Barak Cohen Partner

Perkins Coie is pleased to announce the launch of our seventh annual Food & Consumer Packaged Goods Litigation Year in Review. Accompanying the 2022 report are infographics that highlight key litigation outcomes, filing data, and industry trends.

The U.S. Department of Justice obtained more than $2.2 billion in civil False Claims Act judgments and settlements in fiscal year 2022, the lowest such annual total since 2008 and a significant drop from a jump in FCA recoveries in the prior year. But the DOJ’s announcement of its FY 2022 FYA recoveries also discloses that the DOJ is increasingly bringing FCA cases on its own, and the total number of settlements and judgments in FCA matters increased to near-record highs in FY 2022, signaling a robust enforcement climate ahead.

New sanctions and export controls targeting Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine herald increased investigations and prosecutions through a targeted and aggressive interagency effort known as Task Force KleptoCapture.

On July 21, the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act was introduced by sponsoring Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and co-sponsors Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Gary Peters, D-Mich.

More than 20 state attorneys general (AGs) authored an open letter to congressional leaders calling for legislation that would regulate tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) edibles that mimic the packaging and names of popular products.

On May 4, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued new warning letters to five companies selling products containing Delta-8 THC, an intoxicating cannabinoid derived from hemp according to the Law360 article. In announcing the warning letters, the agency advised that "Delta-8 THC has psychoactive and intoxicating effects and may be dangerous to consumers."

Perkins Coie is pleased to announce the launch of our sixth annual Food Litigation Year in Review. In recognition of the firm’s practice expansion, this year-in-review report has been broadened to the Food & Consumer Packaged Goods Litigation Year in Review.

The discussion about federal regulation for the cannabis industry is complex. The Council for Federal Cannabis Regulation wants to ensure that federal regulations are informed by and grounded in science, best business practices, sound public policy, and social justice principles.

Given that technology shapes, enhances, and intersects with nearly every aspect of our lives, it is unsurprising that e-commerce is emerging as a key component of the cannabis industry.

On New Year’s Day 2021, Congress passed the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA).

In this second episode of a Perkins Coie White Collar & Investigations series regarding False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement, firm attorneys Barak Cohen and Alex Canizares are joined by their guest, Pete Jensen, global chief compliance officer for Arthrex, Inc., one of the world’s largest medical device companies.

On New Year’s Day 2021, Congress passed the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA 2020).

Perkins Coie partner Barak Cohen discusses hemp’s complicated past and promising future with Eric Steenstra, founding member of the Hemp Industries Association, Vice President of the California Hemp Council and President of Vote Hemp, the political advocacy organization that he co-founded in 2000.

On New Year’s Day 2021, Congress passed the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA 2020). As we reported last April, the AMLA 2020 included sweeping reforms aimed at strengthening protections against money laundering, terrorism financing, and other illegal activities. In July, we examined the expansive new beneficial ownership reporting requirements added to the Corporate Transparency Act. In this second substantive installment of our multipart series on the AMLA 2020, we examine the changes made to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) whistleblower provisions.

In this first episode of a series that will explore emerging developments related to the False Claims Act (FCA), Perkins Coie attorneys Barak Cohen and Alexander Canizares are joined by guest Marc Bonora, to discuss practical issues and effective strategies for companies to mitigate risks related to FCA investigations and qui tam whistleblower lawsuits.

This first substantive installment in our multipart series addresses arguably the most significant implication of AMLA 2020: a new and expansive requirement to disclose corporate beneficial ownership, set out by the Corporate Transparency Act.

In 2019 and 2020 alone, there were over 100 class action cases filed against cannabis companies, with many focused on issues regarding cannabis labeling, marketing, and disclosures. This article outlines recent cannabis class action trends from across the country.

The third version of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement, or MORE, Act was introduced on May 28.

Cannabis business faces a dizzying array of federal and state laws presenting significant challenges for companies attempting to comply with this increasingly complex patchwork of rules.

Medical marijuana is playing an increasingly significant role in the quality of life for Americans, especially veterans.

On New Year’s Day 2021, Congress overrode a presidential veto to pass the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA 2020), which amends and modernizes the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

On March 3, 2021, Perkins Coie partner Barak Cohen moderated a panel to discuss the future of the cannabis industry. This recap focuses on discussion related to state legalization and the private sector perspective.

On March 3, 2021, Perkins Coie partner Barak Cohen moderated a panel to discuss the future of the cannabis industry. This recap focuses on discussion related to the federal perspective.

Barak Cohen and Bryan Passman, founder of two talent acquisition firms that focus on the cannabis industry, discuss the critical need for strong leadership in the industry, particularly during the ongoing pandemic.

Until now, there has been no single reference to guide cannabis lawyers through the full continuum of legal challenges in the industry. This treatise fills that gap from a sophisticated perspective by highlighting key issues in more than a dozen practice areas and covering the impact of cannabis law from U.S. state and federal, as well as Canadian, enforcement and regulatory agencies.

In our latest podcast, Perkins Coie partner Barak Cohen is joined by Andrew Kline, Director of Public Policy for the National Cannabis Industry Association, the youngest—and largest—cannabis trade association in the U.S. and the only organization representing state-sanctioned cannabis-related businesses at the federal level.

Proposition 65 warning requirements announced last year are set to be enforced starting January 3, 2021; if your business is selling cannabis products in California, now is the time to ensure that your labeling complies with state requirements. 

As the dust clears from the 2020 general election, four more states have legalized recreational marijuana, bringing the total up to 15 states and the District of Columbia.

Perkins Coie Partner Barak Cohen is joined by Natalie Papillion, a drug policy expert and organizer who serves as the executive director of The Equity Organization and sits on the Board of Directors for the Last Prisoner Project.

Perkins Coie Partner Barak Cohen is joined by Yoko Miyashita, CEO of Leafly. Yoko and Barak discuss her transition from General Counsel of a leading cannabis company to CEO. They dive into the unique features of the cannabis industry compared to other industries, the unique business challenges of the cannabis industry as well as predictions for the industry’s future.

In this episode of White Collar Briefly, Perkins Coie’s Barak Cohen, David Fletcher, and Alexander Canizares discuss the landscape for increased fraud investigations and enforcement actions related to COVID-19 stimulus spending, including False Claims Act investigations and qui tam whistleblower litigation, as well as steps companies can take to reduce their potential exposure.

The cannabidiol (CBD) industry has seen a new wave of consumer class actions. The industry is poised to see further cases, especially as the market for CBD-containing products grows.

Marijuana businesses, especially those in the medical marijuana industry, often have access to sensitive consumer information.

Ben Purser, chief risk officer for mortgage lender, Roundpoint Mortgage Servicing Corporation, and Barak Cohen, partner in Perkins Coie’s White Collar & Investigations practice and lead for the firm’s Commercial Litigation in Washington, D.C., discuss the challenges of legal compliance and risk in an industry that has been directly affected by two global financial crises in one decade.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submitted a report to Congress on July 8, 2020, providing an analysis of the cannabidiol (CBD) marketplace.

CBD companies facing class action lawsuits regarding product labeling during this time of regulatory uncertainty have a reasonable chance of succeeding in a motion to stay on primary jurisdiction grounds, say Perkins Coie attorneys. But, they must be sure to tie anticipated agency rulemaking to the claims at issue before the court.

This update provides some recent lessons learned with remote depositions that apply to both those who take and defend remote depositions.

Cannabis companies are facing a slew of class action lawsuits under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which prohibits unwanted automated calls and text messages.

The federal government does not generally enforce the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in states that have legalized cannabis, unless offenses occur on federal property or involve other federal criminal laws. 

The marijuana industry has not escaped the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, and contract issues are a particular concern. 

Any crisis—especially one as drastic and unprecedented as COVID-19—heightens the risks of fraud, waste, and abuse. Perkins Coie attorneys examine recent Justice Department actions and say even companies that don’t receive funds specifically tied to the federal government’s response to the outbreak should bear in mind the risks of potential exposure to fraud allegations. 

The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just released a report to Congress regarding the agency’s progress toward comprehensive regulation of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD).

This article focuses on four important areas related to False Claims Act (FCA) investigations and litigation that companies and their counsel should be aware of: the DOJ’s recent cooperation credit guidelines; cybersecurity and FCA liability; differing interpretations of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Escobar decision and the DOJ’s increased exercise of its authority to seek dismissal of FCA lawsuits.

California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) added Δ9‑tetrahydrocannabinol, better known as “THC,” to the list of chemicals requiring specific labeling for retail sale in California. 

The Department of Justice (DOJ) recovered more than $3 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving the False Claims Act (FCA) in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, according to statistics released by DOJ on January 9, 2020.

The absence of clear federal guidance regarding food and beverages that contain cannabidiol (CBD) has led to a patchwork of state-level regulatory actions across the country. Without uniform guidelines, states have adopted varying and often conflicting approaches.

Lawmakers are back at work in the nation’s capital for a new session of Congress following the holiday break, and it’s clear that the political winds in Washington, D.C., are shifting in favor of the cannabis industry.

A flurry of recent class action lawsuits against manufacturers of CBD products involving a range of claims—from marketing to stock pricing to CBD content—should put the industry on alert. Perkins Coie attorneys look at the recent spate of class actions, what the FDA is doing, and offer mitigating steps for CBD suppliers and manufacturers.

On the heels of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recent declarations regarding the safety of products containing cannabidiol (CBD), several companies have been hit with class action lawsuits alleging that the company’s CBD-containing products are mislabeled and falsely advertised in violation of state law.

On November 25, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took several significant actions regarding sellers of products containing cannabidiol (CBD).

Since late February 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been promising to publish guidelines regarding hemp production.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent a joint warning letter on Tuesday, October 22, 2019, to Rooted Apothecary, LLC, alleging that the Florida-based company has been making egregious advertising claims.

On Aug. 20, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) announced that federally insured credit unions may offer financial services to legal hemp businesses, a promising step toward legal banking for the broader cannabis industry.

Following the recent public hearing held by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the safety and efficacy of cannabidiol (CBD), many in the food and beverage industry asked how long it will take for the agency to establish a regulatory pathway for approval of CBD as a food additive.

The Food and Drug Administration held its first public hearing on May 31, 2019 concerning products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds (in particular, cannabidiol (CBD), a popular additive to food, beverages and supplements).

On May 31, 2019, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held its first public hearing concerning products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds (in particular, cannabidiol (CBD), a popular additive to food, beverages and supplements).

On March 28, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) joined the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in sending warning letters to three companies that market products that contain cannabidiol (CBD), which the companies claim can treat a variety of serious physical and mental disorders.

From 2010 to 2015, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice filed criminal charges against more than 120 corporations and more than 350 individuals, and collected fines and penalties of more than $8 billion.

The legal Canadian cannabis industry is booming, and U.S. companies can benefit from the prospering cross-border industry by partnering with Canadian companies.

President Trump signed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (popularly known as the 2018 Farm Bill) into law on December 20, 2018.

Four Perkins Coie LLP attorneys discuss the recent charges led against Rep. Chris Collins. The authors note that the case is a useful reminder of the duties owed by board members, the potential liability of non-trading tippers, and exposes potential conflicts of interest when members of Congress have significant outside interests.

The first year of the Trump administration saw the DOJ continue the Obama administration’s focus on protecting U.S. intellectual property interests by investigating and prosecuting trade secret cases, especially those involving foreign interference and national security concerns.

In recent guidance, we wrote about what companies should do to minimize the risk of federal criminal penalties when doing business with or investing in cannabis industry companies.

In recent guidance, we wrote about what companies should do to minimize the risk of federal criminal penalties when doing business with or investing in cannabis industry companies. 

In early January 2017, just weeks before Donald Trump was to take the helm as the president of the United States, we assessed the government’s efforts to protect against the persistent financial and strategic threat posed by the theft of valuable intellectual property from U.S. companies by foreign agents and others.

What is the current state of federal enforcement as to cannabis? Are there ways that companies not directly involved in the cannabis industry may still do business with companies in the industry, while minimizing potential exposure to federal criminal penalties under the CSA?

A version of this article was originally published by Bloomberg BNA White Collar Crime Report on April 18, 2018.

There will be little debate that this has been a bad day for the state-sanctioned (and regulated) marijuana industry. Stated simply, the Obama-era directives that significantly fettered the discretion of the nation’s 93 presidentially appointed U.S. attorneys to bring federal narcotics charges against marijuana growers, distributors and possessors in those states that “legalized” marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes (there are some eight states falling into the latter category) are now a thing of the past.

This article was quoted in a Law360 article, "In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360," on 01.05.2018.

For many companies, protecting intellectual property is a significant concern made more difficult in recent years by the persistent efforts of foreign agents to steal valuable trade secrets.

For many companies, protecting intellectual property is a significant concern made more difficult in recent years by the persistent efforts of foreign agents to steal valuable trade secrets. Analysis of public sources indicates that under the Obama administration, the U.S. government has made substantial efforts to combat this theft through an increase by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in the number of criminal trade secret prosecutions.

This update was republished in Law360 on 01.06.2017, "Criminal Trade Secret Prosecutions Under President Trump."

In 2014, the U.S. Justice Department finalized its $192.7 million settlement with Endo Pharmaceuticals of claims related to alleged off-label promotion by announcing that the whistleblower in the False Claims Act civil lawsuit that led to the settlement was awarded $33.6 million.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), collaborating with German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, in spring 2016 began leaking approximately 11 million internal documents obtained without permission from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca by an anonymous whistleblower.

Recently, John C. Cruden, DOJ’s Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Environmental and Natural Resources Division, which oversees DOJ’s environmental litigation, voiced a heightened commitment to enforcing environmental laws through criminal prosecution.

This updated fifth edition provides detailed guidance for compliance with the suite of laws that impact federal government relations professionals. It provides practical examples of how to be compliant, and covers all of the major federal statutes and regulations that govern the practice of federal government relations work.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently held that the FDA may not constitutionally bring a misbranding action based on truthful and non-misleading off-label promotion of an FDA-approved drug, thereby helping to clarify lingering uncertainty over the scope of First Amendment protection afforded statements by drug representatives, at least in states located in the Second Circuit.

This article examines the circumstances under which traditional authorities, such as aboriginal “band” (otherwise referred to as “tribal” or “traditional authority”) leaders, may qualify as “foreign officials” under the FCPA.

This article examines the circumstances under which traditional authorities, such as aboriginal “band” (otherwise referred to as “tribal” or “traditional authority”) leaders, may qualify as “foreign officials” under the FCPA.

Criminal Defense Victories in the Federal Circuits by Matt Kaiser is a highly recommended book for anyone who does white collar criminal defense work.

Recent court filings have confirmed that the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are continuing to conduct parallel criminal-civil investigations involving insider trading on Capitol Hill. Read full post.

Whether documents prepared in connection with an internal investigation are protected from disclosure by the attorney-client privilege or work-product doctrine is a topic of continuing interest and current debate. Read full post.

A central, recurring definitional challenge facing FCPA practitioners worldwide is whether, and under what circumstances, traditional local authorities, such as tribal leaders, qualify as “foreign officials” under the FCPA. Perkins Coie Senior Counsel Barak Cohen and Partner T. Markus Funk, both former USDOJ prosecutors, provide the most comprehensive analysis on this issue to date, concluding that the one-size-fits-all analytical approach once favored by observers cannot be reconciled with present-day enforcement realities.

Partner Barak Cohen will speak on the following topics during a lunch and learn session at the Cannabis Industry Journal's Cannabis Quality Conference and Expo.

U.S. legislation on bribery has global implications for businesses and functions as a deterrent against corrupt practices.

How straightforward is the U.S. regulatory landscape for cannabis, hemp, and CBD producers and what should both legislative bodies and industry stakeholders be doing to make things simpler.

In spite of the fact that more and more states have legalized marijuana use, Federal law continues to make it illegal to possess, distribute or sell it.

What you need to know now about the future of cannabis policies and their impacts on your legal needs.

An overview of the latest developments in fraud investigations and enforcement actions related to COVID-19 relief spending and highlight the steps that government contractors and other recipients of federal funding can take to reduce their potential exposure to liability. 

An overview of the government’s tools and authorities to combat fraud in COVID-19 relief spending and the anticipated areas of focus for the U.S. Department of Justice as well as other new and existing investigative entities.

This webinar addressed lessons learned from the government investigations that followed the 2008 financial crisis, and what those lessons can teach us in the wake of recently passed COVID-19 stimulus legislation.

Presented on a panel discussion of key legal issues facing international manufacturers, including criminal trade secrets law, protecting company secrets at the U.S. border, legal liability for defective products in the U.S. and updates on U.S. intellectual property law.

Presented on a panel discussion of key legal issues facing international manufacturers, including criminal trade secrets law, protecting company secrets at the U.S. border, legal liability for defective products in the U.S. and updates on U.S. intellectual property law.

As part of the 2015 plenary panel of the annual LegalTech conference in New York City, Barak Cohen of Perkins Coie, a former federal prosecutor, provided his insights regarding what in-house counsel need to watch out for if their companies face demands from the government for digital information as part of criminal investigations.

Barak Cohen presented to government contracting in-house counsel regarding best practices for avoiding allegations of criminal wrongdoing when hiring current or former government officials.

Barak Cohen of Perkins Coie, a former federal prosecutor, provided his insights into what in-house counsel need to watch out for if their company or the company's corporate officers fall under government scrutiny.