tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91522682709898480682024-02-20T09:15:37.572-08:00The Truth About Robert CohenSDERKINShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10237336272779467363noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9152268270989848068.post-67436721871051042472009-06-24T09:14:00.000-07:002009-06-24T09:23:51.639-07:00The Truth About Matrimonial Attorney Robert Stephan Cohen<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Robert Stephan Cohen has been called the “pit-bull” of divorce lawyers and his reputation for doing whatever it takes to bring the other side to its knees has brought the likes of Christy Brinkley (twice), Ellen Barkin, Pamela Duff, Uma Thurman, and various Trump wives to his door.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">He was profiled in the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">New York Times</span></i><span style="font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> as “one of the most powerful matrimonial</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">attorneys in the country” and has also been featured in </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">New York Magazine</span></i><span style="font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> and </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Town & Country</span></i><span style="font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">, which described him as “your worst nightmare.” Cohen has even authored a book with the somewhat ironical title, given that he’s famous for the opposite, of “Reconcilable Differences: Seven Essential Tips to Remaining Together From A Top Matrimonial Lawyer.”</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Mr. Cohen is famous and he’s at the top of his field.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">But when did winning massive settlements at the cost of destroying families become something to be celebrated?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Robert Cohen thrives on stirring up dirt and animosity simply to make a buck.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Or in Cohen’s case, 800 bucks an hour, his exorbitant rate. </span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Countless individuals who have been unlucky enough to find themselves sitting across the table from Cohen say that even years after their divorce, they are still repairing the damage that Cohen has done not only to their finances but, more importantly, their family. In a profession of sharks, Cohen stands out as a Jaws-like figure, devouring everything in his path. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">But even in a field that regularly descends into the down and dirty, there are ethical and moral lines that lawyers are not supposed to cross. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Nearly everyone interviewed for this story reported that Cohen used underhanded scare tactics to force them into settlement, usually for pennies on the dollar.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">One woman, who we’ll call Irene Schaffer, reported that as soon as her ex husband hired Bob Cohen, he immediately withdrew all of the money, more than $70,000, from their joint bank accounts.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The two had been civilly negotiating the terms of their divorce for months, but it wasn’t until Cohen was hired that her ex decided to take hold of all of their assets.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Without access to funds she was at the mercy of her husband.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">“Once Cohen was hired the divorce got nastier,” she said.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">“It’s amazing what he gets away with.” </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Cohen even went as far as essentially vetoing Irene’s choice of lawyer.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">When Irene told her soon-to-be ex husband that she wanted to hire well-regarded attorney Margaret Cohen (no relation), the husband said that he needed to consult with Cohen first.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">He later phoned Irene back to say that he refused to release any money for that particular lawyer. “It’s all to make you feel uncomfortable and scared,” Irene said.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">“They want you scared.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">I knew that he was trying to intimidate me into backing down.”</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">One of the few who bested Cohen at his own game was his ex-wife Margery Rubin. In 1998, Margery Rubin told the Daily News that for </span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">“killer divorce lawyers” like her husband, “attack is part of their method of operation.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">That was [Bob’s] reputation, of course.” She also noted</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> that figuring out the value</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> of her husband’s partnership at the Manhattan firm of Morrison Cohen Singer and Weinstein was her biggest challenge in their divorce. The hard-fought battle went to trial – then suddenly ended when Rubin produced a key witness who provided evidence that Cohen lowballed his wealth.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">“When you get down to it, there had to be facts,” Rubin said. “I happen to [be] very well organized. I had everything in order financially.” Twenty-two years of living with the most ruthless divorce lawyer apparently rubbed off on Rubin who not only took Cohen to the cleaners financially she went on to start Divorce Source, a service showing other women how to navigate the confusing divorce process.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">But Rubin is one of the few to best Cohen. Most wind up suffering extreme financial losses and far more devastating effects to their family.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">“All he seems to care about is lining his pockets,” noted a physician who has seen first-hand the damage that Cohen wreaks. The physician is in a position that puts him in contact with numerous families who have been torn apart by Robert Cohen’s unfair -perhaps even bordering on immoral - tactics.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">“The ones that really suffer are the kids,” he said then further explained Cohen’s MO: the divorce gets dragged out to make the lawyers richer, nasty accusations get thrown around and children are forced to choose sides and endure painful years of watching their parents go at each other’s throats.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">“And Robert Cohen is one of the worst.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">He goes for the jugular.”</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Like many interviewed for this article, the physician agreed to speak only on the condition of anonymity, afraid of retaliation from the powerfully connected Cohen. Dozens of others refused to even talk about their experiences afraid that whatever they said could somehow make its way back to Cohen. “He is a nasty man, and I’m very careful about who I speak to now.” </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Jeff McClain, whose name has been changed, said that it was quite clear to him that Cohen was doing whatever possible to extend the length of their case. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Unfortunately, he said that he had no way of putting a stop to Cohen’s antics.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">A very common, but nevertheless underhanded, way of forcing the opposing side into settlement is to show that you can outspend them.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">“The system is set up to favor the rich” Jeff said.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">And no one is better at playing this “deep pockets” game than Bob Cohen, who has represented some of the richest people in the country including Michael Bloomberg, before he was mayor and was just a billionaire businessman, and corporate raider Henry Kravis. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Many of the individuals interviewed noted that one of the ways that Cohen extends a divorce is by calling unnecessary expert witnesses.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Every time an expert witness is called to testify it drags out the court proceedings for days and drives up lawyer fees by the tens of thousands of dollars.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">In Jeff’s case, Cohen called a friend of Jeff’s ex-wife as an expert witness.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">“All she did was read off of my ex-wife’s resume,” he complained.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">“She is not an expert and it did not need to be done in court.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Her resume could simply have been submitted to the judge, but these things allow the lawyers to spend time and money booking court dates, submitting paperwork, and coordinating everyone’s schedules to rack up a bill and intimidate the other side.”</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Eventually, Jeff was forced to settle prematurely because he could not afford to continue fighting for a fair settlement.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">He is still, after 5 years, trying to dig his way out of the financial hole that his divorce and Cohen left him in.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The divorce courts in New York have been referred to as “an intimate little viper’s nest” and Jeff claims to have experienced this first hand as well.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">“The lawyers, like Bob Cohen, work in the system so much and go before the same judges, and legal guardians so often, that they develop relationships with these individuals that frequently tip the case in their favor.”</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Jeff’s ex-wife intended to relocate overseas with their young son, and not surprisingly, Jeff fought to prevent this.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Generally, children in a divorce are counseled and represented by legal guardians and are then brought before the judge after being carefully prepared for the questioning regarding their relationship with each parent. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">However, Cohen, who was very close with the judge, was able to get the hearing at which Jeff’s son was to be questioned regarding the overseas move moved up a month ahead of time and gave Jeff and his lawyer only a two hours head’s up of the scheduling change. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Jeff and his attorney were able to scramble to the court just in the nick of time and thus avoided being defaulted. And Cohen’s dirty trick would backfire but at a dear emotional cost to Jeff’s young son, who became confused by the proceedings and eventually broke crying and left the room in tears. The judge moved by the little boy’s anguish, shifted allegiances and ordered that unless Cohen and his client could prove that Jeff was an unfit father, the little boy was not to leave the country.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">But it was a case of out of the frying pan, into the fire.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">As a result of the judge’s ruling, Cohen turned his attention during the remainder of the hearing to attempting to prove that Jeff was an unfit father.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Jeff said that he believes Cohen was strategic in planning this maneuver in order to put him and his client on the offensive and Jeff and his attorney on the defensive.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The well being of the child involved was clearly not Cohen’s priority, Jeff says.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Getting his client whatever she was, even at the expense of the child.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Jeff was suspicious that Cohen was even able to assert influence over the legal guardian appointed to objectively look out for the child’s best interests. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">“Things were done and accomplished that could only have been done with them (the legal guardian and Cohen) working as a team.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">I was questioned much more often and much harsher than my ex-wife.”</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">When Jeff later confronted the legal guardian about siding with Robert Cohen, the guardian flippantly replied, “Well, what’s done is done.”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Though he is a giant of intimidation, Robert Cohen stands less than 5’6” tall.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">One woman said, “My lawyer and I used to make fun of him because we thought he bought his suits in the children’s department.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">We always made a point of lowering the lectern for him before he would get up to speak in court…Humor was the only way for me to cope with the ridiculous lies he was telling about me in court.”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">It seems evident that Cohen likes to play dirty, but just how far will he go to win his case?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Although, he doesn’t break any criminal laws, one woman whose ex husband had hired Robert Cohen said she discovered that her first lawyer had been approached by Cohen about joining his firm, Cohen Lans LLP, while he was still representing her. She said she began noticing that her lawyer was not looking out for her best interests and, more often than not, sided with Cohen and her ex-husband.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">She confronted him saying, “If I didn’t know better I’d say you were bought.” </span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Her lawyer eventually came clean about his conflict of interest and she was forced to find a new attorney and start from scratch. Her divorce dragged on for 7 long years and cost over 2 million dollars in legal fees.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Another who faced off in court against the “pit bull” recalls with disgust, “The man goes through your trash.” Glenn (name has also been changed) went through a well-publicized custody battle that, thanks to Cohen’s connections, received one-sided coverage in the press in favor of Glenn’s wife.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Cohen and his client were not shy about publicly smearing him in articles in order to gain an upper hand. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Robert Cohen may or may not literally go through someone’s trash, but those that were brave enough to speak about their encounters with him felt as though they had been violated to that extent. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Another woman was furious when Cohen confiscated her family’s computer that she also used for work. The most frustrating part of her case, she recounts, was that she and her husband had been separated for quite some time and had an amicable relationship.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">They had worked out joint custody and a division of most of their assets without intervention from a lawyer.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">To finalize the divorce her ex-husband hired Robert Cohen, and suddenly the divorce went from amicable to vicious.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Custody of the kids was even used as a bargaining chip for Cohen and his client in an attempt to get more money in the settlement. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Ironically for an attorney that has written a book on keeping marriage alive and protecting the kids in a divorce, preserving the family unit is obviously not something Cohen is actually concerned about.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">It appears instead, that his top priorities are getting paid and making sure his client gets what they want at any cost.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The question that many would like to ask him is “How do you look at yourself in the mirror Bob?”</span></p> <!--EndFragment-->SDERKINShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10237336272779467363noreply@blogger.com4