Jerome A. Cohen, a towering figure in the study of Chinese law in the United States and a trailblazing foreign attorney in China, passed away peacefully at his New York home on Monday at the age of 95. Cohen was not only instrumental in demystifying China’s complex legal system but also a tireless advocate against human rights abuses across Asia.
His sons, Ethan and Peter, confirmed his passing.
Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and a former student and colleague, highlighted Cohen’s unparalleled influence, stating that he “created the field of the study of Chinese law in the United States.” Orlins emphasized the rarity of one individual so profoundly shaping an entire academic discipline from its inception.
Initially, Cohen seemed set for a distinguished, yet traditional, career in legal academia. After graduating from Yale Law School, he served as a clerk for two Supreme Court justices before joining the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley, teaching standard legal subjects.
However, a unique opportunity shifted his path: the chance to delve into Chinese language and law. Despite the bewilderment of some colleagues, he embraced this challenge at a time when China was in the throes of political upheaval and largely inaccessible to Americans.
An image from 2012 shows Jerome A. Cohen in his office at the U.S.-Asia Law Institute at New York University, an institution he founded. A colleague remarked that Mr. Cohen essentially ‘created the field of the study of Chinese law in the United States.’
Following his language immersion, Cohen moved to Hong Kong, where he conducted interviews with refugees from mainland China, including former police officers, to understand the intricacies of courts and prosecutors under Mao Zedong. This crucial groundwork led him to establish a pioneering program in East Asian law at Harvard Law School, where he taught from 1964 to 1979.
A black-and-white photograph from 1975 captures a younger Mr. Cohen at Harvard Law School, where he served as a faculty member.
With Mao’s death and China’s subsequent opening to Western investment, Cohen transitioned his career, joining law firms. He played a vital role in advising foreign companies and educating Chinese officials eager to grasp the fundamentals of commercial law.
In 1990, Cohen embarked on a new chapter at New York University, creating a welcoming environment for lawyers, judges, and human rights advocates from across Asia, including China, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. He remained an outspoken critic of China’s escalating repression under President Xi Jinping until his final days.
In a photo from a 2002 trip to China, Mr. Cohen stands alongside his wife, Joan Lebold Cohen, herself a notable art historian, curator, writer, and photographer with a deep interest in Chinese history and culture.
Xu Zhangrun, a Chinese law professor and outspoken critic of the government, penned a eulogy in the online journal China Heritage, mourning Cohen’s death as ‘truly marks the end of an era.’ Xu emphasized that for Cohen, ‘the idea of legal rights was always grounded in a respect for basic human rights.’
Born on July 1, 1930, in Elizabeth, N.J., Jerome Alan Cohen grew up in Linden, the younger son of Philip Cohen, an attorney, and Beatrice (Kaufman) Cohen, a schoolteacher.
A bright student, he excelled in high school, pursued international relations at Yale University, and subsequently enrolled in Yale Law School.
A family photograph from Kyoto, Japan, in 1972 shows Jerome and Joan Lebold Cohen with their three sons: Peter, Ethan, and Seth.
He met Joan Lebold during his college years, and they married in 1954. Joan, their three sons—Ethan, Peter, and Seth—seven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren survive him.
In his recently published memoir, ‘Eastward, Westward,’ Cohen reflected on the antisemitism prevalent during his youth, which often prevented talented Jewish law students like himself from securing summer internships at top-tier law firms.
His memoir, ‘Eastward, Westward,’ was released this year.
Despite these challenges, Cohen achieved significant success. After graduation, he and Joan relocated to Washington, where he served as a law clerk for Chief Justice Earl Warren and later Justice Felix Frankfurter. His career also included a stint as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia before he began teaching criminal law at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1959.
The following year, the law school tasked Cohen with finding a suitable recipient for a Rockefeller Foundation grant to study Chinese language and law. With China largely isolated from Americans and its legal system shrouded in mystery, he struggled to find candidates. This led him to consider undertaking the ambitious project himself.
His decision was met with skepticism from some colleagues. In his memoir, Cohen recounted Dean William L. Prosser’s cautionary words: ‘Don’t throw away your career on China.’
Undeterred, Cohen embraced the challenge. His wife, Joan, also pursued her passion, studying Chinese history and culture, eventually becoming a respected art historian, curator, writer, and photographer.
A black-and-white photo from 1988 shows Mr. Cohen alongside Jill Spruce of the International Commission of Jurists, departing a Singapore courthouse after observing proceedings for political detainees.
Fluent in Chinese, Cohen and his family moved to Hong Kong in 1963. With official documents on China’s legal system being rare, he meticulously gathered information by interviewing mainland refugees, including former police officers, to understand the practical application of law. This led to his seminal 1968 study, ‘The Criminal Process in the People’s Republic of China, 1949-63.’ Throughout his career, he authored or co-authored over a dozen books, many serving as essential guides to Chinese law.
Donald J. Clarke, an emeritus professor at George Washington University Law School, praised Cohen’s methodology, stating he ‘showed the great value of paying attention to what’s going on in the ground, what’s really happening down there, as opposed to just relying on written materials.’
At Harvard, Cohen became a key advocate for establishing diplomatic relations between the United States and Beijing. His desire to visit mainland China was profound, leading to numerous unsuccessful attempts, including written appeals and even an offer to purchase a panda for an American zoo.
During a 1972 visit to Beijing as part of a scholarly delegation, Mr. Cohen had a memorable meeting with Zhou Enlai, the then-Premier of the People’s Republic of China.
His persistent efforts paid off in 1972 when he joined a small delegation of scholars visiting Beijing and other cities. Cohen humorously recounted his attempts to engage cautious locals over breakfast. The pinnacle of this trip was a dinner with Premier Zhou Enlai.
Cohen later recalled Premier Zhou’s remark: ‘I understand that you have done many books on our legal system,’ delivered with a tone that ‘gently implied that perhaps I had made more of China’s legal system than China had.’
Following Mao’s death, as China opened its doors to foreign visitors and investment, Cohen’s expertise in Chinese law became invaluable. International companies sought his advice, and he lectured Chinese officials on drafting contracts, commercial laws, and tax regulations.
Cohen chose to leave Harvard to pursue full-time law practice, joining Paul Weiss in 1981. He inspired many young lawyers to specialize in Chinese law. Colleagues frequently reminisced about his vibrant enthusiasm, his unwavering generosity toward students and junior attorneys, and his signature bow tie.
During this period, he and Joan dedicated considerable time to China, where he actively drafted contracts, advised corporations, and mediated commercial disputes.
A photo from the late 1970s shows Mr. Cohen. He retired from practicing law in 2000 but continued to teach at NYU until 2020, regularly visiting China and taking on specific cases.
After retiring from Paul Weiss in 2000, Cohen continued as a professor at New York University until 2020, establishing the U.S.-Asia Law Institute. He maintained his involvement with China, even taking on cases such as that of Zhao Yan, a New York Times researcher falsely imprisoned on fraud charges in 2006 after state secret theft accusations were dismissed.
Cohen also passionately championed the cause of Chinese legal and human rights activists like Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi, who received lengthy prison sentences in 2023 for alleged subversion. He similarly supported Chen Guangcheng, a blind legal activist who sought asylum in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing before his 2012 flight to America.
Sophie Luo, Ding Jiaxi’s wife, recounted Cohen’s dedication: ‘He organized a seminar to make sure that people paid attention to the case. He put me in touch with people and organized resources. He didn’t want them to be forgotten.’
While often critical of China’s escalating repressive policies under President Xi Jinping, Cohen consistently refused to yield to despair.
In an interview with The Wire China last year, he expressed a nuanced optimism: ‘I’m not totally pessimistic, as some people are. China’s development has been pendulum-like. At the moment, we’re in a repressive period. That won’t last. It can’t last.’