Joel Cohen

July 07, 2020 | New York Law Journal

No one has asked this question: while the remaining three officers seemingly did nothing to stop Officer Chauvin, why did no civilian standing there take the bull by the horns and physically intercede?

By Joel Cohen

7 minute read

June 19, 2020 | New York Law Journal

When someone is rounding third base, maybe heading for home in his career—Bob Katzberg likes to use sports metaphors—he's likely to look back on that career in different ways. It may depend on who he is as a person, and what his career may have been. Maybe he sees afterthoughts, revisions, trends.

By Joel Cohen

8 minute read

June 10, 2020 | New York Law Journal

In his Ethics and Criminal Practice column, Joel Cohen looks at the charges brought against the police officers in the George Floyd case.

By Joel Cohen

6 minute read

June 08, 2020 | New York Law Journal

In his Ethics and Criminal Law column, Joel Cohen uses the Michael Flynn case as a background to examine the legal issue: Must a prosecutor disclose Brady material before a defendant pleads guilty?

By Joel Cohen

11 minute read

May 28, 2020 | New York Law Journal

To be clear, we, all of us, must take to the grave anything the would-be client tells us, even if he never gives us that historically formulaic dollar bill (or peppercorn), and drops us from consideration the moment he walks out of our office casually saying, "I'll be in touch."

By Joel Cohen

7 minute read

May 11, 2020 | New York Law Journal

"As a terribly disappointed alumnus of the Justice Department, I am sad to say I don't think we can rely on the integrity of the Department's decision-making in this case."

By Joel Cohen

7 minute read

May 05, 2020 | New York Law Journal

This is about the predicament in which public officials or candidates find themselves when the changing landscape of public events catches them in the crosshairs. It's also about the unofficial oath those who aspire to public office effectively take when they take public positions about important current issues.

By Joel Cohen

6 minute read

April 30, 2020 | New York Law Journal

If a defendant genuinely wants a speedy trial today, and his lawyer is ready and prepared to be his trial gladiator, he won't be able to get that trial—through literally nobody's fault.

By Joel Cohen

5 minute read

April 16, 2020 | New York Law Journal

We can't lapse into obtaining the client's facts through the easiest means possible—seated at our home office with the client at his, having become too blasé in performing what's essential to the lawyer's duty to effectively representing the client in obtaining his unadorned truth.

By Joel Cohen

6 minute read

April 10, 2020 | New York Law Journal

In his Ethics and Criminal Practice column, Joel Cohen discusses the actions of Harvey Weinstein's principal lawyer, Donna Rotunno during jury deliberations, using it as a cautionary tale for trial lawyers in light of a their ethical obligations during trial.

By Joel Cohen

13 minute read