ATLANTA – Nov. 15, 2024 – Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP’s Lori G. Cohen, vice chair of the firm and co-chair of its Global Litigation Practice and Trial Practice, was named The American Lawyer’s 2024 Attorney of the Year at the publication’s seventh annual Industry Awards, held Nov. 13 in New York.
The awards recognize attorneys who have transformed a field of law, redefined their organization or industry, and left a significant mark on the legal profession. The awards ceremony celebrated these law firms, their leaders, and distinguished individual lawyers.
After Cohen lost her voice to an unknown medical condition in 2022, she and her colleague Gerard Buitrago, a litigation support trial consultant, helped develop an artificial intelligence voice-generation solution that enabled her to return to the courtroom in 2023. American Lawyer Media, parent company of The American Lawyer, awarded Cohen and Buitrago its first Outstanding Achievement in Legal Technology Award earlier this year.
“This is a tremendous honor for Lori and Greenberg Traurig is extremely proud of her many accomplishments during her groundbreaking career,” Greenberg Traurig Chief Executive Officer Brian L. Duffy said. “It is a testament to her passion for her work and resiliency in overcoming a life-changing obstacle to continue her success in the profession. She inspires all of us with her courage and refusal to give in or give up. Lori simply refuses to be anything other than the best lawyer she can be for her clients and her team.”
Cohen is nationally recognized for her extraordinary trial record of 58 defense verdicts and leads an 800+ lawyer Global Litigation Practice that focuses on complex litigation of all types, including products liability and pharmaceutical, medical device, and health care litigation. She has served as national, regional, and trial counsel for numerous medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers, handling all types of litigation, including class actions, multidistrict litigation, and trials nationally. Cohen and her award-winning team routinely take complex cases to trial, including some of the most complex mass torts in history. Well-known for the ability to win high-stakes trials, she and her team are often called upon to “parachute in” at the last minute before trial, especially in challenging cases and jurisdictions.
“Lori exemplifies Greenberg Traurig’s successes in and out of the courtroom in so many ways,” Executive Chairman Richard A. Rosenbaum added. “We are grateful that The American Lawyer has recognized her with this prestigious honor and proud of all that she has done for the firm and the profession — and continues to do.”
“The practice of law is a great and meaningful calling that should not be taken for granted. Even after my 34 years in the profession, I truly love it and am eminently proud of being a lawyer,” Cohen said. “I especially love and thrive on being a trial lawyer, which is all I ever wanted to be or do growing up. It is because of these deep sentiments that I am fighting so hard to stay in this practice.”
As Cohen continues her journey to overcome adversity, she emphasizes that she wants to help others.
“We do not want to waste a crisis,” she said. “I have learned so much about people who have lost the ability to speak and am hopeful that I can help those who can’t help themselves, either because they do not know how to navigate the systems or do not have access to the technology. I hope and intend to take what I have learned through my journey and find the best ways to pay it forward to those who may need my help.”
Cohen also noted that, while her story is one of optimism and fighting the good fight, it also is one that illustrates the “big heart of BigLaw,” as Greenberg Traurig has provided “overwhelming support” for her efforts.
Cohen is listed in The Legal 500 “Hall of Fame” for product liability litigation involving pharmaceutical and medical devices and has been recognized six times on its “Leading Trial Lawyers” list. She is one of a very small group of attorneys selected nationally for inclusion in Chambers USA’s National Pharmaceutical Industry Products Liability Table and in its “Star Individuals” list for Litigation: Trial Lawyers. She is recognized on Benchmark Litigation’s “Top 10 Women Litigators” and “Top 100 Trial Lawyers.” Cohen is also recognized by Best Lawyers, Chambers Global, Outstanding Lawyers in America, The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, The International Who’s Who of Life Science Lawyers, The International Who’s Who of Products Liability Defense Lawyers, and Georgia Trend’s “Legal Elite.”
About Greenberg Traurig’s Litigation Practice: Greenberg Traurig’s Litigation Practice includes a team of more than 800 attorneys. The firm’s trial lawyers regularly appear in state and federal courts throughout the country, as well as in appellate courts and before international arbitration panels. They work closely with in-house counsel to develop a strategy that best fits a litigation cost and proficiency model appropriate to the client’s unique needs and goals.
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2750 attorneys in 48 locations in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. The firm is a 2024 BTI “Leading Edge Law Firm” for delivering on client expectations for the future and is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law Global 100 and NLJ 500. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab. The firm is recognized for powering its U.S. offices with 100% renewable energy as certified by the Center for Resource Solutions Green-e® Energy program and is a member of the U.S. EPA’s Green Power Partnership Program. The firm is known for its philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com.