Recognized as one of the 50 Most Influential Women Lawyers in America by The National Law Journal, Robin, head of the firm’s insurance recovery group, is one of the nation’s preeminent insurance litigators, focusing her practice on representing insureds in complex insurance coverage matters. Robin has litigated and is now litigating many of the most significant and cutting-edge insurance coverage cases, including asbestos, product liability, toxic tort, environmental, directors and officers, first-party, employee dishonesty, and employment coverage matters. Robin has represented clients as lead counsel in courts throughout the country, including in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, California, West Virginia, Oregon, Maryland, and North Carolina.
Robin’s talents have been recognized in numerous publications, including Lawdragon 500 (“a top-flight advocate for insurance clients”), 2012 Chambers USA (“a real standout – innovative and fabulous all-around attorney,” and “she would run through a brick wall for us, and she knew which brick wall to run through”), 2011 Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (“spectacular and confidence-inspiring” and “she always knows how to resolve matters, whether to settle or fight”), 2010 Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (“an outstanding oral advocate and strategic thinker” and “tough, direct and a pleasure to deal with”), 2009 Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (“is always thinking three to five steps ahead on each issue”) and 2008 Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (“is always strategic and very thorough in her approach—she is someone you can trust for the truly large matters”). Robin was recently selected by Business Insurance as one the 2011 “Women to Watch” and was recognized as both a national and local “litigation star” in Benchmark Litigation and Benchmark Plaintiff, as well as named as one of the “Top 250 Women in Litigation” by Benchmark. In addition, Robin is recommended in The Legal 500’s guide to outstanding attorneys nationwide for Insurance: Advice to Policyholders (Robin “shows extraordinary knowledge, exceptional dedication to the task at hand, outstanding ability to understand the practical nuances of the case, and very strong negotiating skills”) and has been listed among the 2011 Lawdragon 500 “Leading Lawyers in America” and in the 2nd edition of the Guide to the World’s Leading Women in Business Law. Robin has also been selected to New York Super Lawyers 2012.
Before joining Kasowitz Benson in January 2010, she was managing partner of the NY office of Dickstein Shapiro.
Robin also is very active in women’s leadership issues, and is a frequent speaker and writer on the subject, including co-authoring, “Designing a Women’s Initiative That Works,” New York Law Journal, October 2007, “Women Leaders Boost Profit,” Barron’s, September 4, 2006, and “Women Leaders and the Bottom Line,” Bloomberg Corporate Law Journal, Winter 2006. Robin also has hosted several events that provide the opportunity for women leaders to network in non-traditional settings.
Notable Representations
- In November 2012, Robin was lead trial counsel for a pump manufacturer in a trial against more than a dozen insurance companies. After a three-week trial, she secured a decisive jury verdict which held that the insurance companies were liable to provide defense and indemnity coverage for thousands of asbestos related claims.
- Robin represents Syracuse University in pursuing a claim under a Not-For-Profit Individual and Organization Insurance Policy. In March 2013 the University was awarded summary judgment for costs it incurred responding to and conducting an investigation in connection with a number of state and federal grand jury subpoenas concerning facts and circumstances relating to allegations of sexual abuse, and in particular the allegations against the University's former Associate Basketball Coach.
- Robin represented Visa Inc. in its insurance coverage action against its primary Professional Liability, Technology and Multimedia insurer, Certain Underwriters at Lloyds. In a ruling issued in January 2012, Robin obtained a summary adjudication ruling from the San Francisco Superior Court in favor of Visa, successfully arguing that fixed, minimum statutory damages available under California's Invasion of Privacy and similar statutes are not excluded under the policies.
- Robin represents an Investment Company and its various subsidiaries that suffered tens of millions of dollars in losses as a result of the fraud perpetrated by Bernard L. Madoff, in pursuit of insurance coverage under a "fidelity bond" that protects against losses due to fraud and other dishonest acts by the plaintiffs' "outside investment advisers," including Madoff. In March 2012, the trial court rejected the four defendant insurance carriers' position that they had to pay nothing, either because the cash withdrawals of the "net winner" plaintiffs should offset the cash deposits of the distinct "net loser" plaintiffs, or because the plaintiffs' settlement with the SIPC trustee eliminated any losses they may have suffered. The court also rejected the carriers' argument that any coverage owed was subject to a distinct multi-million deductible per plaintiff.
- In January 2007, Robin was lead counsel on behalf of ABT Building Products Corp. ("ABTco") in a case against the insurance industry which obtained one of the largest jury verdicts ever in the North Carolina United States District Court. After Robin reached settlements with all of ABTco's carriers except AIG, ABTCo was awarded trebled damages for violation of North Carolina's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act after a nine-day jury trial against AIG. In addition, the Court awarded ABTco all of its attorneys' fees and pre-judgment interest. The jury verdict and Court award were affirmed in their entirety by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
- Robin represents a major pump manufacturer in an insurance coverage actions pending in Delaware. The action involves dozens of insurance policies sold by nearly 20 different insurance carriers. In October 2009, the Delaware Court issued an unprecedented 88-page ruling that allowed the pump manufacturer to access excess-layer insurance coverage and to allocate liability among those policies on an "all sums" allocation basis. This was the first decision to apply an "all sums" allocation methodology under New York law.
- Robin represents Philips Electronics North America Corporation and its subsidiaries in numerous insurance coverage actions around the country, involving hundreds of millions of dollars in insurance coverage. In connection with these representations, Robin successfully obtained numerous favorable rulings, and negotiated settlements worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
- Robin represented Philips Lighting Company in its lawsuit against several insurance carriers in West Virginia concerning insurance coverage for approximately 4,000 toxic tort claims. Robin successfully obtained summary judgment requiring the carriers to provide a complete defense to Philips, after which all aspects of the coverage claim was fully and very favorably resolved worth tens of millions of dollars.
- Robin represented the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (“Port Authority”) in connection with the pursuit of insurance coverage arising from liabilities resulting from the 1993 terrorist bombing of the World Trade Center. The insurer who issued a $50 million insurance policy to the Port Authority, initially filed an arbitration against the Port Authority in Connecticut and the Port Authority responded with a suit in Essex County, New Jersey. Because of the events of 9/11, the Port Authority has lost many of its insurance records. Ms. Cohen led a team of Kasowitz attorneys who successfully convinced the trial court to issue an order temporarily staying arbitration and providing the Port Authority with an opportunity to conduct discovery regarding the terms and conditions of the subject policy. While discovery was in the early stages the Port Authority agreed to a beneficial confidential settlement agreement that confirmed that the insurer would meet its coverage obligation.
- Robin has been retained to testify as an expert on United States insurance law in an Italian lawsuit involving insurance subrogation rights under a policy controlled by U.S. law for tens of millions of dollars in damages resulting from a fire at facilities located in Milan, Italy.
- Robin also frequently represents clients on various regulatory matters before the New York Insurance Department
Honors
- Named by The National Law Journal as one of the 50 Most Influential Women Lawyers in America (2007).
- Named in the 2006–2011 editions of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a leader in the area of Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Policyholder (New York), and in the 2009, 2010, and 2011 editions in the area of Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Policyholder (National)
- Recommended in The Legal 500’s guide to outstanding attorneys nationwide for Insurance: Advice to Policyholders
- Named a national and local “litigation star” by Benchmark Litigation (2010-2012).
- Named a local “litigation star” by Benchmark Plaintiff (2012).
- Named one of the “Top 250 Women in Litigation” by Benchmark (2013).
- Named by Lawdragon magazine as a “Leading Lawyer,” in a list that represents less than one percent of the legal profession and is determined based on a combination of independent research and peer reviews (2006).
- Named by Lawdragon as one of the 500 “Leading Litigators in America” (2006).
- Named by Lawdragon as one of the “New Stars, New Worlds” attorneys (2006).
- Named by Lawdragon as one of the 500 “Leading Lawyers in America” (2005, 2007 and 2011).
|
|
Related Information
Education
-
University of Pennsylvania Law School
(J.D., 1986)
-
University of Pennsylvania
(B.A., magna cum laude, 1983)
Bar Admissions
-
Pennsylvania, 1986
-
New York, 1989
-
New Jersey, 1989
Court Admissions
-
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1987
-
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 1997
-
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, 1998
-
U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit, 2006
-
U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, 2010
-
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 2010
-
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas, 2012
|