Sharon L Barbour

Counsel, New York

Sharon L Barbour

Counsel, New York

Sharon L. Barbour’s practice focuses on litigation, cross-border investigations, and white collar defense. She has experience in disputes involving securities, international, and commercial law before a number of U.S. and foreign regulatory authorities and U.S. Courts. Prior to joining the firm, Sharon was an associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.

Sharon has been recognized by the Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch guide for white collar criminal defense and commercial litigation in New York. Super Lawyers has recognized Sharon as a Rising Star since 2020.

Sharon is a graduate of New York University School of Law, where she served as the developments editor for the Journal of International Law and Politics. She received her B.A., cum laude, from Washington University in St. Louis, where she was the senior editor of the Enquiry Philosophy Journal. Sharon is proficient in French.

Sharon received Sanctuary for Families’ Above & Beyond Pro Bono Achievement Award in November 2019 for her work obtaining a special form of immigration relief for a survivor of human trafficking. Additionally, Sharon received the 2016 LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York Leadership & Initiative Award for her leadership role in creating the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York’s LGBTQ Youth Clinic.

Sharon L. Barbour’s practice focuses on litigation, cross-border investigations, and white collar defense. She has experience in disputes involving securities, international, and commercial law…

Education

New York University School of Law (J.D., 2013); Washington University in St. Louis (B.A., cum laude, 2010)

Bar Admissions

New York State; U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Activities and Affiliations

Co-Chair, Sanctuary for Families Pro Bono Council (PBC)

Former Member, New York City Bar Association International Human Rights Committee

Former Member, Steering Committee of the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York LGBTQ Youth Clinic

Cohen & Gresser is pleased to announce that 29 of the firm's lawyers are included on the 2023 New York Metro Super Lawyers list and 11 lawyers are included on the 2023 New York Metro Rising Stars list across a range of practice areas.

Super Lawyers named C&G co­founder Mark S. Cohen one of the Top 10 lawyers in the New York metropolitan area. Partners Jonathan S. Abernethy and Karen H. Bromberg have also been named to the Super Lawyers list of the Top 100 lawyers in the New York metropolitan area. Additionally, Karen has been recognized as one of the Top 50 women lawyers within the same region.

Super Lawyers and Rising Stars are annual lists of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only 5 percent of the lawyers in each state are selected as Super Lawyers, and only 2.5 percent are selected as Rising Stars.

The C&G lawyers recognized on the New York Metro Super Lawyers list are:

The C&G lawyers recognized on the New York Metro Rising Stars list are:

Best Lawyers in America recognized 14 Cohen & Gresser lawyers in its newly-published 2024 guide. The publication—now in its 30th edition—evaluates and selects lawyers based entirely on peer review. The survey process is “designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.”

Six C&G attorneys are recognized by their peers as “Best Lawyers” in their practice areas:

Eight attorneys are recognized as “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” in their practice areas:

International law firm Cohen & Gresser is pleased to announce that ten of its New York-based lawyers have been recognized by their peers in the 2023 edition of the Best Lawyers in America. Selection in the 29th edition of the guide “is based entirely on peer review.” The survey process is “designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.”

Six C&G attorneys have been recognized by their peers as a “Best Lawyer” in their practice areas:

Four C&G attorneys have been recognized as “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” in their practice areas:
International law firm Cohen & Gresser is pleased to announce that Daniel H Mathias and Matthew V Povolny have been promoted to partner, and Sharon L Barbour and Tim Harris have been promoted to counsel.

“Congratulations to Daniel, Matt, Sharon and Tim on their well-deserved promotions,” said Lawrence T Gresser, global managing partner of Cohen & Gresser. “All four exemplify our core values of excellence, integrity and respect, and we are fortunate to have them on our team.”

Click here for announcement.

Cohen & Gresser is pleased to announce that 37 of the firm's New York and Washington D.C.­based attorneys have been named to the 2021 Super Lawyers List across a wide range of practice areas. C&G co­founder Mark S Cohen and partners Jonathan S Abernethy and Daniel H Tabak have also been named to the Super Lawyers list of the top 100 lawyers in the New York metropolitan area, and partner Karen H Bromberg has been recognized as one of the top 50 women lawyers in the New York metropolitan area.

Super Lawyers ranks outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only five percent of the lawyers in each state are selected as Super Lawyers, and only 2.5 percent are selected as Rising Stars.

Super Lawyers

Jonathan S Abernethy: Criminal Defense: White Collar

Kwaku Andoh: Mergers & Acquisitions

Elizabeth Bernhardt: Business Litigation

Thomas E Bezanson: Personal Injury – Products: Defense

Colin C Bridge: Criminal Defense: White Collar

Karen H Bromberg: Intellectual Property

Jason Brown: Criminal Defense: White Collar

Joanna K Chan: Securities Litigation

Mark S Cohen: Business Litigation

S Gale Dick: Business Litigation

Christian R Everdell: Criminal Defense: White Collar

Lawrence T Gresser: Business Litigation

Oliver S Haker: Business Litigation

Johannes Jonas: Mergers & Acquisitions

Nicholas J Kaiser: Real Estate

Jeffrey I. Lang: Business Litigation

Melissa H Maxman: Antitrust Litigation

Ellen Paltiel: General Litigation

Nathaniel P T Read: Business Litigation

Bonnie J Roe: Securities & Corporate Finance

Stephen M Sinaiko: Business Litigation

C Evan Stewart: Securities Litigation

Daniel H Tabak: Business Litigation

Scott D Thomson: Business Litigation

Alexandra Wald: Business Litigation

Ronald F Wick: Antitrust Litigation

Rising Stars

Luke Appling: Civil Litigation

Sharon L Barbour: Criminal Defense: White Collar

Drew S Dean: General Litigation

William Kalema: Business Litigation

Sri Kuehnlenz: Civil Litigation

Winnifred A Lewis: Securities Litigation

Marvin J Lowenthal: Criminal Defense: White Collar

Barbara K Luse: Criminal Defense: White Collar

Matthew V Povolny: Business Litigation

Benjamin Zhu: Criminal Defense: White Collar

International law firm Cohen & Gresser is pleased to announce that eight of its lawyers have been recognized in the 2022 edition of the Best Lawyers in America. Selection in the 28th edition of the guide is based entirely on peer-review surveys in which tens of thousands of leading lawyers evaluate their professional peers.

Five C&G attorneys have been recognized by their peers as a “Best Lawyer” in their practice areas:

  • Jonathan S. Abernethy – Criminal Defense: White-Collar
  • Thomas E. Bezanson – Commercial Litigation and Product Liability Litigation: Defense
  • Jason A. Brown – Criminal Defense: White-Collar
  • Mark S. Cohen – Criminal Defense: White-Collar
  • Evan Stewart – Litigation – Securities

Three C&G attorneys have been recognized as “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” in their practice areas:

  • Sharon L. Barbour – Criminal Defense: White-Collar
  • Winnifred A. Lewis – Commercial Litigation
  • Alexandra K. Theobald – Commercial Litigation

C&G achieved a Second Circuit victory for our client, Fidelity Brokerage Services, in a contract dispute involving a transfer of assets from a family partnership’s Fidelity brokerage account. The Second Circuit affirmed the District Court’s grant of summary judgment to Fidelity and held that Fidelity was not liable to the partnership for allowing one of the partnership’s members to transfer assets out of the partnership’s Fidelity account.

Cohen & Gresser is pleased to announce that 35 of the firm's New York and Washington D.C.­based attorneys have been named to the 2020 Super Lawyers List across a wide range of practice areas. C&G co-­founder Mark S Cohen and partners Jonathan S Abernethy and Daniel H Tabak have also been named to the Super Lawyers list of the top 100 lawyers in the New York metropolitan area, and partner Karen H Bromberg has been recognized as one of the top 50 women lawyers in the New York metropolitan area.

Mark S Cohen, Jonathan S Abernethy, Jason Brown, C Evan Stewart, and Thomas E Bezanson were recognized in The Best Lawyers in America‘s 2021 New York listings. Mark, Jonathan, and Jason were recognized for white collar criminal defense; Evan for securities litigation; and Tom for commercial litigation and product liability litigation defense. Additionally, Sharon L Barbour, Winnifred A Lewis, and Nicole Dhir were recognized in the New York list of The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch. Sharon was recognized for white collar criminal defense; Winnifred for commercial litigation; and Nicole for commercial litigation and securities litigation.

Sanctuary for Families honored Sharon Barbour at its Above and Beyond Awards for her pro bono work to obtain a special form of immigration relief for a survivor of human trafficking.  Sanctuary for Families provides legal, clinical, and advocacy services for survivors of domestic violence, sex trafficking, and related forms of gender violence.
Sharon L Barbour discusses the potential ramifications of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Cyan, Inc. v. Beaver Cty. Employees Ret. Fund in The CLS Blue Sky Blog, Columbia Law School’s publication on corporations and capital markets. The case addresses the question of whether state courts have subject matter jurisdiction over class actions under the Securities Act of 1933.
Sharon L Barbour provides a book annotation for the 44th volume of New York University’s Journal of International Law and Politics, reviewing "Entangled Rights of Freedom: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion and the Non-Discrimination Principle in the Dutch Wilders Case" by Lisanne Groen and Martijn Stronks.
Partners Jonathan S. Abernethy and Mark Spatz, and counsel Sharon L. Barbour and Joanna K. Chan, were joined by Catherine Quinlan of IBM in this virtual Ethics CLE presentation hosted in partnership with the Association of Corporate Counsel, Westchester and Southern Connecticut Chapter. The panel offered practical advice for helping in-house counsel navigate potential legal ethics land mines in a variety of contexts.