Upon graduating from the UCLA School of Law in 1988, David J. Cohen joined a large Los Angeles law firm, primarily representing aerospace corporations in environmental and employment matters, and secondarily prosecuting and defending personal injury cases. Mr. Cohen then moved to a medium-sized Century City firm, litigating a wide variety of matters on behalf of international and domestic airlines and other large businesses throughout the western United States. When that firm closed its local office, Mr. Cohen joined a boutique Century City entertainment law firm, handling everything from Writers Guild arbitrations to defamation actions, from intellectual property disputes to complex antitrust litigation, on behalf of actors, actresses, musical artists, writers, producers, directors, talent agencies, managers, record labels, and studios.
In October 1995, Mr. Cohen co-founded the law firm Tovar & Cohen LLP, at which he remains a co-managing partner, specializing in entertainment and business litigation and transactions. With Tovar & Cohen LLP, Mr. Cohen has litigated several high-profile cases in California and various other states on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants, and has handled numerous matters in state and federal appellate and supreme courts, including many in which the State of California appointed him to handle complex cases. On the transactional side, Mr. Cohen has negotiated contracts with all major and many independent record labels and music publishers, several film and television studios, dozens of radio stations and clusters, and new media providers.
For the last several years, Mr. Cohen has served various districts of the Los Angeles Superior Court as both a court-appointed mediator and a private mediator, presiding over hundreds of cases involving personal injuries, product defects, entertainment/intellectual property issues, employment disputes, and other complex business matters. He has completed several alternative Dispute resolution classes at UCLA, Pepperdine University's Straus Institute for dispute Resolution and through the Los Angeles Superior Court. Drawing upon his extensive experience as a former government investigator and teacher, and presently a trial attorney, and mediator, Mr. Cohen expertly analyzes the legal issues and the evidence, then evaluates and discusses often complex legal concepts in terms readily understandable not just to attorneys, but to their clients as well. Recognizing emotional or practical issues sometimes matter as much to the parties as financial issues, Mr. Cohen frequently proposes, and encourages consideration of, creative or unconventional solutions, generally leading to settlements all parties view favorably. Industrious and well-prepared, Mr. Cohen has earned his reputation as a highly effective communicator, with his mediation sessions featuring a relaxed and informal atmosphere.
Like all of InterMediate’s neutrals, Mr. Cohen serves the entire Southern California region, and upon adequate notice, travels anywhere convenient for the mediating parties.