Bernstein Liebhard LLP is proud to announce that Brian S. Cohen, formerly an Associate at the Firm, became Senior Counsel to Firm on January 1, 2010.

Mr. Cohen received his Bachelor of Accountancy in 1994 from George Washington University, and received his Juris Doctor in 1997 from St. John’s University School of Law, where he was a member of the St. John’s Law Review. Mr. Cohen is the author of “Corporate Governance for the Entrepreneur,” published in the Winter 1997 Volume of the St. John’s Law Review (71 St. John’s L. Rev. 125 (1997)). Prior to graduation, Mr. Cohen served as an intern to the Honorable Arthur D. Spatt of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

During his career, Mr. Cohen has been involved in the successful prosecution of numerous class actions on behalf of aggrieved investors – three of which rank among the top 25 recoveries for shareholders in lawsuits of this nature – including:


  • In re Initial Public Offering Securities Litigation (S.D.N.Y.) ($586 million);
  • In re BankAmerica Corp., Inc. Securities Litigation (E.D. Mo.) ($490 million);
  • In re Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. Securities Litigation (S.D.N.Y.) ($400 million);
  • In re MicroStrategy, Inc. Securities Litigation (E.D. Va.) ($192.5 million);
  • In re Cigna Corporation Securities Litigation (E.D. Pa.) ($93 million),
  • In re Sepracor Corp. Securities Litigation (D. Mass.) ($52.5 million),
  • In re Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. Securities Litigation (E.D.N.Y.) ($13.65 million);
  • In re Willbros Group, Inc. Securities Litigation (S.D. Tex.) ($10.5 million);
  • In re Synavant, Inc. (Del. Ch.) (increased hostile bidder’s acquisition price by 40%).

Mr. Cohen has also focused his practice on antitrust and consumer class actions as well as complex commercial litigation. He has successfully briefed and argued numerous dispositive and discovery-related motions and was a key member of a trial team that obtained an $11 million jury verdict, including punitive damages. In addition, Mr. Cohen has appellate experience and has briefed several appeals during his tenure at the firm.

Mr. Cohen is the author of The Life O’Reilly, a novel, which was published in October 2009 and made its debut as part of Barnes and Noble’s Rising Star program, featuring up-and-coming, new authors to watch.

Mr. Cohen is admitted to the Bars of the States of New York and Connecticut. He also is admitted to practice before the Bars of the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second and Third Circuits, and the United States District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the District of Connecticut.