NEW YORK, November 15, 2023 – Cozen O'Connor today announced it will welcome renowned election and campaign finance attorney Jerry H. Goldfeder, widely regarded as among the nation’s most influential political lawyers, and Kerry T. Cooperman, an equally influential commercial litigator and nonprofit attorney with more than a decade of experience handling complex real estate disputes and counseling nonprofit organizations, to its expanding New York City office, effective December 4, 2023. Both attorneys come to the firm from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP.
Goldfeder, who has represented public officials and candidates at every level — from the City Council to Congress to President of the United States — joins as senior counsel and will lead and implement a new Political Law & Compliance practice. He will also be a part of the firm’s Commercial Litigation practice and will work closely with Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, the firm’s government relations arm.
Cooperman, who joins the firm’s Commercial Litigation practice as a member, will represent an array of clients including real estate owners and developers, cooperatives and condominiums, and other commercial enterprises in a range of complex litigation and regulatory matters. Cooperman will also join the firm’s Nonprofit & Tax-Exempt Organizations group.
“Legal disputes have long been a part of U.S. politics and Jerry brings an astonishing four decade track record of successfully advising and representing political clients on the federal, state, and local levels,” said Michael J. Heller, Cozen O’Connor’s Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Kerry brings an equally diverse and successful track record in commercial litigation and high-level nonprofit counseling, advising and defending a range of real estate and other clients in and out of the courtroom. Both are tremendous additions to our New York City office, and I’m thrilled to welcome them to Cozen O’Connor.”
Goldfeder’s 40-year election practice has garnered him numerous awards, including the New York Law Journal’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. He currently serves on the American Bar Association’s newly appointed Task Force for Democracy, and is a special liaison to its Election Law Committee. He chairs the New York State Bar Association’s Voting Rights and Democracy Task Force; and is a member of the New York City Bar Association’s Rule of Law and Court of Appeals Reform committees.
As an adjunct professor at Fordham University Law School for some 20 years, where he was twice-named as Adjunct Professor of the Year (he also taught at the University of Pennsylvania Law School for 10 years), Goldfeder currently serves as director of the school’s Voting Rights and Democracy Project. A prolific writer, he appears regularly in academic journals and the popular media, including as the Election and Political Law columnist for the New York Law Journal. His New York election law treatise, Goldfeder’s Modern Election Law, is in its 6th edition. Prior to his affiliation with Stroock, he served as special counsel for Public Integrity to the New York State Attorney General.
“Cozen O’Connor is the perfect fit for me and my clients, both in terms of the firm’s entrepreneurial spirit and professional culture,” Goldfeder said. “It’s a terrific group of lawyers, and I am looking forward to establishing and building a robust political law practice here.”
A City & State New York 40 Under 40 award winner and Best Lawyers, Ones to Watch for Commercial Litigation award winner, both in 2023, Cooperman concentrates his commercial litigation practice on New York’s complex real estate landscape. He advises and represents clients embroiled in construction litigation, commercial landlord-tenant disputes, ownership and contract disputes, condominium and coop matters, and municipal regulatory issues. Cooperman also has years of experience representing trading firms, financial services firms, and other large enterprises in litigation and regulatory matters. And he has developed a niche practice advising nonprofit organizations — charitable and non-charitable — on a broad range of operating, governance, regulatory, and dispute-resolution matters.
Cooperman is also nationally distinguished for his commitment to public interest initiatives. Recognized among City & State New York’s The Responsible 100 (2022) and Politics NY/amNY Metro’s 2023 Power Players in Corporate Social Responsibility (2023), Cooperman co-chairs the Education Working Group of the Law Firm Anti-Racism Alliance, led the Small Business Legal Relief Alliance, and advocates for vulnerable students with special education needs.
“Cozen O’Connor’s industry-leading practice groups — including first-rate real estate litigation, condo and coop, construction, land use, and commercial litigation teams, as well as the firm’s thriving nonprofit practice — are a perfect fit for me and for my clients,” Cooperman said. “I am excited to help expand the reach of these practices in New York and more broadly. Equally important to me, Cozen O’Connor has a long history of excellence in pro bono legal service, and its public-interest impact grows every year. I am proud to join a premier firm that is committed to giving back.”
Goldfeder earned his J.D. at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, where he served on the law review; an M.A. in political science at the University of California, Los Angeles; and a B.A. at Brooklyn College. Cooperman earned his J.D. at the University of Maryland, where he served on the law review, and a B.A from the University of Pennsylvania.
About Cozen O’Connor
Established in 1970, Cozen O’Connor has over 925 attorneys who help clients manage risk and make better business decisions. The firm counsels clients on their most sophisticated legal matters in all areas of the law, including litigation, corporate, and regulatory law. Representing a broad array of leading global corporations and middle-market companies, Cozen O’Connor serves its clients’ needs through 33 offices across two continents.
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