JEROME COHEN

COHEN--Jerome A. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP mourned the passing of our beloved friend, partner and of counsel, Jerome A. "Jerry" Cohen, who died on September 22, 2025 at the age of 95. A towering pioneer in the study of the modern Chinese legal system, Jerry was a brilliant scholar, principled advocate and trusted business advisor whose boldness, intellect and integrity shaped generations of lawyers, academics, policymakers and clients. His wisdom, friendship and steadfast commitment to the rule of law were felt throughout the firm community. Born on July 1, 1930, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Jerry graduated from Yale College in 1951 (Phi Beta Kappa), was a Fulbright Scholar in France and earned his law degree from Yale Law School, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. Following law school, he clerked for Chief Justice Earl Warren and Justice Felix Frankfurter of the U.S. Supreme Court, then served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Washington, and as a consultant to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Jerry began his academic career at the University of California School of Law at Berkeley. In 1964, he joined Harvard Law School, where he served as the Jeremiah J. Smith Professor, created and led the East Asia Legal Studies program, and was appointed Associate Dean. At a time when few American lawyers traveled to Asia, Jerry learned Mandarin, engaged directly with scholars and officials, and produced foundational scholarship on Chinese legal institutions. He published a seminal book on Chinese criminal law in the 1960s, even before Americans were permitted to travel to the mainland. In the 1970s, he participated in historic exchanges in Beijing and met with Chinese leaders, including Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping, as part of official delegations. Jerry joined Paul, Weiss in 1981 and quickly established the firm's Asia practice. He opened the firm's Beijing office in 1981 and Hong Kong office in 1983, making Paul, Weiss the first Western law firm with a presence in those jurisdictions. As one of the first, if not the first, American business lawyer on the ground in China, as well as in Vietnam and across East Asia, he negotiated contracts, resolved disputes and advised on complex cross-border investments with rigor, commercial sense and sound judgment. The Asia practice he built served an extraordinary roster, including General Motors, IBM, Amoco, Heinz, Continental Grain, Monsanto, China Light & Power, Schlumberger, Beatrice Foods, Deere & Co., Levi Strauss, Gillette, Morgan Stanley and AT&T. Jerry left the firm in 1991 to join the faculty of NYU School of Law, where he taught courses on doing business in China and founded the U.S.-Asia Law Institute. He returned to Paul, Weiss in 1994, and in 2001 became of counsel, a role he held until his death. A principled and fearless advocate for human rights and the rule of law, Jerry helped secure the freedom of political prisoners and dissidents and used his voice - through scholarship, testimony and regular columns - to press for legal reform. He served in numerous leadership and advisory roles, including as advisor to the Government of Sichuan Province; chairman of the American Arbitration Association's China Conciliation Committee; member of the Panel of Arbitrators of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission and the China Securities Regulatory Commission; trustee of the China Institute in America and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; director of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations; Adjunct Senior Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations; and Director of the Winston Lord Roundtable Series on Asia, the Rule of Law, and U.S. Foreign Policy. He also served as Chairman of the New York/Beijing Friendship (Sister City) Committee; trustee of The Asia Society; corporate director of the Japan Society; vice chairman of the Advisory Council for The Johns Hopkins-Nanjing University Joint Center in China; member of the Boards of Editors of the China Quarterly and the American Journal of International Law; and member of the Advisory Board of Human Rights Watch - Asia. Jerry's impact extended far beyond his scholarship and client work. He mentored an extraordinary array of students and young lawyers - many of whom became leaders in government, academia and legal practice across Asia and the United States - generously sharing his time, connections and counsel. His intellectual curiosity, moral clarity and generosity of spirit were inexhaustible. He remained deeply engaged with his colleagues across Paul, Weiss over the decades. Jerry was survived by his wife, Joan Lebold Cohen, an art historian and photographer and expert on Chinese art; his three sons, Peter, a lawyer, Seth, a doctor, and Ethan, an art gallery owner; several grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.