Overview
Brian S. Cousin focuses on employment litigation and counseling, ERISA and benefits litigation, executive contract negotiations, complex commercial litigation and international arbitration. He is head of the Firm’s International Employment Practice Group and co-head of the Firm’s ERISA and benefits litigation practice.
Brian has more than 30 years of experience handling class action and complex commercial litigation, employment litigation, close corporation and partnership disputes, real estate finance-related litigation and arbitration matters. Brian has successfully handled many types of litigation and arbitration matters involving such claims as theft of trade secrets, fraud, breach of contract and fiduciary duty, defamation, violation of restrictive covenants (including non-competition and non-solicitation provisions), unfair competition, discrimination and retaliation, indemnification and advancement of legal fees and violations of the following federal statutes: ERISA, the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
Brian has successfully litigated a wide variety of employment-related cases, including claims under Title VII and Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Family Medical Leave Act and state leave laws, the Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine, state and local discrimination and retaliation statutes, the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws.
Brian is also an experienced ERISA and benefits litigator, having successfully handled numerous class action and single plaintiff cases over the last 30 years. Brian’s ERISA litigation experience includes class action and US Department of Labor cases involving claims for breaches of fiduciary duty related to excessive fees and precipitous stock drops, as well as many cases in the health care industry. Brian has represented ERISA plan fiduciaries and trustees in connection with ERISA- and benefits-related investigations conducted by the US Department of Labor.
Brian advises US and multi-national companies and executives on all aspects of employment, labor and corporate compliance, including drafting and negotiating employment and separation agreements, corporate restructurings and reductions in force, corporate transactions, internal corporate investigations, handbooks and policy manuals, sexual harassment and other sensitivity training, protecting against employee raiding and theft of trade secrets and other confidential information and compliance with all federal, state and local discrimination laws. Brian frequently represents companies on multi-national counseling projects by engaging, coordinating and supervising lawyers from a vast network located in more than 80 countries.
Brian has extensive experience advising both corporations and executives with respect to rights of indemnification and advancement of legal fees and costs. Brian also has unique experience drafting, negotiating and litigating force majeure provisions in contracts relating to many different industries, including entertainment, healthcare, hotel and tourism, insurance and real estate.
With respect to alternative dispute resolution, Brian regularly represents clients in arbitrations before the American Arbitration Association (AAA), Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and in mediations before the AAA, JAMS, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the courts.
Brian authors and regularly updates two chapters in the Lexis Nexis treatise Corporate Compliance Practice Guide, The Next Generation: (1) “Specific Corporate Compliance Challenges by Practice Area: ERISA” and (2) “Background Checks and Their Importance for the Compliance Program”; and a chapter in the Practising Law Institute’s treatise International Corporate Practice: International Law Firm Network.
During law school, Brian was a member and symposium editor of the Rutgers Law Review.
Previously, Brian led the world’s largest global employment and labor practice and the Chambers and Legal 500 rated ERISA and benefits litigation practice at another AmLaw 100 firm.
Recognitions
- The Legal 500 2014 to 2020, United States: ERISA Litigation; Labor and Employment Disputes: Defense
- Super Lawyers 2013 to 2020, Employment Litigation, New York
- Benchmark Litigation 2020: Labor & Employment Star
- Martindale-Hubbell since 1998, AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated
- Premier Employment Lawyers, 2019 to 2020, Exclusive Listing for New York
Community
- New York State Bar Association Attorney Well-Being Task Force; Working Group on Attorney Physical Fitness and Health
- Bloomberg Law Labor & Employment Technology & Innovation Board, member, 2015 to present
- Lawyers Alliance for New York, member of the board of directors and finance committee, 2012 to 2018
- American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section
- The Society of Columbia Graduates
Credentials
Education
Rutgers University School of Law – Newark, JD, 1988
Columbia College, Columbia University, BA, 1985
Courts/Agencies
US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
US District Court for the District of Connecticut
US District Court for the District of New Jersey
US District Court for the Eastern District of New York
US District Court for the Northern District of New York
US District Court for the Southern District of New York
Admissions
New Jersey
New York
