Fairweather, Nicholas E.

With a diverse practice that includes both litigation and transactional elements, Jonathan Cohen's focus at Gilbert LLP is on the resolution of complex, multiparty disputes involving insurance and bankruptcy issues.

Jonathan has represented corporate and other policyholders with respect to a wide range of coverage matters, including bodily injury and property damage coverage, food-contamination coverage, directors' and officers' coverage, product recall coverage, technology-related property damage coverage, advertising injury coverage and pharmaceutical-related coverage issues.  Jonathan has worked at the forefront of insurance issues relating to mass-tort bankruptcies, representing corporate debtors, claimant committees and bankruptcy trusts in numerous proceedings and negotiations.  Additionally, Jonathan has advised corporate and other clients regarding the legal side of risk management and insurance placement.

Some examples of Jonathan’s recent representations include:

• Representing a Fortune 500 food company in insurance negotiations and litigation in connection with food liability claims
• Representing an international food company in connection with insurance claims and losses arising out of alleged contamination of its products
• Advising a Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company with respect to insurance claims for various pharmaceutical and asbestos-containing products
• Negotiating language of product recall and contamination insurance policies for two major food manufacturers
• Conducting a risk and insurance audit for a privately held food manufacturer
• Negotiating insurance settlements for claimant committees and a future claimant representative in numerous asbestos-related bankruptcies, securing substantial insurance recoveries for the benefit of the creditors
• Arguing insurance-related issues in a U.S. District Court in an appeal in a bankruptcy case involving more than a billion dollars in insurance assets
• Counseling a claimant committee in a significant hospital bankruptcy with respect to insurance coverage for directors' and officers' claims and medical malpractice liabilities
• Negotiating an insurance settlement agreement for an insulation contractor regarding asbestos-related liabilities, securing hundreds of millions of dollars for the client
• Representing bankruptcy trusts in litigation and negotiations to successfully obtain insurance coverage for predecessor companies’ liabilities 
• Arguing appeal in U.S. District Court in a case involving confidentiality issues under an insurance settlement agreement

Jonathan also has an active pro bono practice and is chair of the Firm’s Pro-Bono Committee.  Together with other Gilbert LLP lawyers, Jonathan wrote amicus briefs in five U.S. Supreme Court cases involving race-based civil rights issues, including affirmative action cases, a case involving Native Hawaiians' land rights, and a case involving a voter identification requirement.  He assisted a client in preparing testimony before Congress supporting the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act.  He authored a brief filed in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals successfully challenging the constitutionality of INS regulations on behalf of a Kosovar Albanian applying for political asylum.  Jonathan served as pro bono counsel in three immigration-related appeals in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  He negotiated a change in the policy of the Washington, D.C. police department regarding the unconstitutional use of a collateral requirement as applied to homeless individuals.  Jonathan also provided insurance-related advice with respect to the federal September 11 Victims' Compensation Fund.

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 in preparing for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.