Jonathan Cohen is a partner in the firm's Washington, D.C. office, where he is a member of the Insurance Recovery and Counseling practice group. His practice focuses on representing policyholders in obtaining insurance coverage in complex, multiparty disputes involving product liability, product recalls, cyber events, and supply chain issues.
Jonathan has worked extensively with food, supplements, technology, and consumer product companies. He has successfully recovered insurance proceeds on behalf of Fortune 500 and smaller companies for a broad array of consumer product risks. He served as lead counsel in numerous matters involving food contamination and recall losses, Proposition 65 claims, cyber-related losses, advertising and IP claims, supply chain losses, and first-party property losses. Jonathan also has worked at the forefront of issues involving the overlap of insurance and bankruptcy, recovering billions of dollars through representations of debtors, claimant committees, a future claimant’s representative, and post-bankruptcy trusts.
Jonathan also represents clients in managing their business risks and advises clients with respect to insurance, indemnity agreements, and other contract-related aspects of their risk management strategies. He brings a unique perspective to client counseling, drawing on both his legal experience and his Ph.D. in organizational sociology to advance his clients’ business approach to addressing risk.
He also regularly represents civil rights organizations and individuals in high-stakes appellate litigation. He has filed briefs for individuals, consumer and policyholder groups, asbestos trusts, and civil rights organizations in more than a dozen US Supreme Court cases, as well as before the Fourth and Ninth Circuit US Courts of Appeal and state high courts.
Prior to entering private practice, Jonathan served as a law clerk for Judge Ferdinand Fernandez of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Additionally, he assisted Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge William Fletcher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in preparing for their Senate confirmation hearings. He also served as a research assistant to Judge Richard Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, who also served on Jonathan's Ph.D. dissertation committee.
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Insurance Law in Washington, D.C., 2017-2025
- Recognized by Chambers USA for Insurance: Policyholder in Washington, D.C., 2023-2024
- Recognized by The Legal 500 United States as a Recommended Lawyer for Insurance: Advice to Policyholders, 2023-2024
- Named to the Washington, D.C., Super Lawyers list, 2014-2023
- BTI Client Service All-Star, 2023
- Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2012-2016
- D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference Pro Bono Service Standard Honor Roll, 2016
- Editorial Advisory Board, Food and Drug Law Journal, 2021
- Advertising and Promotion Conference Planning Committee, Food and Drug Law Institute, 2020
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation, 2017 through present
- Board of Trustees, National Park Trust, 2010 through 2017
- Co-Chair, Bankruptcy and Insolvency Subcommittee of the Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee of the ABA Section of Litigation, 2010 through present
- National Advisory Council for Advancing Justice: Asian American Justice Center, 2008 through present
- Board of Editors, The Corporate Counselor, 2007 through 2018
- What Supplement Companies Need to Know About Managing Risks Through Contracting and Insurance, Food and Drug Law Institute Webinar, 30 March 2022
- M&A in Food and Agribusiness Companies: What Your Diligence List Is Missing, Annual Educational Symposium Webinar, hosted by the American Agricultural Law Association, 6 November 2021
- Career Advancement for Undergraduate Students, University of Chicago, 7 October, 2021
- What Every In-House Counsel Needs To Know About Insurance, A Seminar For In-House Lawyers, K&L Gates Webinar, Classes 1-6, May through July, 2021
- Fires in the Pacific Northwest, Sessions 1 and 2, The Seminar Group Webinar, Seattle, WA, April 20 and 27, 2021
- Managing Recalls, Internal Investigations, and Brand Management, Food and Drug Law Institute Annual Conference Webinar, 7 October 2020
- 4th Advanced Summit on Food Law – Regulation, Compliance and Litigation, Resolving Supply Chain Disputes, ACI Food Law Webinar, 16 July 2020
- Five Lessons For Relieving the Financial Symptoms COVID-19, Food and Drug Law Institute Webinar, 23 March 2020
- COVID-19: Optimal Insurance Coverage Strategies: Do’s and Don’ts; Preparation and Protection, K&L Gates Webinar, 20 March 2020
- Speaker, 2020 North American Crisis Management Summit, 4 March 2020
- Never Break The Chain: Five Key Risks Of Globalized Supply Chains, And How To Mitigate Them, 2020 Consumer Brands Association Legal Forum, 25 February 2020
- Speaker, 2019 AALA Annual Educational Symposium, An Insurable Event, Managing Supply Chain Risk In A Global Food Economy, 9 November 2019
- Global Supply, Global Risk - How to Manage Supply Chain Risks in a Globalized Food Industry, K&L Gates Webinar, 11 June 2019
- Speaker, Berkeley Judicial Institute/California Law Review, Spring 2019 Symposium: Charting a Path for Federal Judiciary Reform, 12-13 April 2019
- Keeping the Food Supply Safe: Developing Strategies for Supply Chain Risk Minimization, ACI 3rd Annual Advanced Summit on Food Law, 10 April 2019
- Global Supply, Global Risk: How To Manage Supply Chain Risks In A Globalized Food Industry, K&L Gates Presentation, 31 January 2019
- Virtual Reality, Real Risk: What Every Technology Company Should Know About Risk And Insurance, K&L Gates Presentation, 30 January 2019
- Speaker, 2018 Consumer Financial Services Symposium, 3 December 2018
- The Big Picture: Considering Corporate-Wide Objectives While Fighting Individual Legal Battles, Grocery Manufacturers Association 2018 Legal Conference, 28 February 2018
- Matters of Insurance That No Dietary Supplement Company Can Ignore, Dietary Supplements Conference, American Conference Institute and Council for Responsible Nutrition, 27 June 2017
- Roundtable Discussion on Marketing and Advertising Law, Grocery Manufacturers Association 2017 Legal Conference, 27 February 2017
- A Practical Guide to Recovery for Product Contamination Incidents, Grocery Manufacturers Association 2016 Legal Conference, 23 February 2016
- Presenter, Food Regulatory & Quality Assurance Summit, Strategy Institute, 18 November 2015
- Presenter, Food Safety & Regulatory Compliance Conference, American Conference Institute, 30 September 2015
- Iron-ing out Circuit Splits: A Proposal for the Use of the Irons Procedure to Prevent and Resolve Circuit Splits Among United States Courts of Appeals, 108 CAL. L. REV. 101 (June 2020) (with D. Cohen)
- “Seven steps to prepare for and execute a successful food-related recall,” WestLaw, March 2019
- “You’re in Better Hands Than You Think: Insurance Law May Provide Coverage for Defense of Advertising Claims,” Update Magazine, March/April 2018
- Ten Things Every Food and Supplement Company Needs to Know About Insurance Coverage for Recent Hurricanes, We’ve Got You Covered - Insurance Law Blog, October 11, 2017
- Disruption Protectors: Companies Can Take Three Steps to Minimize the Costs of a Supply Chain Interruption, Wholesale & Distribution International, September 11, 2014
- Seeking (and Finding) Coverage for Proposition 65 Claims, We’ve Got You Covered - Insurance Law Blog, May 14, 2014
- How Insurance Works with Labeling and Duty-to-Warn Lawsuits, Food Quality & Safety, January 28, 2014
- Inside Appellate Courts: The Impact of Court Organization on Judicial Decision Making in the United States Courts of Appeals, University of Michigan Press, 2002
- Mentioned, "Insurer Claims It Did Not Breach Contract In Benzene Exposure Dispute," Mealey’s Litigation Report, 29 July 2021
