Talk:Cohen Milstein

Removing Anita Hill

Anita Hill has left the firm. She is no longer listed among the professionals on Cohen Milstein's website: https://www.cohenmilstein.com/our-people/H. Could someone please remove the sentence referencing her in the first paragraph? 38.142.23.130 (talk) 13:09, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

I changed Anita Hill to the past tense for now. Someone else can decide if she should be completely removed from the article.   –Skywatcher68 (talk) 13:43, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

Thanks for following WP:COI procedure, by the way.   –Skywatcher68 (talk) 13:45, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

Number of offices

I'm an employee of Cohen Milstein. I just wanted to point out that the firm now has eight offices, not six: https://www.cohenmilstein.com/about-us/#locations

Could someone please update? 38.142.23.130 (talk) 14:28, 11 April 2023 (UTC)

Correcting the Firm's Name

Hello editors! Cohen Milstein has hired me to update its Wikipedia page. I'd like to start with a simple request about the firm's name. What do you think? Many thanks. Signed, BlueRoses13 (talk) 14:31, 1 May 2024 (UTC)

The first sentence says this:

Cohen Milstein is an American plaintiffs' law firm...

We’d like to use the firm’s full name, which you can verify in these articles from Reuters and in Cohen’s privacy policy. Thus:

Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC is an American plaintiffs' law firm…

Alternatively, we might use both the full and short name, as the pages for Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom do:

Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC (often simply known as Cohen Milstein) is an American plaintiffs' law firm...

Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC (typically shortened to Cohen Milstein) is an American plaintiffs' law firm...

Done. Marquardtika (talk) 14:41, 1 May 2024 (UTC)

Thanks! Signed, BlueRoses13 (talk) 19:50, 1 May 2024 (UTC)

Donald Trump and Anita Hill

Hello editors! Cohen Milstein has hired me to update its Wikipedia page. I'd like to submit two requests for your consideration. Thanks so much! Signed, BlueRoses13 (talk) 16:12, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

Trump Lawsuits

The lead section says this:

The firm filed a number of lawsuits against Donald Trump during and after his presidency, including a lawsuit which successfully blocked the Trump administration's attempt to roll back the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

This is incorrect: As the footnotes in the “Lawsuits against Donald Trump” section make clear, two lawsuits were filed against Trump; a third (DACA) was filed against the Trump administration. Thus, can we tweak the sentence as follows:

The firm has filed two lawsuits against Donald Trump during and after his presidency, as well a lawsuit which successfully blocked the Trump administration's attempt to roll back the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Anita Hill

The lead section says this:

Anita Hill was formerly of counsel at Cohen Milstein.

Calling out an individual in the lead section seems to give the individual undue weight (violating WP:WEIGHT) — especially when that individual is not named elsewhere. Similarly, the individual’s association with Cohen Milstein isn’t terribly newsworthy (violating WP:LEADREL). We therefore request that this sentence be removed from the lead.

At the same time, might it make sense to create a “notable alumni” section — similar to what’s done in the pages for other law firms such as King & Wood Mallesons and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom — and include Hill here? Here's sample language:

Notable alumni
The following people have worked at Cohen Milstein:

* Anita Hill
* Lina Khan
* Kalpana Kotagal
* Jenny R. Yang

I’m tagging @Skywatcher68, since they were part of a conversation, from 2022, about removing Hill.

Opioids and Flint

Hello editors! Cohen Milstein has hired me to request updates to its Wikipedia page. I'd like to submit two edits for your consideration. Thank you. Signed, BlueRoses13 (talk) 17:48, 9 August 2024 (UTC)

Opioids

We’d like to add the following paragraph to the end of the section, “Lawsuits on behalf of state attorneys general”:

The firm has represented various states against entities involved in the opioid epidemic.

These states include Indiana, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Here are sources:

Indiana, as detailed in a 2018 article from Reuters ("Indiana gears up for opioid litigation by hiring Cohen Milstein"): “Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill said his office had signed a contract with the plaintiffs' law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll to represent the state in lawsuits against companies responsible for marketing and selling opioids.”

New Hampshire, as detailed in a 2017 article from Bloomberg (“Drugmakers in N.H. Opioid Probe Lose Bid to Oust Cohen Milstein”): “A New Hampshire assistant attorney general expressed relief about a recent court ruling that will allow his office to retain a prominent plaintiffs’ law firm to investigate whether five U.S. pharmaceutical giants fueled opioid addiction through deceptive marketing practices … New Hampshire retained Cohen Milstein because the state’s lawyers lacked the resources and expertise.”

Vermont, as detailed in a 2022 article from Vermont Public ("Vermont is getting more than $100 million from opioid lawsuits, with more on the way. What will it do with the windfall?"): “Some of the money that goes directly to the state will be used to cover legal fees the AG’s office incurred when it hired a third-party law firm, Washington D.C.’s Cohen, Milstein, Sellers & Toll, to help with the opioid litigation.”

 Go ahead and add this to the article. Rusalkii (talk) 19:16, 27 August 2024 (UTC)

@Rusalkii Thank you! Done. Signed, BlueRoses13 (talk) 22:18, 27 August 2024 (UTC)

Hello editors! Cohen Milstein has hired me to request updates to its Wikipedia page. @Rusalkii declined, "for now," the below request, about Flint. I responded, and on their Talk page, Rusalkii gave me the go-ahead to reopen this request for other editors. If someone has the time to take a look, I'd appreciate that. Thank you very much. Signed, BlueRoses13 (talk) 12:34, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

Flint Water Crisis

It’s odd that Wikipedia doesn’t mention the firm’s work in the Flint water crisis, which has resulted in more than $600 million. Surely readers will want to know about this. Accordingly, we propose creating a new section, “Flint water crisis.” I’ve drafted, and footnoted, language for your consideration:

Cohen Milstein served as interim co-lead counsel in In re Flint Water Cases, a class action arising from the Flint water crisis that resulted in a $626 million settlement. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of residents of and businesses in Flint, Michigan against defendants including the State of Michigan and former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. Relatedly, the firm settled litigation against engineering companies Veolia North America and Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam for their alleged role in the water crisis.

I know these are a lot of footnotes (including what appear to be duplicate stories [they're not]; I wanted to make sure that every claim is footnoted.

Not done for now I can't access sources 2-4, and of the ones I can access only one mentions the firm in passing. Unless the sources I can't see mention the firm in more depth, I'm not sure this is due weight. Rusalkii (talk) 19:19, 27 August 2024 (UTC)

@Rusalkii Many thanks for your close review. You’re right — these articles mention Cohen only in passing. Let me offer several thoughts for your consideration:

THOUGHT 1. In this case, might we consider media coverage holistically? For example, might the accumulation of references to the firm’s role — as seen in the news articles below — suffice to establish weight? Here are the key quotes:

Footnote 2 (https://thenationaldesk.com/news/americas-news-now/some-disappointed-with-626-million-flint-water-crisis-settlement) describes Ted Leopold as the “court-appointed interim co-lead counsel, and Partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll.”

Footnote 3 (https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/2021/11/15/meet-the-south-florida-litigator-who-co-led-the-626m-partial-settlement-in-the-flint-water-crisis/) refers to “Theodore J. Leopold, a partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll in Palm Beach Gardens [who] said that reaching this partial settlement as co-lead counsel for the victims required overcoming several obstacles.”

Footnote 4 (https://www.law360.com/healthcare-authority/articles/1588467) says, “The Flint water plaintiffs are represented by co-lead class counsel Theodore J. Leopold of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC and Michael L. Pitt of Pitt McGehee Palmer Bonanni & Rivers PC.”

Footnote 5 (https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/02/01/flint-residents-class-action-settlement/72435816007/) refers to “Co-Lead Counsel Ted Leopold, of the Flint Water Litigation Class and partner to Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC.”

Footnote 6 (https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/02/01/flint-residents-class-action-settlement/72435816007/) refers to “Ted Leopold, one of the plaintiffs' court-appointed attorneys and co-lead trial counsel and partner at law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers and Toll.”

If it helps, I can provide additional sources (like NPR and ABC) which similarly name-check Cohen. Also, in re paywalls, https://archive.ph can be helpful.

THOUGHT 2. Other footnotes on the page cite the firm only in passing. For example, in the section, “Lawsuits against Donald Trump,” the first sentence — “The firm assisted District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine and Attorney General of Maryland Brian Frosh in filing a lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump of using his hotel in Washington D.C. to unconstitutionally profit from his political office” — is sourced to https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/03/subpoenas-trump-hotel-emoluments-1041324. This article says simply, “Lawyers from Cohen Milstein ... are assisting Racine and Frosh on the litigation.” That single, passing mention sufficed for the Trump case; can five, passing mentions suffice for Flint?

THOUGHT 3. I know this isn’t a news article, and I know awards don’t count for much, but for what it’s worth, the organization Public Justice named Cohen a finalist for Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2022 for Cohen’s work on Flint. Here’s the news release, and here’s the video.

THOUGHT 4. It's true: There has not been in-depth coverage of Cohen’s role in the Flint cases. Instead, the media has focused on the lawsuits and the results. That said, many articles do mention the firm as co-lead counsel, and it seems that Wikipedia readers will want to know that Cohen played a key role, as the lead lawyers, in two landmark cases that resulted in more than $600 million.

At your convenience, I’d welcome your feedback. Many thanks.

Signed,

BlueRoses13 (talk) 19:58, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

Note for other reviewers: I am taking a break from edit requests. Please feel free to proceed with this one without consulting me. Rusalkii (talk) 00:28, 9 November 2024 (UTC)

References

It's not clear from the above text what the result of the litigation was (it only says the firm settled..). Also, if you could elaborate on the meaning of "interim co-lead counsel" that would be helpful. The engineering companies mentioned should also have Wikilinks if possible. Please advise. When ready to proceed with the requested information, kindly change the {{Edit COI}} template's answer parameter to read from |ans=y to |ans=n. Thank you! Regards,  Spintendo  09:32, 26 November 2024 (UTC)

Many thanks for your close read, @Spintendo. I'll talk with Cohen Milstein, then change the template's answer parameter. All the best, BlueRoses13 (talk) 14:18, 26 November 2024 (UTC)

@Spintendo Hi again, Do the below quotes answer your questions? Also, while the engineering companies don't have their own Wikipedia pages, Lockwood is mentioned as a subsidiary of Leo A. Daly, and Veolia North America is called out (about Flint) in Veolia. I've updated the Wikilinks in my proposed text above. Thanks again for your diligence and consideration — I’m most grateful for all that you do to make Wikipedia clear and comprehensive! Respectfully, BlueRoses13 (talk) 22:17, 6 December 2024 (UTC)

LOCKWOOD. According to an article in Bridge Michigan (“Lawyers hosting town halls to help Flint residents file water crisis claims,” 2024), “Engineering firm, Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, settled with the city [of Flint, Michigan] in 2023 for $8 million.”

VEOLIA. According to an article in ABC12 (“Flint residents reach $25M settlement with engineering firm in water crisis lawsuit,” 2024), “A former water engineering firm contracted by the City of Flint is adding $25 million to the water crisis settlement fund for Flint residents. The company, Veolia North America, reached the settlement Wednesday, with the 'Flint Water Litigation Class.'”)

INTERIM CO-LEAD COUNSEL. Here's a general definition (according to https://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/class-actions/570312/what-are-interim-class-counsel-and-when-should-they-be-appointed): “The appointment of interim counsel typically occurs in cases ‘in which a large number of putative class actions have been consolidated or are otherwise pending before a single court.’”

For specifics in Flint, according to an article on Law.com (“War Room: Lead Attorneys Brace for Litigation Over Flint Water Crisis,” 2017), “U.S. District Judge Judith E. Levy appointed South Florida attorney Theodore ‘Ted’ Leopold and Michigan litigator Michael Pitt interim co-lead class counsel for residents suing over contaminated drinking water in Flint.”

Leopold is a partner at Cohen Milstein.

That was in 2017. In 2021, an article in Advance Local (“Judge’s ruling allows class-action to proceed against engineering firms in Flint water cases”) added, “The judge’s opinion and order appointed Theodore J. Leopold and Michael L. Pitt as co-lead attorneys for the class action, saying that as interim co-lead counsel since July 2017, they have demonstrated ‘the qualifications and experience necessary to adequately and fairly represent their clients in this case.’”

Antitrust

Hello editors, It’s odd that Wikipedia doesn’t mention Cohen's antitrust work, which has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements. Surely readers will want to know about this. Accordingly, what do you think about creating a new section, “Antitrust”? I’ve drafted, and footnoted, straightforward language for your consideration, and I've disclosed my COI here and my on user page. Thank you. Signed, BlueRoses13 (talk) 20:34, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

Cohen Milstein has played a leading role in major antitrust cases involving price fixing and wage suppression.

The firm sued the National Association of Realtors for inflating real estate broker commissions. A settlement of $418 million was reached in 2024.

Cohen Milstein served as co-lead counsel in In re Urethane Antitrust Litigation, which resulted in an $835 million settlement with Dow Chemical for artificially inflating the price of polyurethane.

In case you have trouble accessing the footnotes, here are the key excerpts:

Footnote 1 (https://www.law.com/2024/03/18/national-association-of-realtors-reaches-418m-settlement-to-resolve-antitrust-class-actions/) quotes “plaintiffs’ attorney, Robert A. Braun of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll.”

Footnote 2 (https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/realtors-settlement-change-buy-sell-homes-da45eb23) quotes “Benjamin Brown, co-chair of the antitrust practice at Cohen Milstein, one of the firms representing plaintiffs in the Chicago case.”

Footnote 3 (https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/almID/1202607833422/#ixzz2Z7dOLVE5) says, “The plaintiff class of direct purchasers, led by Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll; Fine, Kaplan and Black; Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Urias & Ward; and Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, also defeated Dow's bid to decertify the class.” (Similarly, https://casetext.com/case/in-re-urethane-antitrust-litigation-25 says, “The court is satisfied that the law firms of Fine, Kaplan and Black, R.P.C. and Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. satisfy these criteria and will adequately represent the interests of the class as lead counsel.”)

References

 Not done for now: Do you have additional sources that show notability? Specifically, meta-coverage of the firm's work on antitrust cases? Likeanechointheforest (talk) 21:09, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

@Likeanechointheforest Thanks for your speedy review and question — and so sorry for the delay in getting back to you. After a thorough search, here’s what Cohen and I came up with:

1. Here are excerpts from an article in Law360, which named Cohen one of Law360’s 2022 Competition Groups of the Year:

“Cohen Milstein's antitrust practice, whose nearly 40 attorneys are concentrated principally in New York and Washington, comprises around one-third of the firm, according to Johnson.

“Beyond its success on behalf of chicken buyers, it's also shepherded to preliminary approval settlements collectively valued at nearly $85 million for poultry plant workers who accused major turkey and chicken producers - including Cargill Meat Solutions, Sanderson Farms and Wayne Farms - of conspiring to depress their wages.

2. An article in the Wall Street Journal (“How the $1.8 Billion Real-Estate Commissions Lawsuit Came to Be,” 2023) about the class-action suit against the National Association of Realtors, refers to “Benjamin Brown, co-chair of the antitrust practice at Cohen Milstein, a 100-lawyer plaintiffs’ firm known for suing big companies and banks.”

3. An article from the Greater Rochester Association of REALTORS describes Cohen Milstein as “one of six major law firms” that sued the Realtors” for antitrust violations (“Meet the Lawyer Suing to Change Buyer's Agent Commissions Forever,” April 9, 2019).

I know that GRAR isn’t a reliable media outlet, and that this article is a Q&A interview, but the above quote comes from the editorial *before* the Q&A.

If these additional 3 links — combined with the original 10 — don’t quite suffice, would you mind if I asked you a question? Can we possibly consider coverage of Cohen’s antitrust efforts holistically, instead of searching for a full-fledged profile of the firm’s antitrust efforts?

I don’t want to commit citation overkill, but I do want to point out that there are a variety of news articles about the antitrust cases Cohen has worked on — in reliable outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, ABC, Fortune, and so on — which make it clear that Cohen played a pretty big role in some pretty big cases ($418 million; $835 million). In my mind, to not mention Cohen’s antitrust activities deprives readers of knowing what 33% of the firm does every day.

What do you think?

Signed,

BlueRoses13 (talk) 02:42, 17 October 2024 (UTC)

Great, thank you. Done! Likeanechointheforest (talk) 01:41, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

Thank you so much! Signed, BlueRoses13 (talk) 12:08, 19 October 2024 (UTC)