NCCC Board of Trustees

Gary Cohen Community Leader

“After completing my treatment of prostate cancer, I was looking for a way to keep that experience as part of my life, in a positive and productive way.  My work on the Board of NCCC has made that possible.  I am amazed and humbled by the outstanding quality of the work done by its scientists, and grateful for the opportunity to help make it possible.”

Gary Cohen is the Deputy General Counsel for Allianz of America Corporation (AZOA) and Chief Counsel for Fireman's Fund Insurance Company (FFIC).

After graduating from Brown University, Mr. Cohen graduated from Stanford University Law School where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and was a member of the Law Review.

Following law school, Mr. Cohen was an E. Barrett Prettyman Fellow in Georgetown University Law School's Criminal Justice Clinic. After two years at Georgetown, he was a visiting lecturer at Santa Clara University Law School. Mr. Cohen extended his legal expertise to the eastern world when he worked at the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders in Tokyo, Japan. While in Japan, he also worked as a foreign legal advisor for the Matsuo & Kosugi law firm.

Mr. Cohen was a partner in the litigation firm of Keker & Van Nest, where he handled complex civil and white collar criminal cases.  He served as General Counsel for the California Public Utilities Commission, where he directed the Commission's legal strategy in response to the unprecedented challenges caused by the state's energy crisis.  He then served as General Counsel to the California Department of Insurance, where he was the chief legal advisor to Insurance Commissioners John Garamendi and Steve Poizner.

Mr. Cohen has also served as Deputy General Counsel for Allianz of America Corporation and Chief Counsel for Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company.

Mr. Cohen has served on NCCC's Board of Trustees since 2001. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the San Francisco Legal Aid Society.

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