Jeffrey Kohn

Partner

Jeff Kohn is the managing partner of O’Melveny’s New York office and Chair of the office’s Labor and Employment Practice. He focuses on the litigation and arbitration of a broad range of employment and labor disputes, including employment discrimination, sexual harassment, compensation and employment contract disputes, and trade secret litigation. He has handled numerous matters under the National Labor Relations Act and Railway Labor Act for a broad range of clients. Jeff has substantial experience in advising on executive compensation matters and handling compensation disputes. Jeff also serves many clients as a strategic advisor on labor-management relations, restructuring of operations, and reorganizations in bankruptcy.

Jeff represents numerous clients in a variety of industries. Representative clients include: Apollo, Atlas Air, Cintas, Citibank, Dai-ichi Life, Delphi, Delta Airlines, Harrahs, Interstate Bakeries, Israel Discount Bank, Korn/Ferry International, Kajima, MF Global, Morgan Stanley, Multi-Pack Solutions, New York Mets, Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, Palladium Equity Partners, Poly Prep, Sigma U.S.A, Time, Trader Joe’s, UBS, Univision, US Airways, and Ziff Davis Publishing.

Illustrative Professional Experience

• Served as lead labor counsel for Interstate Bakeries, in its efforts to restructure over 400 labor contracts
• Served as trial counsel in Delphi Automotive’s 1113 proceeding in the Southern District of New York
• Served as lead counsel in the defense of over 400 race discrimination claims brought to binding mediation/arbitration against a major financial institution
• Successfully defended Eddie Murphy and Paramount Pictures in a US$375 million sexual harassment lawsuit brought by an actress terminated during the filming of a major motion picture
• Successfully represented US Airways in a 300-person class action brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act in the Northern District of New York
• Successfully represented US Airways in a significant pension dispute with one of its unions that saved the airline US$30 million in past contributions and US$6 million/year in future pension contributions
• Currently handling six wage and hour class actions against a major financial institution and three hybrid class actions against a major US airline
• Secured an injunction for Atlas Air against its pilots’ union to prevent worldwide disruption of its operations
• Served as lead counsel in the defense of 50 race and age discrimination claims brought to arbitration against a major financial institution
• Successfully represented Cintas in resolving an FLSA minimum wage and overtime claim in the Northern District of New York
• Successfully defended a major insurance company in a high-profile employment discrimination federal jury trial that led to a precedent-setting decision striking punitive damages as a remedy under the New York Human Rights Law
• Obtained summary judgment for United Airlines in a multi-plaintiff, multi-district litigation in which plaintiffs alleged failure to hire claims
• Successfully obtained summary judgment, affirmed on appeal by the Second Circuit, in a precedent-setting decision under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act
• Successfully obtained the dismissal of an 82-plaintiff case against US Airways
• Served as the chief negotiator for Six Flags Great Adventure, one of the largest regional theme parks in the United States, employing over 4,000 people
• Successfully handled many class action and multi-plaintiff lawsuits and injunction actions against clients

Professional Activities

Admitted to Practice, US District Court, Eastern, Northern, and Southern Districts of New York, District of New Jersey; US Court of Appeals, Second and Third Circuits; US Supreme Court
Co-Chair, American Bar Association, Employment and Labor Relations Law Committee
Board of Directors, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
Speaker, Many speaking engagements, including ABA events; Matthew Bender Conference; Wall Street Executive Conference; New York City Bar; NYU Law School; NYU Annual Conference on Labor; and NYU Center for Labor and Employment Law
Adjunct Professor, New York Law School
Member, Dean’s Advisory Board of George Washington University Law School; Advisory Board of the Center for Labor and Employment Law at New York University School of Law
Community Legal Services, Counsel to many non-profit organizations, including New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and Safe Horizon
Former Editor-in-Chief, ABA Employment and Labor Relations Law Committee, quarterly newsletter (1997-2001)
Media Resource, CNBC-TV (commentator on employment discrimination law); Bloomberg Television (commentator on disputes in airline industry)
Author, "Swine Flu Pandemic: Issues For Employers," Employment Law360 (May 4, 2009, co-authored with Scott Dunham and Elyse Meyers); "Withdrawing from U.S. Operations: An Analysis of Practical Concerns and Options," M&A Review (May 2009, co-authored)
Contributing Writer, Many publications, including Matthew Bender’s NLRA Law and Practice and the ABA’s Model Jury Instructions for Employment Litigation
Honors, Recognized as a "Leading Lawyer" for Labor & Employment by Chambers USA; recognized in Guide to the World’s Leading Labour and Employment Lawyers