This is the fascinating story of the life of lawyer Harriet Newman Cohen over eight decades. Cohen’s very readable memoir begins with her background and family life. From the late 1940s to spring 1971, Cohen describes her parents, education at Barnard, unfortunate marriage and the reality of separating from her husband and raising her daughters as a single mom. Beginning in 1071, the focus of Cohen’s life shifted from being an educated wife and mother to pursuing a career-forward education in order to make ends meet, and for self-realization.
By this time, the women’s liberation movement had begun. Cohen was admitted to Brooklyn Law School at thirty-eight as one of the oldest students and one of a handful of women studying the law. She studied and prepared while her daughters raised each other and themselves. While feeling regret and dealing with resentment from her daughters, Cohen continued with her objective relentlessly, hoping that the ends would justify the means — not just for herself and her daughters, but also for women at large.
Divorce was viewed as a tragic failure until the 1980 reform, part of the so-called “Divorce Revolution,” which changed prenuptial agreements from dealing only with death-related financial matters, to consulting during the period of the actual marriage and through the issues of divorce. Matrimonial lawyers took charge of counsel and negotiations, replacing the estate lawyers who had been used previously. Cohen felt “a calling” to become a matrimonial lawyer because of her own poor marriage experience. She was studious, ambitious, and singleminded in her untiring efforts to establish herself within this world.
Cohen pays tribute to those who helped her along the way. Dr. Arthur Feinberg became her best friend and role model of a professional with empathy and ethics. His career and leadership in the fields of geriatrics and palliative care flourished. Feinberg became an integral part of Cohen’s and her daughters’ lives, and afforded her the opportunity to meet many notable people in her field. Harriet joined Louis Nizer’s law practice and networked with many movers and shakers of the corporate world. Nizer became a dear mentor and friend. Cohen proved herself, eventually getting “her name on the door.”
Cohen was dedicated to making major reforms in divorce law and to help her clientele, who were at first mostly women, to receive the best counsel. Tales of jealousy and competitiveness ran rampant among the lawyers that Harriet worked with, but she continued to plow through, improving herself as a professional and bettering her clients’ lives. Though she remained focused on women’s rights and equality, Harriet built a reputation for responsibility, fairness, and decency and was sought out by high-profile male clients as well.
Cohen built her own firms with various partners until eventually becoming part of Cohen Stine Kapoor. One of Cohen’s daughters is a significant lawyer in the firm. The author acknowledges her wealth of good relationships with her daughters, their partners and their children and grandchildren. Her love for family and respect for mentors is apparent throughout this book.
Miriam Bradman Abrahams, mom, grandmom, avid reader, sometime writer, born in Havana, raised in Brooklyn, residing in Long Beach on Long Island. Longtime former One Region One Book chair and JBC liaison for Nassau Hadassah, currently presenting Incident at San Miguel with author AJ Sidransky who wrote the historical fiction based on her Cuban Jewish refugee family’s experiences during the revolution. Fluent in Spanish and Hebrew, certified hatha yoga instructor.
