Henry Rodgin "Rodge" Cohen (born 1944) is a prominent corporate lawyer whose practice focuses on commercial banking and financial institutions. He is currently the senior chairman of the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.

Early life and education

Henry Rodgin Cohen was born in 1944, in the Fort Hill section of Charleston, West Virginia to Louis and Bertie (Rodgin) Cohen. His father ran drugstores and his mother was a high school teacher. After studying in the local public schools through junior high, Cohen attended and graduated from

Deerfield Academy Deerfield Academy is an elite coeducational preparatory school in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1797, it is one of the oldest secondary schools in the United States. It is a member of the Eight Schools Association, the Ten Schools Admis ...

in Massachusetts. He then graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

(1965), and Harvard Law School (1968).

Career

After two years in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

as a military lawyer at

Fort Monmouth, New Jersey Fort Monmouth is a former installation of the Department of the Army in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The post is surrounded by the communities of Eatontown, Tinton Falls and Oceanport, New Jersey, and is located about from the Atlantic Ocean. ...

, Cohen joined Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in 1970. Cohen served as Sullivan & Cromwell's Chairman from 2000 through the end of 2009.

The Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

has called Cohen "one of the biggest players on Wall Street". The

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

refers to Cohen as "arguably the country's leading banking lawyer". He has been called "the trauma surgeon of Wall Street". Cohen participated in the bank negotiations in January 1981 that resulted in the freeing of the Americans held during the

Iran hostage crisis On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over ...

. Cohen has also been a key player in the resolution of most major bank failures in recent decades, including

Continental Illinois The Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company was at one time the seventh-largest commercial bank in the United States as measured by deposits, with approximately $40 billion in assets. In 1984, Continental Illinois became the largest ...

, First City, Southeast,

Franklin National Bank Franklin National Bank, based in Franklin Square on Long Island, New York was once the United States' 20th largest bank. On October 8, 1974, it collapsed in obscure circumstances, involving Michele Sindona, renowned Mafia-banker and member of ...

and Bank of New England and, at the recommendation of the

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...

, the

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

thrift crisis during the U.S. Savings and Loan crisis in the 1980s. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Cohen was a leader in the Wall Street community rallying support for Lower Manhattan. Cohen is a trustee of

New York Presbyterian Hospital The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools, Cornell University and Columbia University. The hospital comprises seven distinct campuses located in the New ...

, the

Hackley School Hackley School is a private college preparatory school located in Tarrytown, New York, and is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. Founded in 1899 by a wealthy philanthropist, Frances Hackley, Hackley was intended to be a Unitarian al ...

, Hampton University and

The Economic Club of New York The Economic Club of New York is a U.S. nonprofit and non-partisan membership organization dedicated to promoting the study and discussion of social, economic and political questions. History Founded in 1907, the Economic Club of New York is t ...

, and is a member of the advisory boards of Wall Street Rising,

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

of Westchester- Putnam and the

University of Charleston The University of Charleston (UC) is a private non-profit university with its main campus in Charleston, West Virginia. The university also has a location in Beckley, West Virginia, known as UC-Beckley. History The school was founded in 1888 as ...

. In 2009, Cohen was rumored to be considered for the post of

Deputy Secretary of the Treasury The United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, in the United States government, advises and assists the Secretary of the Treasury in the supervision and direction of the Department of the Treasury and its activities, and succeeds the Secret ...

in the Obama administration. Regarding the worst economic crisis in 80 years, Cohen defended the financial system and Wall Street: "I am far from convinced there was something inherently wrong with the system." Cohen was played by Robert J. Hogan in the 2011 film ''

Too Big to Fail "Too big to fail" (TBTF) and "too big to jail" is a theory in banking and finance that asserts that certain corporations, particularly financial institutions, are so large and so interconnected that their failure would be disastrous to the great ...

''.

Early life and education

Career

References

Further reading