Washington, D.C.

International law firm Cohen & Gresser represented Sierra Space Corporation, a commercial space company that is building and delivering the infrastructure and systems required for the future of space travel, in its record-breaking $1.4 billion Series A financing round. The private funding round represents the largest aerospace and defense capital raise in the world in 2021 and the second-largest private capital raise of all time in the aerospace and defense sector. Leading global investors including General Atlantic, Coatue, and Moore Strategic Ventures, along with private equity funds managed by firms including Black Rock and AE Industrial Partners and various family offices, all participated in the transaction. Cohen & Gresser served as counsel to our client Sierra Space on all aspects of the transaction. “We are proud of the opportunity to assist Sierra Space in this groundbreaking transaction to support the future of space travel,” said Jeffrey M. Bronheim, lead partner on the engagement for Cohen & Gresser. The Cohen & Gresser team was led by Jeffrey M. Bronheim, Bonnie J. Roe, and Daniel H. Mathias, with assistance from associates Winnifred A Lewis and Georgia Moorhouse. C&G partners Nicholas J. Kaiser (tax), Ronald F. Wick (antitrust), and David F. Lisner (litigation) provided additional support. Read Sierra Space Corporation’s press release here.

International law firm Cohen & Gresser has once again been ranked by Global Investigations Review (GIR) as one of the leading law firms in the world for cross-border investigations. The GIR 100, an independent guide to the world’s best firms for investigations, recognized C&G for its major victories on behalf of high-profile individuals and companies and its strong network of prominent lawyers in key jurisdictions around the globe.

GIR recognized the U.S. team’s deep bench of “former attorneys from New York’s famed prosecution offices,” and its “impressive work for corporates” in recent years. The guide also highlights the firm’s international reach, calling attention to C&G’s “strong practice in France” and the rapid development of its London office, which it describes as having “grown from strength to strength” with the recent addition of Richard Kovalevsky QC.

GIR also shortlisted C&G for the Most Important Court Case of the Year award for the significant victory on behalf of KBR Inc. at the UK Supreme Court. It is the second time in four years that C&G has been named a finalist for this award. The firm was previously recognized in 2018 for securing the dismissal with prejudice of a high-profile FCPA case brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The GIR 100 is based on submissions from law firms and extensive research, and honors the top 100 firms around the world that handle sophisticated government-led, internal, and cross-border investigations.

Reuters covered the recent summary judgment by the New York Supreme Court to dismiss allegations brought against Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and two other Wall Street banks in a case alleging a boycott in violation of the Donnelly Act, New York’s antitrust statute.

Cohen & Gresser is pleased to announce that 38 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
Damir Cefo: Intellectual Property Litigation
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
Sophia Soejung Kim: Criminal Defense: White Collar
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

The Biden Administration has made its picks for antitrust leadership, and they are all members of an intellectual movement to increase antitrust enforcement in big tech and beyond. What broader impacts will these appointments have and what are some of the challenges they will face? C&G’s Melissa H Maxman co-hosts this episode of the podcast “Our Curious Amalgam,” presented by the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Section, where she spoke with Bill Kovacic, Former Chair of the FTC and Director of the Competition Law Center at George Washington University, to discuss how the nearly decade-long debate about antitrust reform may play out in the new administration.

Cohen & Gresser achieved a significant pro bono victory before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit on behalf of the National Women's Law Center ("NWLC") as an amicus in the case of Dr. Rachel Tudor, a professor in the English, Humanities, and Languages Department, of the Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Dr. Tudor is transgender and was explicitly denied tenure and fired by the University when she transitioned from male to female. The appeals court ordered the district court to reinstate her to a tenure position and correctly recalculate her front pay damages award.

While Dr. Tudor had won at trial, she was denied reinstatement by the district judge.  The Tenth Circuit embraced the arguments made in NWLC's amicus brief and found that the district court improperly concluded reinstatement would not be possible due to alleged hostility between Dr. Tudor and Southeastern. Instead, because of the legal presumption in favor of reinstatement and the particularly low risk of extreme hostility between the parties here, the court reversed and ordered that Dr. Tudor be reinstated at the University with tenure.

The Tenth Circuit also rejected Southeastern's cross-appeal in its entirety, relying heavily on the Supreme Court's decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, No. 17-1618, 590 U.S. ___ (2020), which overruled previous Tenth Circuit precedent and held that discrimination against transgender employees is sex discrimination under Title VII. Notably, Cohen & Gresser also represented the NWLC and dozens of other non-profit organizations in drafting and filing their Supreme Court amicus brief in Bostock.

Melissa Maxman led a team from Cohen & Gresser’s Washington D.C. office in advising the NWLC.

Cohen & Gresser is pleased to announce that Melissa H Maxman, Erica Lai, and Andrew J Pecoraro have been named to the 2020 Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll for their pro bono contributions during the last calendar year. The Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll is an annual report published by the D.C. Courts, in partnership with the D.C. Access to Justice Commission and the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center, and recognizes “attorneys who have contributed 50 hours or more of pro bono work to those who cannot afford legal counsel.” Erica Lai and Andrew J Pecoraro were recognized with “high honors” for performing over 100 hours of pro bono work in 2020.

Cohen & Gresser partnered with the National Women’s Law Center in pursuing sex and disability discrimination EEOC charges against the Shelby County Division of Corrections on behalf of “Ms. N.” and other female prison guards that resulted in a favorable monetary settlement for Ms. N and the prison’s adoption of substantially bolstered sexual harassment and disability accommodation policies and protections.

International law firm Cohen & Gresser has been once again recognized in The Legal 500 United States. The 2021 guide highlights C&G for its financial services strength – emphasizing the firm’s “understanding of complex financial products and the operations of the financial services sector” – and its “extensive experience in jury and bench trials at the federal and state level.”

Client commentary highlights C&G as “a cut above” and “very effective at knowing their audience, staying on message, and telling a persuasive and winning story.”

The Legal 500 has recognized C&G in both the Advice to Individuals category and Advice to Corporates category of the Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense section. The guide notes the practice’s deep bench that “includes former federal and state prosecutors, and former in-house attorneys, many of whom are active litigators, and have unique experience of federal enforcement bodies.”

C&G has also been recognized in the General Commercial Disputes category. The practice stands out for its capacity to handle “a diverse range of commercial disputes across numerous industries, including finance, software, technology and healthcare” and its ability to “handle complex, sophisticated matters in a cost-effective manner.”

For the ninth consecutive year, C&G has been recognized by The Legal 500 in the Securities Litigation: Defense category for its “work on the defense of broker-dealers, investment advisors, hedge funds, and private equity funds in securities litigation and FINRA arbitrations.”

In addition, Mark S Cohen is once again ranked as a “Leading Lawyer” for Securities Litigation: Defense. One client describes Mark as “one of the best trial lawyers I have seen” and goes on to recognize him for his professionalism, responsiveness, excellent judgment, and high-quality work.

Recognized Practices:

• Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense: Advice to Individuals
• Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense: Advice to Corporates
• General Commercial Disputes
• Securities Litigation: Defense

Recognized Individuals:

Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense

• Jonathan S Abernethy
• Jason Brown
• Mark S Cohen
• S Gale Dick
• Miriam González Durántez
• Melissa H Maxman

General Commercial Disputes

• Mark S Cohen
• S Gale Dick
• Lawrence T Gresser

Securities Litigation: Defense

• Mark S Cohen
• S Gale Dick
• Lawrence T Gresser
• Nathaniel P T Read