Practice Areas
- White Collar Complex Litigation (civil and criminal)
- Criminal Tax Litigation
- Civil Tax Litigation
- Commercial and Business Litigation (domestic and international) including:
- Real Estate & Mortgage Fraud
- Insurance
- Securities
- Class Action
- Custom and Export Controls
- RICO (civil and criminal)
- Whistle Blower Litigation / Qui Tam
Practice Description
One essential element in our success is and always has been investigating and discovering the larger context (and the contradictions) in which events occur and often subtle or hidden vectors that determine outcomes - from politics to personalities. Equally important, we are dedicated to understanding the client as well as knowing the facts and governing legal principles. Unlike many large firms, William A. Cohan is involved (along with paralegals and lawyers) with every aspect of every client's case personally. Our firm believes in meticulous attention to detail; we investigate and consider the minutiae of every possible avenue. For more than twenty (20) years William A. Cohan has been AV rated by his peers on Martindale.com.
On large, complex and international cases William A. Cohan associates with attorneys across the United States, and in foreign countries including Austria, China, Costa Rica, Germany, Italy, the Isle of Man, Mexico, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The Firm has a national presence including relationships with outstanding practitioners in Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Washington DC, and Wisconsin.
We've represented both plaintiffs and defendants. Our clients include:
- individuals
- partnerships
- corporations
- trusts
- numismatists
- real estate agents
- real estate investors
- consumers
- farmers and ranchers
- rocket scientists
- airline pilots
- engineers
- architects
- building contractors
- plumbing contractors
- doctors
- dentists
- chiropractors
- veterinarians
- insurance companies
- tax shelter promoters
- fraudulent tax shelter victims
- stock brokers
- attorneys
- accountants
- entrepreneurs
- a state Supreme Court judge
White Collar Criminal Defense
Approximately half of our cases involve the federal government as our adversaries, i.e. the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorneys Office, Internal Revenue Service, Securities and Exchange Commission and/or Federal Bureau of Investigation (with a small percentage of cases brought by U.S. Customs, U.S. Postal Inspectors, Drug Enforcement Agency, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement). We also have extensive experience handling civil matters along with parallel government enforcement actions.
William Cohan represents individuals, corporations, boards of directors, management and other individuals in connection with a broad range of government investigations, enforcement actions, internal investigations, and white collar criminal investigations and litigation. The close coordination between criminal and civil regulatory authorities when investigating allegations of wrongdoing has increasingly blurred the line separating criminal, civil and administrative offenses, resulting in heightened risks when conducting business, both domestically and internationally. William Cohan is well-positioned to help clients navigate the legal landscape when business conduct results in concurrent criminal, civil and/or administrative proceedings that require a strategically coordinated response.
William Cohan's thirty five years of experience enables the firm to anticipate and respond to the many demands created by the joint investigations and proceedings routinely pursued by federal and state criminal and civil enforcement authorities. The firm defends corporations, directors, officers and employees against allegations in various business contexts and at every stage of the enforcement process, including federal and state grand jury investigations, trials and appeals. The firm also handles investigations and civil and administrative proceedings brought by regulatory bodies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA, the Internal Revenue Service, and state attorneys general throughout the country. The firm's cases have involved a wide variety of subject areas, including:
- Antitrust
- Customs and Export Controls
- False Claims Act/Qui Tam Litigation
- Financial Institution Fraud
- Insurance Fraud
- Mail and Wire Fraud
- Money Laundering and Bank Secrecy Act
- Public Corruption and RICO
- Securities Fraud
- Tax Offenses
We have negotiated a number of favorable settlements involving complex parallel proceedings with criminal, civil and administrative components. In addition, the firm handles all aspects of criminal trials and related civil and administrative actions in federal and state courts, as well as before administrative law judges. William Cohan is experienced appellate counsel who pursues appeals of adverse civil and criminal judgments and unfavorable civil and administrative determinations.
Civil Litigation
The other half of our cases involve business disputes between individuals and non-governmental entities: we sue and defend individuals, corporations, trusts, LLP's, LLC's, and partnerships in controversies concerning real estate, securities, business acquisitions, employment, banking and insurance.
William Cohan counsels clients on strategies to resolve or avoid conflict and litigation, to minimize risks and exposure, thus reducing potential future litigation. And we have a strong record of streamlining document collection, preservation, review and production including conducting witness interviews and collecting documents.
Tax
William Cohan has a broad array of experience in all aspects of tax law, both in the United States and in international transactions, years of experience gained in practice. Work has included:
- partnerships, LLCs, joint ventures and disregarded entities;
- tax-exempt organization work, including controversy resolution;
- appeals, including early referral, mediation and arbitration;
- global resolutions of complex matters involving multiple years, issues and stages of controversy within the IRS (and sometimes also including the Department of Justice);
- tax litigation, involving a wide array of corporate and individual issues, representation of practitioners and representation of taxpayers and professionals in controversies involving tax penalties and tax return preparer penalties.
Class Action Litigation
In recent years, we have represented parties in several class actions involving from $100 million to several billion dollars, including the Toyota sudden unintended acceleration class action, and two cases involving real estate fraud schemes (USA Capital Management and Capital Holdings). We are capable of handling the most complex legal issues businesses face.
Mass Torts and Products Liability
We represent consumers against manufacturers and distributors in various industries involving a broad range of products, including medical devices, chemical products, industrial equipment, automobiles and consumer goods.
Antitrust and Competition
William Cohan is currently working with the U.S. Department of Justice in a joint civil antitrust and qui tam (whistle blower) case in Colorado and Washington DC federal courts, addressing significant issues of competition that affect businesses.
We have extensive counseling, litigation and jury trial experience in a number of civil and criminal disputes, including treble-damage class action litigation, monopolization claims, price-fixing allegations, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) claims and other matters.
Securities and Shareholder Actions
We represent corporations and their officers and directors, as well as outside professionals, including accountants and attorneys, who have been sued. In addition to securities matters, we represent directors, officers and corporations in a range of shareholder actions challenging corporate actions based on state law claims. This includes claims arising from major corporate transactions, corporate losses or regulatory investigations.
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