Richard J. Cohen

Richard J. Cohen, the firm's managing partner, is the head of the insurance coverage litigation practice group. He graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo's School of Management with distinction and its School of Law cum laude. Mr. Cohen handles all manner of first and third-party coverage and bad faith matters involving personal and commercial lines.

He is a national author and lecturer on insurance coverage and bad faith, and among other things, has several times authored the annual Survey of New York Insurance Law published in the Syracuse University Law Review. He is the former National Co-Chair of the Insurance Company Relations Subcommittee of the 22,000 member Defense Research Institute (DRI), and currently serves as Subcommittee Chair of both the Insurance Law and Construction Law Committees of DRI.  Mr. Cohen is also a CPCU instructor.

Mr. Cohen is admitted to practice in all the State and federal courts in New York and Pennsylvania, including the United States Courts of Appeal for the Second and Third Circuits.  He has been named to the Buffalo Law Journal's/Business First's 2006 and 2007 Who's Who in Law and to New York Super Lawyers 2007.

Direct Dial
716.566.5442
Fax
716.566.5401
E-mail
rcohen@goldbergsegalla.com
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Practice Areas

• Insurance Coverage and Extra-Contractual Liability
• ERISA Litigation
• Appellate Advocacy

Education

• State University of New York at Buffalo School of Management, with distinction, B.S., 1986
• State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law, cum laude, J.D., 1989

• New York - All Courts
• United States District Court, Western District of New York
• United States District Court, Southern District of New York
• United States District Court, Eastern District of New York
• United States District Court, Northern District of New York
• United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• Pennsylvania - All Courts
• United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Professional Affiliations

• Defense Research Institute
• Construction Law Committee 
• Chair, Insurance Subcommittee 
• Insurance Company Relations Subcommittee
• Vice Chair (2000-2004)
• Insurance Law Steering Committee 
• Life, Health & Disability Insurance Committee
• Membership Chair (2000 - 2002)
• American Bar Association
• Torts, Insurance & Compensation Law Section 
• Sports Lawyers Association
• New York State Bar Association
• Erie County Bar Association
• International Insurance Law Society
• Western New York Insurance Association
• Insurance Club of Buffalo
• Buffalo Claims Association
• Pennsylvania State Bar Association

• Board of Directors, Mathewson-McCarthy Babe Ruth Youth Baseball League, Amherst, New York (2005-2006)
• Roswell Park Alliance Board (1996-2001)
• Executive Committee (1999-2001)
• Corporate Committee, Co-Chair (1996-2001)
• Instructor - CPCU and AIC Programs (2000 - 2003)

• Co-Author, Topps Turns the Lights Out on Cool Papa Bell, 2008
• Co-Author and Presenter, Conflict of Laws in the United States, Canadian Defence Lawyers' National Insurance Coverage Symposium, Toronto, ON, February, 2008
• Co-Author, The Rangers' Gloves are Off in a Digital Tussle with the NHL, Entertainment and Sports Lawyer, Winter, 2008
• Co-Author, When is an Indemnity Agreement Not an Insured Contract? - Contractual Contribution and the Construction Contract Conundrum, DRI, The Voice,  February, 2007
• Co-Author, Construction Site Personal Injury Litigation - New York Law Sections 200, 240(1), 241(6), New York State Bar Association publication, 2006  
• Co-Author, Insurance Law Practice, Second Edition, "Discovery and Bad Faith Cases," New York State Bar Association, 2005
• Author and Presenter, Fishing at Chelsea Piers:  Discovery in Coverage and Bad Faith Cases, DRI Insurance Coverage and Practice Symposium, New York, NY, 2004
• Contributing Author, Preparing for and Trying the Civil Lawsuit, second edition New York State Bar Association publication, 2004
• Co-Author and Presenter, Bad Faith - Baloney or Real Beef? (The Lurking Dangers of Bad Faith), Canadian Defence Lawyers Annual Meeting, Toronto, ON, 2004 
• Co-Author, 2000-2001 Survey of New York Insurance Law, co-author, 52 SYR L. Rev. 449, 2002
• Co-Author and Presenter, The Special Investigation Unit - Determining Fraud Proactively, Defense Research Institute Insurance Coverage and Practice Seminar, New York, NY, 2002
• Contributing Author, Law and Practice of Insurance Coverage Litigation, ABA Tort and Insurance Practice Section, 2002 
• Co-Author and Editor, 1999-2000 Survey of New York Insurance Law, 51 SYR L. Rev. 563, 2001 
• Co-Author and Presenter, New Trends in Declaratory Judgment Actions, Defense Research Institute Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute, Chicago, Illinois, 2001
• Contributing Author, Law and Practice of Insurance Coverage Litigation, (Choice of Law), West Publications, 2000
• Co-Author and Co-Presenter, The Defense Rests . . . But on Whose Shoulders? Defense Research Institute Insurance Coverage and Practice Symposium, San Francisco, CA, 2000
• Co-Author, Insurance Coverage Concerns for the Millennium, The Defense Practitioner's Guide to the Year 2000 Problem, Defense Research Institute Library Series, 1999
• Author, Allocation of Defense Costs, Understanding Allocation, Defense Research Institute Library Series, 1999
• Co-Author, The Innocent Co-Insured: Coverage under the Homeowners Policy, For The Defense, Defense Research Institute, 1999
• Author and Presenter, Shifting the Risk: Anti-subrogation and Additional Insureds, Defense Research Institute Construction, Surety, and Insurance Seminar, Phoenix, AZ, 1999
• Presenter, We Forgot to Tell You What?, Defense Research Institute Seminar on Insurance Issues for the Year 2000, Boston, MA, 1999
• Co-Author and Co-Presenter, Coverage Minefield or Walk in the Park?, Defense Research Institute Insurance Coverage and Practice Seminar, San Francisco, CA, 1999
• Author and Presenter, Controlling the Defense, Defense Research Institute Excess and Reinsurance Seminar, New Orleans, LA, 1999
• Author and Presenter, The Insured's Selection of Defense Counsel, Defense Research Institute, Insurance Coverage and Practice Symposium, San Francisco, CA, 1998
• Co-Author, Direct Actions - Current Developments, Insurance Litigation Reporter, 1998
• Co-Author, Anti-Subrogation, Additional Insureds and Other Related Issues, Construction-Related Insurance Coverage Issues, DRI Annual Monograph, 1997
• Co-Author, Loading and Unloading -- The 'Walton Rule' (updated), New York Department of Insurance Bulletin, 1997
• Co-Author, The Anti-Subrogation Rule, TIPS Journal, 1997
• Co-Author, Direct Actions: Current Developments (a national perspective), Defense Research Institute, Insurance Coverage and Practice Symposium, New York, NY, 1997
• Co-Author, A Tactical Approach to Declaratory Judgment Actions, For The Defense, Defense Research Institute, 1996
• Co-Author, Loading and Unloading -- The 'Walton Rule,' New York State No-Fault/SUM Arbitration Reporter, 1996
• Co-Author, The Insured's Entitlement to Select Defense Counsel and the Retention and Use of Coverage Counsel, Defense Research Institute, Insurance Coverage and Practice Symposium, New York, NY, 1996
• Co-Author, Contractual Liability Claims and Additional Insureds, Defense Research Institute, Insurance Conference, San Francisco, CA, 1995
• Co-Author, Insurance Coverage for Emotional Distress Claims, Defense Research Institute, Insurance Claims Supervisors National Conference, Seattle, WA, 1994
• Co-Author and Editor, 1993-1994 Survey of New York Insurance Law, SYR L. Rev., 1994
• Co-Author, Effectively Preparing Claims Supervisors For Their Deposition and Trial Testimony, Defense Research Institute, Insurance Claims Supervisors National Conference, Boston, MA, 1993
• Co-Author, Can The Puzzle Be Solved: Are Punitive Damages Awardable In New York For First-Party Bad Faith?, 44 SYR L. Rev. 723, 1993

• Named to New York Super Lawyers 2007
• Named to the Buffalo Law Journal's/Business First's 2006, 2007 Who's Who in Law