New York—October 21, 2024—Cohen Ziffer founding partner Keith McKenna has been named a Law360 MVP for insurance. Widely recognized for his ardent advocacy in complex and highly consequential cases, Keith represents corporate policyholders in federal and state courts across the country seeking damages, declaratory judgments, and other relief against insurance companies. He is one of only four lawyers nationally to receive Law360’s Insurance MVP award this year.
Keith routinely litigates high-profile cases involving tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. He secured a landmark decision for Warren Pumps in a ruling that entitled Warren to access hundreds of millions of dollars in insurance coverage for its asbestos-related liabilities and changed the law on the critical question of how loss may be allocated among primary and excess insurers. In another groundbreaking case, Keith achieved the rarest of victories: a ruling that set aside a jury verdict against his client, Conduent State Healthcare—the first jury verdict that Delaware Superior Court Judge Mary Johnston has reversed in nearly 20 years on the bench.
He is currently representing Walmart in a lawsuit against nearly 40 insurance carriers related to coverage for hundreds of millions of dollars incurred in defending against thousands of lawsuits arising out of the sale and distribution of opioids and related settlements totaling more than $3 billion. Keith and his team recently defeated efforts by dozens of Walmart’s insurers to dismiss its Arkansas action and earned a precedent-setting ruling establishing Walmart’s right to coverage for defense costs incurred in opioid-related lawsuits. He also represents cosmetics giant Revlon in its pursuit of liability coverage for claims that various hair straightening and relaxer products have caused bodily injuries, as well as TTEC, a global customer experience technology company, in coverage litigation against Great American Insurance Company arising from former employees’ participation in the theft of nearly $14 million from Bank of America.
Keith is recognized as a leading policyholder lawyer by Chambers USA and Legal 500, has been named a Plaintiffs’ Lawyer Trailblazer by The National Law Journal, and was recently selected as one of Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Litigators in America.
Click here to read Keith’s profile.