successfully obtained multi-million dollar judgment in favor of creditors' committee after a 3-day trial in Eugene, Oregon.
- Co-trial counsel for the creditors' committee in the Norstan Apparel Shops bankruptcy pursuing constructive fraud claims exceeding $70 million from outgoing shareholders in a failed leveraged buyout of the company. Successfully defeated motion to dismiss and, consequently, positioning the creditors' committee to negotiate a multi-million dollar settlement for the benefit of general unsecured creditors.
In 2011, Mr. Cohen was selected for inclusion in the "New York Rising Stars" list by New York Super Lawyers magazine.
Prior to joining Kronish Lieb Weiner & Hellman, Mr. Cohen was an associate for two years at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in the firm's New York office.
Mr. Cohen obtained his J.D., cum laude, from the St. John's University School of Law in 2000. Mr. Cohen completed his undergraduate education at SUNY Albany in 1997, earning a B.A. in Political Science and Criminal Justice.
Mr. Cohen is admitted to practice before all New York State courts, and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second and Third Circuits, the U.S. District Court, Eastern, Southern and Northern Districts of New York. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association, American Bankruptcy Institute and Turnaround Management Association.
Education- St. John's University School of Law
JD, 2000, cum laude - State University of New York at Albany
BA Political Science and Criminal Justice, 1997
Court Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Third 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
- United States Supreme Court
Admissions
Memberships
- American Bankruptcy Institute
- New York State Bar Association
- Turnaround Management Association
|