The Cornell Club Welcomes Carrie H. Cohen: Public Corruption and the Law

Carrie H. Cohen '89 has a distinguished record of success in the courtroom handling high‑stakes litigation, with a particular focus on white-collar and securities cases. Ms. Cohen will discuss her experience as the lead prosecutor for the United States Attorney's Office in one of New York's biggest corruption trials – the conviction of Sheldon Silver, the longtime Speaker of the New York State Assembly, on corruption and money laundering charges. 

Ms. Cohen is a partner at Morrison & Foerster, LLP where she focuses on white-collar criminal matters, securities and investment fraud cases, internal investigations, regulatory enforcement proceedings, and bribery and enterprise corruption cases.  Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Cohen had a long and distinguished career in government service.   Ms. Cohen served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York and in the New York State Attorney General's Office as Chief of the Public Integrity Unit in the Criminal Division and as an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Bureau where she received the Louis J. Lefkowitz Award for outstanding service. 

In addition to being the lead prosecutor for the Sheldon Silver case, Ms. Cohen prosecuted other significant public corruption cases, including the prosecution of then-New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi for personal use of state employees' time.  Ms. Cohen also tried numerous fraud cases on behalf of the government, including a significant multi-stock securities fraud case and an $80 million Ponzi scheme case. 

Ms. Cohen is an adjunct law professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she teaches a course on public corruption law. Ms. Cohen also is a leader in her profession having served as Vice President of the New York City Bar and Chair of its Executive Committee and Women in the Profession  Committee as well as Chair of the New York State Bar Association's Commercial and Federal Litigation Section.  Ms. Cohen currently serves on the New York State-Federal Judicial Advisory Council, as a member of the House of Delegates of the New York State Bar Association, and as a member of the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice where she spearheads its women in the profession program in Latin America. 

Ms. Cohen earned her undergraduate degree from Cornell University (A&S '89) and her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.  Ms. Cohen serves on the President's Council of Cornell Women and has strong ties to Cornell where her parents met (Richard and Linda Rogers Cohen (A&S '59)) and where she met her husband Rick Lipsey (A&S '89).  

Ms. Cohen lives with her husband and four children on the upper west side of Manhattan.

6:00-6:30pm reception; 6:30pm lecture, gratis. Advance reservations required. Members and guests are invited to dine at The Club with Ms. Cohen following the lecture. The cost is $40 per person, inclusive of tax, gratuity and one glass of wine with dinner. Dinner reservations are required 48 hours prior to the program. Same-day cancellations and no shows will be charged.