Jonathan Cohen Biography
Jonathan Cohen joined Kishner Miller Himes in August 2016. Prior to joining the firm, Jonathan practiced at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, a highly-regarded corporate and litigation law firm. He began his legal career at a boutique litigation firm in New York City.
Jonathan’s legal experience spans a wide variety of practice areas and industries. His main practice areas include complex commercial litigation, real estate litigation, government (DOJ, SEC, FDIC, and foreign regulators) investigations and internal corporate investigations. Jonathan’s past and present clients are drawn from a broad spectrum of industries, including real estate, telecommunications, finance, and merchant services.
As part of his practice, Jonathan represents institutional clients as well as individual clients in various disputes related to real estate, contracts, businesses/partnerships, intellectual property, alleged tortious conduct, deceptive business practices, property damage, and construction defects/projects. Jonathan’s litigation experience (at trial and appellate levels) encompasses a broad range of commercial and real estate-related matters, including commercial and real property contract disputes, construction defects in residential and commercial buildings, representation of cooperative and condominium unit owners and commercial and residential landlord/tenant matters. He also counsels property and sponsors/developers in matters concerning real property transactions and regulatory issues, as well as condominium and cooperative boards, and small and medium size businesses in various industries.
In addition to his litigation practice, Jonathan has developed a robust transactional and corporate practice. Jonathan represents individuals and corporations in corporate and real estate transactions, including purchasers and sellers of real property in New York involving condominium and cooperative apartments, single-family homes, townhouses, and commercial properties. Jonathan also represents institutional and private lenders in complex commercial loan transactions. He also represents Landlords and Tenants on all types of commercial leases, including office, retail, and industrial spaces.
Outside the office, Jonathan is a sports enthusiast and an avid reader and student of history with a special focus on United States Civil War era. Jonathan, originally from Great Neck, New York, now lives in Bergen County, New Jersey, with his wife, Edit, and their three children.
Representative Matters
Commercial/Real Estate Disputes
- Obtained dismissal of claims to enforce a client’s personal guarantee on a commercial lease based on a defense under New York City’s “Guaranty Law,” enacted in May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Section 22-1005 of the City’s Administrative Code); the Court ruled in favor of KMH’s client on the applicability and constitutionality of the provision as a matter of “first impression”
- Successfully tried a case before the American Arbitration Association on behalf of a Condominium Board for breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract against a unit owner and former board president
- Obtained a preliminary injunction in the District Court of New Jersey barring a member of a series of related LLCs from operating the business, ultimately obtaining a judgment against the member for the full amount of the damages claimed
- Represented an electronic payment company against a major credit card processing servicer/provider in Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, which culminated in a multi-million-dollar settlement on the eve of trial
- Successfully obtained the dismissal of a current landowner in a CERCLA liability dispute in the Eastern District of New York
- Represented a homeowner in a RPAPL § 881 special proceeding against a neighboring condominium developer involving a license agreement, resulting in a favorable court order imposing licensing terms, requiring the developer to provide insurance indemnification, and ordering payment of a monthly license fee during the period of construction
- Represented numerous tenants-in-common and joints-tenants in actions involving partition and sale of jointly owned real property, resulting in favorable judgments
- Regularly represent landlords and tenants (both commercial and residential) in New York in connection with non-payment and holdover summary proceedings
Real Estate Transactions
- Regularly represent lenders and borrowers in construction loan financing matters in New York and New Jersey
- Regularly represent lenders and borrowers on commercial acquisition and refinance loans (both in first position and mezzanine) in New York and New Jersey
- Negotiated a complex commercial lease for over 42,000 square feet of office space in “Class A” building in lower Manhattan.
- Represented a non-profit church before the New York State Attorney General’s Office on a proposed sale of the church’s real property under the Not-For-Profit Corporation Law
- Negotiated a favorable resolution of an eminent domain taking dispute with Bergen County, New Jersey municipality relating to a major expansion of a public roadway
- Represented clients from contract negotiation through closing for their purchase or sale of multi-million-dollar residences in New York and New Jersey
Government/Regulatory Investigations
- Represented major telecommunications companies under Department of Justice anti-trust investigations
- Represented financial institutions and major entertainment companies under federal, state and foreign regulator investigations with respect to alleged FCPA, OFAC, Bank Secrecy Act, and AML violations
Intellectual Property
- Successfully represented small and medium sized businesses seeking trademark protection before the United States Patent & Trademark Office
Professional Activities
Brandeis University Alumni Association-Real Estate and Lawyers Networks
Anti-Defamation League-Real Estate and Young Lawyers Networks
Education
Brooklyn Law School (J.D. 2011)
Brandeis University (B.A. 2006)
Bar & Court Admissions
New York
New Jersey
U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
U.S. District Court for District of New Jersey