ALEXANDER COHEN is a senior managing associate and member of Sidley’s global Securities Enforcement and Regulatory practice, which received the 2019 Chambers USA Award for Financial Services Regulation, and was named the “Law Firm of the Year” for Securities Regulation in 2020 and 2017 by U.S. News – Best Lawyers. His practice focuses primarily on representing individual and corporate clients in connection with investigations and enforcement actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), other self-regulatory organizations (SROs), and other federal and state regulators.
In addition, Alex also has experience with handling complex securities and commercial litigation matters. He has represented large private corporations, publicly traded companies, financial institutions, and related individuals in state courts, federal district courts, and the FINRA arbitration forum. These matters have encompassed a diverse range of civil litigation matters, including breach of contract, fraud actions, and an array of securities litigation disputes. In 2018, Alex was seconded to the legal department of a major financial institution for approximately one year, where he assisted primarily with regulatory, employment and litigation matters.
Alex earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, and graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. from Rutgers University. While at Rutgers, Alex joined the Undergraduate Associates Program at the Eagleton Institute of Politics, as well as interned for the Appointments Division at the New Jersey governor’s office. As a Virginia law student, Alex was a dedicated advocate for public interest and the Charlottesville community, where he served as a member of the law school’s Innocence Project, which advocates for the rights of the wrongfully convicted. Alex also served on the editorial board of the Journal of Law & Politics, and was an active volunteer with the law school’s Street Law program.
Before joining Sidley, Alex was a law clerk for the New Jersey office of the attorney general representing the Department of Children and Families in legal guardianship disputes before the state Appellate Division.
Alex currently serves on the board of directors of The City Tutors, Inc., a non-profit New York corporation, which he currently represents in connection with its entity formation and application for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. The City Tutors is a community tutoring and mentoring organization that aims to provide academic and professional support services to underserved neighborhoods across New York City.