Jerome A. Cohen, a remarkable legal scholar who demystified China’s intricate legal framework, was one of the first international attorneys to practice commercial law within China. He also fearlessly advocated for human rights in the country. Mr. Cohen passed away at his Manhattan residence on Monday, at the age of 95.
His sons, Ethan and Peter, confirmed his passing.
According to Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and a former student and colleague, Mr. Cohen single-handedly ‘created the field of the study of Chinese law in the United States.’ Orlins emphasized, ‘It’s rare to find a field where in the beginning it was so shaped by one person.’
Initially, Mr. Cohen seemed poised for a distinguished yet traditional academic career. Following his graduation from Yale Law School, he served as a clerk for two Supreme Court justices before joining the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley, where he focused on conventional legal subjects.
However, a unique opportunity presented itself: to delve into Chinese language and law. Despite the bewilderment of some peers, he embraced this path, embarking on his studies during a tumultuous period of political revolution in China when most Americans were barred from entry.
**Image:** Jerome A. Cohen in 2012, pictured in his office at the U.S.-Asia Law Institute at New York University, an institution he founded. A colleague noted that Mr. Cohen “created the field of the study of Chinese law in the United States.”
After mastering the Chinese language, Mr. Cohen moved to Hong Kong in 1963 and began interviewing mainland Chinese refugees, including former police officers. Their accounts offered invaluable insights into the workings of courts and prosecutors under Mao Zedong’s rule. Subsequently, he founded an East Asian law program at Harvard Law School, where he taught from 1964 to 1979.
**Image:** Mr. Cohen at Harvard Law School in 1975, during his tenure as a faculty member from 1964 to 1979.
With Mao’s death and China’s subsequent opening to Western investment, Mr. Cohen pivoted his career once more, entering the world of private law firms. He became a trusted advisor to foreign companies and played a crucial role in educating Chinese officials eager to grasp the intricacies of commercial law.
In 1990, Mr. Cohen joined New York University, where he established a vibrant hub for legal professionals, judges, and human rights advocates from across Asia, including China, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. He remained an outspoken critic of China’s escalating repressive policies under President Xi Jinping until his final days.
**Image:** Mr. Cohen and his wife, Joan Lebold Cohen, during a family trip to the Great Wall of China in 2002. Joan, a dedicated student of Chinese history and culture, pursued a career as an art historian, curator, writer, and photographer.
Mr. Cohen’s passing triggered a wave of heartfelt tributes from politicians, legal professionals, academics, and activists across Asia. Many credited him with shaping their careers, and some even attributed their freedom to his advocacy. Notably, Chinese law professor Xu Zhangrun, who faced dismissal and severe police surveillance after criticizing President Xi, had been a vocal recipient of Mr. Cohen’s unwavering support.
In a eulogy published in the online journal China Heritage, Mr. Xu lamented, ‘His passing truly marks the end of an era.’ He added, ‘For Jerome Cohen, the idea of legal rights was always grounded in a respect for basic human rights.’
Jerome Alan Cohen was born on July 1, 1930, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and grew up in the neighboring town of Linden. He was the younger of two sons born to Philip Cohen, an attorney, and Beatrice (Kaufman) Cohen, a schoolteacher.
A bright student, he distinguished himself in high school and went on to Yale University, where he pursued a degree in international relations before enrolling in its law school.
**Image:** Jerome and Joan Lebold Cohen with their three sons, Peter, Ethan, and Seth, pictured in Kyoto, Japan, in 1972.
During his college years, he met Joan Lebold, and they married in 1954. Joan survives him, along with their three sons—Ethan, Peter, and Seth—seven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
In his recently published memoir, ‘Eastward, Westward,’ Mr. Cohen candidly recounted the prevalent antisemitism that, for a time, prevented him and other brilliant Jewish law students from securing summer internships at elite law firms.
Despite these obstacles, he achieved remarkable success. After graduation, he and his wife relocated to Washington, D.C., where he had the privilege of clerking for both Chief Justice Earl Warren and Justice Felix Frankfurter. His career also included a stint at the law firm Covington & Burling and serving as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia. In 1959, he began his teaching career at Berkeley, specializing in criminal law.
The following year, the law school sought Mr. Cohen’s help in finding a candidate for a Rockefeller Foundation grant dedicated to studying Chinese language and law. At that time, China was largely inaccessible to Americans, and its legal system remained a mystery. Unable to find a suitable applicant, Mr. Cohen ultimately decided to pursue the opportunity himself.
**Image:** The cover of Mr. Cohen’s recently released memoir, “Eastward, Westward.”
His decision was met with skepticism from some colleagues. In his memoir, Mr. Cohen recounted how William L. Prosser, then dean of the law school, famously advised him, ‘Don’t throw away your career on China.’
Undeterred, Mr. Cohen embraced the challenge. His wife, drawn to Asian art, also began studying Chinese history and culture, eventually becoming an accomplished art historian, curator, writer, and photographer.
**Image:** In 1988, Mr. Cohen, accompanied by Jill Spruce of the International Commission of Jurists, departed a courthouse in Singapore after monitoring a trial involving political detainees.
In 1963, after mastering Chinese, Mr. Cohen and his family moved to Hong Kong. Faced with a dearth of official documents on China’s legal system, he began interviewing refugees from the mainland, including former police officers, to understand the practical realities of the law. His groundbreaking study, ‘The Criminal Process in the People’s Republic of China, 1949-63,’ was published in 1968. Over his career, he authored, co-authored, or edited more than a dozen books, many serving as essential guides to Chinese law.
Donald C. Clarke, an emeritus professor at the George Washington University Law School, remarked that Mr. Cohen ‘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, Mr. Cohen actively campaigned for the United States to normalize diplomatic relations with Beijing. He harbored a strong desire to visit mainland China, making various unsuccessful attempts, including formal written appeals and even a whimsical proposal to acquire a panda for an American zoo.
His persistent efforts paid off in 1972 when he joined a small group of scholars on a visit to Beijing and other Chinese cities. Mr. Cohen vividly remembered the challenge of striking up conversations with cautious locals over breakfast. The pinnacle of this journey was a dinner shared with China’s premier, Zhou Enlai.
**Image:** Mr. Cohen alongside Zhou Enlai, Premier of the People’s Republic of China, during his 1972 visit to Beijing as part of a scholarly delegation.
Mr. Cohen recalled Premier Zhou’s comment, delivered with a gentle, understated tone: ‘I understand that you have done many books on our legal system,’ which Mr. Cohen interpreted as a subtle suggestion that he might have overemphasized the complexity of China’s legal framework.
Following Mao’s death and China’s subsequent embrace of international engagement and investment, Mr. Cohen’s expertise in Chinese law became highly sought after by global corporations. He frequently lectured Chinese officials, who were keen to understand the nuances of drafting contracts, commercial legislation, and tax regulations.
Mr. Cohen made the significant decision to depart from his Harvard role and dedicate himself to full-time legal practice. In 1981, he joined the prestigious firm Paul Weiss, where he inspired numerous young lawyers to specialize in Chinese law. Colleagues fondly remember his infectious enthusiasm, his profound generosity towards students and emerging attorneys, and his signature bow tie.
During this period, he and his wife spent extensive time in China, where he actively participated in drafting contracts, providing counsel to corporations, and mediating commercial disagreements.
Yvonne Y.F. Chan, whom Mr. Cohen brought into Paul Weiss, observed, ‘He had a thirst to learn.’ She recounted, ‘We’d be in these grueling negotiations and he’d ask these questions that might even go off on a tangent, because he was so curious to understand where the other side was coming from.’
**Image:** Mr. Cohen in the late 1970s. He retired from legal practice in 2000 but continued teaching at N.Y.U. until 2020. Even in retirement, he frequently visited China and took on select cases.
Though he retired from Paul Weiss in 2000, Mr. Cohen continued his academic pursuits, serving as a professor at N.Y.U. until 2020, where he established the U.S.-Asia Law Institute. He maintained his ties with China, undertaking occasional cases, notably representing Zhao Yan, a New York Times researcher who was unjustly imprisoned on fraud charges in 2006, after initial accusations of stealing state secrets were withdrawn.
Mr. Cohen passionately championed the cause of Chinese legal and human rights activists, including Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi, who received lengthy prison sentences in 2023 for alleged subversion. He also supported Chen Guangcheng, a blind legal activist who famously escaped house arrest, sought asylum in the American Embassy in Beijing, and ultimately relocated to the United States in 2012.
Sophie Luo, Mr. Ding’s wife, shared in an interview, ‘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 Mr. Cohen often expressed sorrow over China’s escalating repressive policies under President Xi, he consistently refused to succumb to despair.
In an interview published last year by The Wire China, he asserted, ‘I’m not totally pessimistic, as some people are.’ He believed, ‘China’s development has been pendulum-like. At the moment, we’re in a repressive period. That won’t last. It can’t last.’