Hon. Steven G. Cohen, (Retired)
— Cohen and Associates, Inc.
Areas of Expertise: Bad Faith
HON. STEVEN G. COHEN, Esq. (Retired) is a retired Administrative Law Judge, Attorney and the President and CEO of a Santa Monica-based property management and development company. He has provided litigation support and has testified as an industry expert witness for Construction Defects, Real Estate standards of care and duty and Property Management standards of care and duty for the past 30 years.
Included in his areas of expertise are Commercial Residential Property
Inspection, Identification and remediation of Toxic Mold, Water Entry disputes,
Construction Defects and damages, Building Code Compliance, Fiduciary Duties, Property Management Duties and Standards of Care, Broker's and Agent's duties and General Electrical Contracting.
Judge Cohen also has the distinction of being one of the very few industry experts who is an attorney while holding two Contractor's licenses and a Real Estate Broker's license. In addition to being a licensed attorney, Judge Cohen holds an MBA and has been formally trained in general accounting, standard accounting procedures, fiduciary duties, tax preparation, corporate status (profit and non-profit), close corporations, financing, economic models, marketing and strategic planning.
He has been licensed by Contractor's State License Board since 1985. He holds both a General Contractor and Electrical Contractor's classification (B, C10 HIC.) He is a member of the International Code Council (ICC), formally (ICBO) International Conference of Building Officials. He has also been licensed by the Department of Real Estate since 1984 and currently holds a Real Estate Broker's License. He is certified by Mold Inspectors Contractor's Institute as a Property Mold Specialist and holds a C.M.I. and C.M.R. designation in Toxic Mold. Judge Cohen holds the classification of "Master Arbitrator" with the Contractor's State License Board through their tribunal administrator and is approved by the Deputy Registrar for the CSLB. He hears construction defect and contract dispute cases in binding arbitration.
He has extensive experience in Property Development, Property Management, Planning Zoning, Building Code Compliance, Architectural Review Boards, Building Safety Rules and Regulations and Rent Control ordinances. He has inspected over 1,000 properties for due diligence, construction defects and seismic problems. He is fully versed at reading and understanding blueprints and building specifications.
Judge Cohen earned a Bachelors of Science in Law (BSL) at Northwestern California University. His graduate work was in Economics, Business Strategy and Marketing for which he earned his Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Pepperdine University School of Business. He wrote a primer on Mortgage Philosophy and economics for his thesis. Cohen earned his Graduate Level Certificate in Dispute Resolution (ABA approved) from Pepperdine University School of Law. He completed his law degree earning a Juris Doctor in Law Jurisprudence (JD) at British American
University School of Law. He is licensed to practice law in California.
He has earned additional academic credit in the study of Real Estate Law, Real Estate Finance, Appraisal, Real Estate Practice, Principles and Ethics. He is a past adjunct professor at Pepperdine School of Law.
Judge Cohen is an approved member on the commercial mediation and arbitration panels for the American Arbitration Association. He is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Brentwood Homeowner's Association and is a past President and Director on the board of the Southern California Mediation Association. He is an approved mediator with the L.A. Superior Court judicially mandated mediation panel and is approved by the Center for Employment Dispute Resolution for Federal mediations with the USDA
and U.S. Forest Service under their EEOC programs. He is also approved as a mediator by the LA District Office of the EEOC, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) for both housing and employment disputes, the State Department of Insurance, earthquake and automobile accident division and the U.S. Postal Service.
He has received special recognition in 1995, 1997, 2002 and 2003 and now has lifetime recognition as a member of "Who's Who in Business Professionals Executives." He is currently a member of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR), the Southern California Mediation Association (SCMA) and the American Arbitration Association (AAA). Cohen is a member of the Dispute Resolution Sections of the American Bar Association (ABA), the Santa Monica Bar and the L.A. County Bar Association.
DISCLOSURE: In compliance with C.C.P. §1281.9 and Ethical Standards for Neutral Arbitrators in Contractual Arbitration §10 adopted by the Judicial Council of California, written disclosure is made that Steven Cohen is a retired Administrative Law Judge with the Inglewood Office of Appeals/California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (CUIAB) in which he heard matters involving unemployment insurance, disability eligibility and employer tax cases. Under Government Code § 199.90, sub-section 10(C), Judge Cohen "may act as an arbitrator, mediator or practice law which will not directly or indirectly be related to the functions and responsibilities of the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board". Under C.C.P. §1281.91, additional disclosures shall be made in writing upon the initial appointment.