Lena Cohen

Class Actions & Product Liability

• Won a complete defense victory for a pest and animal control company in its defense against multiple putative nationwide class actions alleging breach of warranty and fraud claims. Achieved dismissal of the fraud claim at the pleading stage, and dismissal of the breach of warranty claim at summary judgment after prevailing on a motion to exclude the plaintiff’s expert on multiple grounds.  
• Representing a technology platform in a Lanham Act and false advertising class action.
• Representing multiple companies in pre-litigation resolution of class action demands.
• Representing multiple California employers in wage and hour class actions, and have achieved favorable settlements in all of them.
• Provides strategic counseling and due diligence analysis regarding pending and threatened class action litigation, including regarding risk and exposure analysis.
• Represented DIRECTV in several antitrust class actions brought by residential and commercial subscribers of NFL Sunday Ticket.

Government & Internal Investigations

• Representing a technology company in both an internal investigation and SEC investigation related to representations made in connection with a deSPAC transaction.
• Representing a federal contractor in a False Claims Act investigation.
• Represented a global investment management organization in a SEC investigation related to insider trading and compliance claims.
• Represented multiple private equity companies in internal investigations involving alleged financial fraud or other misconduct.
• Assisted in counseling multiple companies regarding their compliance programs.
• Represented a major financial institution in an investigation of alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money laundering violations.
• Developed anti-corruption and regulatory compliance training materials.

Commercial Litigation

• Representing federal contractor in litigation alleging tortious interference with contract.
• Won dismissal of claims against a federal contractor in federal quiet title action related to misappropriated technology.
• Represented a retail parent company in a copyright infringement action.
• Represented a real estate entity in a multi-million dollar judgment enforcement and fraudulent transfer action.

Prior to joining Kirkland, Lena was involved in the following matters:

• Member of the trial team in more than a half dozen criminal trials in federal and state felony prosecutions, as well as the MDL trial of a multi-billion dollar company related to the 2010 BP Oil Spill.
• Drafted the sentencing memorandum that resulted in a substantial reduction of sentence: from a sentencing guideline range of 70 to 87 months of confinement to a sentence imposed of probation.

Litigation Specialist, Munger Tolles & Olson LLP

Representing classes of individuals seeking to hold the City of Houston responsible for maintaining a policy and practice of detaining individuals arrested without a warrant for unreasonable periods of time without a probable cause hearing, in violation of the United States Constitution and Texas state law. Achieved successful class certification of both classes.

Representing an individual in a suit against the City of Los Angeles and an Official Police Garage for the wrongful seizure and sale of his vehicle in violation of his constitutional rights and federal and state laws prohibiting disability discrimination, as well as in a separate suit challenging the City of Los Angeles’s towing practices.

Participant in the Trial Advocacy Prosecution Program (TAPP), volunteering as a Special Deputy City Prosecutor for the City of Redondo Beach.

Participated in the successful representation of the first “parent trigger” charter school in the nation in dispute against the Adelanto Elementary School District over the charter’s rights to the school facility.