Samuel E. Cohen is Named Chair of the Securities & Investments Professional Liability Practice Group at Marshall Dennehey
Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin announced today that Samuel E. Cohen has been named Chair of the Securities & Investments Professional Liability Practice Group. He replaces longtime practice group founder and chair, Andrew W. Davitt, who will retire on May 14, 2021 after 28 years with the firm.
“Not only our securities group—but also our entire Professional Liability Department—owe a great debt to Andy for what they are today,” said Christopher E. Dougherty, Chairman Emeritus and former Director of the Professional Liability Department. “Andy has an uncanny combination of vision, smarts, hustle, and a down-to-earth capacity to relate to people which enabled him to build a meaningful practice. Most people have no idea how hard he worked; the road time he put in and simply the sacrifices he made to build our securities group. He leaves behind an enviable legacy in the wonderful men and women who currently make up the practice and the larger PL Department.”
Prior to joining Marshall Dennehey in 1992, Mr. Davitt had been on the sales side of several broker/dealers and he held licensure as an insurance agent in the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey; licensure as a real estate agent in Pennsylvania; and he was also licensed with various states and FINRA as a Registered Representative. He is credited with building the securities practice group from scratch and assisting in the creation of the larger Professional Liability Department, which today houses 17 distinct practice groups.
As the practice group became well-known throughout the region for their representation of investment firms, registered investment advisors, financial planners and insurance agents in arbitration, litigation and regulatory matters, Mr. Davitt became a recognized thought leader in the securities industry and was regularly pursued as a speaker at national industry events. He served as a securities arbitrator for the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, the American Arbitration Association and the NASD, and he joined the Board of Directors of the Financial Planning Association.
Samuel E. Cohen joined the firm's Insurance Coverage group in 1997 shortly following his graduation from Temple University School of Law. He then left to join another law firm in 1998, but returned to Marshall Dennehey in 2002 to work with Mr. Davitt in the Securities group. Earlier this year, in anticipation of the leadership transition, he was named Vice Chair of the practice group.
Mr. Cohen has nearly 20 years of experience representing investment professionals and broker-dealers in court, in the FINRA arbitration forum and in regulatory proceedings before FINRA, the SEC and state regulatory authorities. He has tried numerous FINRA arbitrations to verdict involving aggrieved investors and in employment-related disputes. Outside the office, Mr. Cohen is devoted to his family and serves on the Special Olympics PA-Philadelphia Executive Advisory Board.
“I have known Sam since he first interviewed for an associate position at Marshall Dennehey, and I am confident that he has the tools, temperament and vision to successfully lead the securities practice group,” said Craig S. Hudson, Director of Marshall Dennehey’s Professional Liability Department and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. “Like Andy, he has a passion for the legal representation he provides to his clients. He is an outstanding attorney whom clients and colleagues look to for his professionalism, reasoned analysis and impeccable judgment.”