RIP Jerome Cohen - 95 China scholar, lawyer, activist, CFR Fellow

Jerry Cohen in a characteristic pose

at his NYU Law School office.

As a partner at Paul Weiss - 

he was a breakthrough lawyer and activist

RIP Jerome Cohen - 95 - China scholar, lawyer, activist  - CFR 

One of the first American lawyers, scholar and   activist to engage with the Peoples Republic of China - with dignity and candor.  He was an important mentor to me.  I had the good fortune to travel to China with Jerry, two federal judges, and two other colleagues.

He is remembered at NYU Law School via an endowed chair.

Jerry - as we all called him - was the longtime host and moderator of discussions on China law and policy at the Council on Foreign Relations where he was a Fellow.

“Jerry’s legacy rests not only in his scholarship but also in the vibrant community he created here at NYU Law,” said Dean Troy McKenzie ’00 in a message to the Law School community. “He connected students with the wider world, inspired colleagues with his clarity and conviction, and championed the cause of justice across borders.”

We at Fordham have a history of which we can be proud as international lawyers, a history recounted twenty years ago by one of our standouts Prof. Joseph Sweeney in the pages of the Fordham International Law Journal.