Robert Stephan Cohen (born January 14, 1939) is an American attorney specializing in

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

cases. He is a senior partner at Cohen Clair Lans Greifer & Simpson LLP, a 21-person family law firm in New York City.

Early life

Cohen was born on January 14, 1939, in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, where his father drove a taxi. He was the first member of his family to graduate from college. Cohen received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from

Alfred University Alfred University is a private university in Alfred (village), New York, Alfred, New York. It has a total undergraduate population of approximately 1,600 students. The university hosts the New York State College of Ceramics, which includes The ...

in 1959 when he was 20 years old and worked three jobs to put himself through Fordham University's School of Law, where he received his J.D. in 1962 and served as a Member of the ''Law Review''.

Career

Cohen is a nationally recognized divorce attorney, holding an adjunct professorship at the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and olde ...

. Following his graduation from Fordham School of Law, Cohen worked from 1963 to 1968 with

Roy Cohn Roy Marcus Cohn (; February 20, 1927 – August 2, 1986) was an American lawyer and prosecutor who came to prominence for his role as Senator Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel during the Army–McCarthy hearings in 1954, when he assisted McCarth ...

, an American lawyer who was a member of the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

's prosecution team at the espionage trial of Soviet spies

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Julius Rosenberg (May 12, 1918 – June 19, 1953) and Ethel Rosenberg (; September 28, 1915 – June 19, 1953) were American citizens who were convicted of spying on behalf of the Soviet Union. The couple were convicted of providing top-secret i ...

, in commercial litigation and matrimonial law. In 1969 he left to become the co-founder of another firm, and in 1984 became a founding partner of Morrison Cohen Singer & Weinstein, where for 19 years he was the firm's chairman and headed its matrimonial practice. In 2003, Cohen started Cohen Lans LLP, which in 2011 merged with Clair, Greifer LLP to form Cohen Clair Lans Greifer & Thorpe LLP. Both predecessor firms had been named among Best Law Firms by U.S. News & World Report in its 2010 inaugural edition, and Cohen Clair Lans Greifer & Thorpe has been named "Best" in each subsequent year. He lectures throughout the United States and in Europe. Cohen represented

Julie Roy Julie Roy (born May 11, 1973) is a Canadians, Canadian producer of animated films, who since 2014 is the executive producer of the French animation studio at the National Film Board.adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

of law at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law where he teaches a course entitled "Anatomy of a Divorce." He is a member of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers and a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. He is a former JAG officer and member of

JAG Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judg ...

, representing members of the military and their families. Cohen has been principal attorney in a number of high-profile, high-net-worth dissolutions, for clients in a variety of industries, including finance, entertainment, real estate and politics, in New York and other states across the country. These include Melinda Gates,

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...

, Christie Brinkley, Swedish countess Marie Douglas-David, James Gandolfini, Henry Kravis, Dina Lohan, Marla Maples,

Tommy Mottola Thomas Daniel Mottola (born July 14, 1948) is an American music executive, producer and author. Mottola is currently the Chairman of Mottola Media Group and was previously the Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, parent of the Columb ...

Athina Onassis Athina Hélène Onassis ( el, Αθηνά Ωνάση; born Athina Hélène Roussel ( el, Αθηνά Ρουσσέλ), 29 January 1985) is a French-Greek heiress and equestrian, the only surviving descendant of Greek shipping magnate Aristotle O ...

, Charlotte Sarkozy, Uma Thurman, and Ivana Trump. Cohen's book, ''Reconcilable Differences: Seven Essential Tips to Remaining Together from a Top Matrimonial Lawyer'', was published in 2002. Cohen has been profiled in articles in The Wall Street Journal “The Ultimate Power Hobby”; The New York Times “Counterintelligence; The Patch-up, From the Master of the Split-Up”; Business Inside
"Melinda Gates' divorce lawyer told us how he handles bitter splits between billionaire clients"
and the Financial Time
"The pandemic boosts business for a top New York divorce lawyer"
In 2024 he was named as one of the "Top 200 Lawyers in the United States" by Forbes Magazine.

Personal life

Cohen was an avid marathoner and completed the New York City Marathon in 1983 and 1984, as well as other marathons around the world. Cohen himself is twice-divorced, his first marriage lasted one year; his second, to Margery Rubin, lasted 22 years and gave him three sons. Their four-year divorce battle was finalized in 1994. Cohen is currently married to Stephanie J. Stiefel, a managing director at

Neuberger Berman Neuberger Berman Group LLC is a private, independent, employee-owned investment management firm. The firm manages equities, fixed income, private equity and hedge fund portfolios for global institutional investors, advisors and high-net-worth in ...

, and widow of Eric A. Steifel. He resides in New York City.

Lectures and Publications

Author, ''Reconcilable Differences'', Pocket Books, 2002

References

External links