Alexander F. Cohen

Alex Cohen advises clients and Latham lawyers facing thorny issues arising under the US securities laws. As Co-Chair of Latham & Watkins’ National Office in Washington, D.C., he draws on his experience as a senior official at the SEC and decades of capital markets practice.

Mr. Cohen helps clients navigate:

• Complex securities transactions
• Registration and reporting with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
• Accounting restatements
• SEC investigations

He is well-regarded in the global capital markets for advising non-US clients on US securities law matters, and spent 2001-2006 in Latham’s London and Hong Kong offices.

Consistent with Latham culture, Mr. Cohen serves as an accessible and valuable resource, providing guidance and insight to deal teams and colleagues throughout the firm.

Mr. Cohen served as the SEC’s Deputy General Counsel for Legal Policy and Administrative Practice and later as Deputy Chief of Staff. During his time at the SEC, he advised the SEC Chairman on highly sensitive questions across all aspects of the agency’s work, including the SEC’s response to the 2008 financial crisis. He also worked closely with the Chairman, Commissioners, and senior agency staff to develop and implement SEC rulemakings.

He served as a law clerk to Judge Wilfred Feinberg of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Thought Leadership

Mr. Cohen and the National Office have developed an expansive body of publicly available thought leadership that demystifies the intersection of technical regulations, agency lore, and market practice. Topics include:

• Initial public offerings (IPOs)
• Financial statements
• Cross-border securities offerings

In addition, he edits Latham’s Words of Wisdom resource, tackling interesting legal issues in the capital markets in a lively, plain-English style.

He acted as a technical advisor to Oliver Stone for the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010).