Cohen Milstein

Richard Koffman, a Partner at the Firm, joined Cohen Milstein in 2003 and is a member of the Antitrust Practice Group. In both 2011 and 2012, the U.S. Legal 500 listed Mr. Koffman as one of the nation's "leading lawyers" in the field of antitrust class actions.

Mr. Koffman is co-lead counsel for plaintiffs in In re Urethane Antitrust Litigation (D. Kan.), in which a Kansas jury returned a verdict for plaintiffs against The Dow Chemical Company in excess of $400 million.  The district court trebled the damage award as required under the federal antitrust laws and entered judgment against Dow for more than $1.2 billion on May 15, 2013.  Four other defendants had previously settled for a total of $139.5 million.

Mr. Koffman is also co-lead counsel for plaintiffs in In re Plasma-Derivative Protein Therapies Antitrust Litigation (N.D. Ill.), in which plaintiffs allege price-fixing and collusion to reduce the supply of potentially life-saving therapies derived from blood plasma; and Wallach, et al. v. Eaton Corp., et al. (D. Del.), in which plaintiffs allege a conspiracy to monopolize the market for heavy-duty truck transmissions. Mr. Koffman also served as co-lead counsel for plaintiffs in In re Rubber Chemicals Antitrust Litigation (N.D. Cal.), which settled for a total of approximately $320 million; In re Polyester Staple Antitrust Litigation (W.D.N.C.), which settled for a total of $46 million; In re Endosurgical Products Antitrust Litigation (C.D. Cal.), which settled for $13 million in cash, plus structural relief worth more than $26 million; and Coalition for Elders’ Independence, Inc., et al. v. Biovail Corp., et al. (Cal. Super. Ct.), which settled for $8.2 million.

Mr. Koffman came to Cohen Milstein after four years with the Antitrust and Civil Rights Divisions of the United States Department of Justice. In the Antitrust Division, Mr. Koffman served as a Senior Trial Attorney with the Computers and Finance Section (now Networks and Technology), which is responsible for antitrust enforcement and competition policy in the areas of information technology, Internet-related businesses, financial services, and the securities industry. In the Civil Rights Division, he served as a Senior Trial Attorney with the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section, where he worked to enforce the Fair Housing Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, and Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Mr. Koffman spent seven years in private practice, first with Fine, Kaplan and Black in Philadelphia (working primarily on antitrust class actions and other complex commercial litigation) and then with Bernabei & Katz in Washington, D.C. (handling employment discrimination cases). While at Fine Kaplan, Mr. Koffman was actively involved in litigating several successful antitrust class actions on behalf of plaintiffs and classes, including In re Nasdaq Market-Makers Antitrust Litigation (S.D.N.Y.) (settled for more than $1 billion); In re Polypropylene Carpet Antitrust Litigation (N.D. Ga.); In re Commercial Explosives Antitrust Litigation (D. Utah); and In re Drill Bits Antitrust Litigation (S.D. Tex.). He was also co-counsel, along with John G. Roberts, Jr., who was then a Partner at Hogan & Hartson and is now Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, for Respondents in First Options of Chicago, Inc. v. Kaplan, 514 U.S. 938 (1995). In that case, argued by Mr. Roberts with Mr. Koffman assisting on the briefs, Mr. Koffman’s clients won a unanimous ruling by the United States Supreme Court.

Immediately after law school, Mr. Koffman served as a judicial clerk for Judge James B. McMillan of the Western District of North Carolina, and for Judge Anthony J. Scirica of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Mr. Koffman is a graduate of Yale Law School (J.D., 1990), where he was a Senior Editor of the Yale Law Journal, and Wesleyan University, from which he received a B.A., with honors, in English (1986).

Mr. Koffman is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, the United States Supreme Court, and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits.