Top Rated Family Law Attorney in New York, NY

Honors/Awards:

• Top Lists New York - Metro Super Lawyers
• Top 100 New York: 2010-2021
• Top 50 Women Attorneys New York: 2009-2021
• 2021 Peer Rated for Highest Level of Professional Practice
• Highest rating for many years, AV Preeminent Rated 5.0, Martindale Hubbell, 2021
• Selected as one of NYC's top 100 attorneys for many years, Top 100 Attorneys, New York Metro Super Lawyers, 2019

Special Licenses/Certifications:

• Mediation Committee of the New York State Supreme Court, County of New York, 2019

Bar/Professional Activity:

• Executive Board, New York State Bar Association Family Law Section, 2021
• Member, President’s Advisory Council, Brooklyn Law School
• Committee on Matrimonial Law, New York City Bar Association
• Past President, New York Women's Bar Association
• Fellow, American Bar Foundation
• Member, New York State Bar Association
• Member, New York County Lawyers' Association

Pro bono/Community Service:

• Child Support Commission of the State of New York
• Foster Care Commission of the City of New York

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are set to wed in May 2018 — but they’re skipping a step many modern couples take to protect their finances in the case of divorce. According to the Daily Mail, Prince Harry and Markle aren’t signing a prenuptial agreement. In fact, Prince Harry’s older brother Prince William also didn’t sign a prenup before marrying Kate Middleton in 2011, Fox News reported. For the average American couple, this might be a dangerous choice. But for couples in the UK, it’s somewhat expected. Prenups were only introduced in the United Kingdom fairly recently — and they’re still not very popular. In a 2010 ruling, the Supreme Court held that “courts should give effect to a pre-nuptial agreement that is freely entered into by each party, with a full appreciation of its implications,” unless it would be unfair to the parties, according to a 2017 briefing paper from the House of Commons. Before that, prenups were not always enforceable in the UK. In fact, said Harriet Cohen, a partner at Cohen Stine Kapoor LLP, a family law firm in New York City, prenups were considered “non-romantic.” As for royal couples specifically, Cohen said Prince William and Prince Harry likely don’t have much property of their own that they’d be trying to protect in a divorce. As Business Insider’s Áine Cain reported, national treasures like the Crown Jewels or the Tower of London are part of the royal collection. The monarch holds them in trust for the nation. (Still, Cohen said the royal couple may have confidential non-disclosure agreements upon marrying that are not made public.) In the United States, prenups are handled differently by state. Cohen said that in New York, for example, a prenup is typically upheld. But assets that you inherit typically do not get divided in the event of a divorce.If you're not marrying into royalty, you should consider signing a prenupAll that said, a prenup still makes sense for many modern (non-royal) couples. As Business Insider previously reported, a prenup typically determines the fate of property and other assets that either person brings to the marriage, as well as the assets they’ve acquired together, upon divorce. It might sound unromantic, to plan for a relationship's demise, but in actuality, it's practical. Just because you've prepared for the worst doesn't mean the worst will happen — and if it does, you know your hard-earned assets aren't at risk. Terry Savage, coauthor of "The New Love Deal: Everything You Must Know Before Marrying, Moving In, Or Moving On!," wrote: “The point is to discuss and plan now, while you are most in love and most in tune with each other, not later, when you need to argue it out, and these become power issues as much as financial or social issues.” Savage herself went through a divorce, and found that in her own experience, "divorce was made easier by having an agreement that left no debate about finances," she wrote. Interestingly, wealthy couples in the US are starting to draft more creative prenups that address other issues besides finances. For example, as Business Insider’s Rachel Gillett reported, Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake have an infidelity clause in their prenup: Biel will receive $500,000 if Timberlake cheats. If you’re already married and starting to panic, don’t: Some couples draft post-nuptial agreements instead, that are created after they're married. At the very least, you and your spouse should talk openly and honestly about money — before and after the wedding., Contributor, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Aren't Signing a Prenup, BUSINESS INSIDER, Legal, 2018
• https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2019/07/26/divorce-vs-death-pecuniary-rights-and-how-they-differ/, Author, Divorce vs. Death, NYLJ.com, Family Law, 2020
• New York Times  Planning Divorce? Manage Your Divorce Expectations  Family Law Attorney Harriet Newman Cohen discusses what to expect  January 31, 2021 , Discussion with Experts in the Field, Planning Divorce? What to Expect, New York Times, Legal, 2021
• Covid and Divorce, Interview, Manage Your Divorce Expectations, DNYUZ, Legal, 2021
• Super Lawyer New York Metro The Legal, the Illegal, and the Inadvisable: What to know about digital spying during a divorce Harriet Newman Cohen, October 9, 2020https://www.superlawyers.com/new-york-metro/article/what-to-know-about-digital-spying-during-a-divorce/369afa02-38fc-4b17-85ae-0d4ada8b4408.htmlhttps://www.superlawyers.com/new-york-metro/article/what-to-know-about-digital-spying-during-a-divorce/369afa02-38fc-4b17-85ae-0d4ada8b4408.html, What to Know About Digital Spying, Custody, Divorce, Family Law, Matrimonial, 2020
• https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2020/07/24/surrogacy-agreements-approved-by-new-york-with-provisos/, Co Author, Surrogacy Agreements Approved by New York - With Provisos, New York Law Journal, Custody, Divorce, Family Law, Matrimonial, 2020
• A Glimpse Into Client Fears in Domestic Relations Cases Harriet Newman Cohen authors chapter in Heidi K. Brown’s, Untangling Fear in Lawyering, 2019 American Bar Association, Author of Chapter, A Glimpse Into Client Fears in Domestic Relation Cases, American Bar Association, Heidi K. Brown, Divorce Custody Family Matrimonial Law, 2019
• https://www.superlawyers.com/new-york-metro/article/the-second-life-of-harriet-cohen/ef73c7f2-1bec-4b82-a635-a882498e3327.html, The Second Life of Harriet Newman Cohen, New York Super Lawyers 2008 - Metro, Divorce, Family Law
• New York Law Journal, July 27, 2015, N.Y.'s Proposed Maintenance Guidelines
• New York Law Journal July 29, 2013, Automatic Orders' Prevent Wrongful Asset Transfers in Divorce Actions
• New York Law Journal, July 28, 2014, Child Support Modifications Are Easier After 2010 Amendments
• New York Law Journal, July 30, 2012, Unwrapping the 2012 'No Fault' Package” by Harriet Newman Cohen and Tim James
• New York Law Journal. August 1, 2011, Marriage Equality Remains an Aspiration. Non-recognition statutes pose legal complications for same-sex unions
• New York Law Journal Family Law, August 9, 2010, What's Equitable When Distributing Businesses, Enhanced Earning Capacity?
• New York Law Journal, August 10, 2009, Downward Modification In A Troubled Economy
• New York Law Journal, August 26, 2009, Needs of Children, Snapshot, Not Movie, Letter to the Editor
• New York Law Journal, July 30, 2007, The Alienated Child
• New York Law Journal, July 28, 2008, Egregious To a Fault
• New York Law Journal, August 7, 2006, To Have or Have Not (a Prenuptial Agreement)?
• New York Law Journal, June 6, 2005, When Custody is Truly Contested, Who Decides Best Interests?
• New York State Law Reporting Bureau January 3, 2013, Bonnie Rabin and Martha Cohen Stine make law in Appellate Division, First Department in Nederlander v. Nederlander, 102 A.D. 3d 416 (2013), case of first impression involving mortgages that matured during pendency of divorce action
• New York Law Journal, June 7, 2004, Equating 'Best' With 'Only' in Interstate Custody Cases Under the UCCJEA
• New York Law Journal, July 14, 2003, Limiting Discovery in Custody Cases
• New York Law Journal, July 15, 2002, Is 'Braiman' Still Vital After 24 Years?
• The Divorce Book for Men and Women: A Step-By-Step Guide to Gaining Your Freedom Without Losing Everything Else, Avon Publishers, New York City, July 1994, Divorce Book for Men and Women: A Step-By-Step Guide to Gaining Your Freedom Without Losing Everything Else, Divorce Law
• Co-author, Valuation of Property in Marital Dissolutions, XXIII ABA Fam. L.Q.2, Summer 1989, Co-Author, Valuation of Property in Marital Dissolutions, XXIII ABA Fam. L.Q.2
• Harriet Cohen writes regular analyses and articles for the edification of bench, bar and lay persons, including a yearly article on matrimonial and family law for the New York Law Journal special Matrimonial Section., Yearly articles on matrimonial and family law for the New York Law Journal special Matrimonial Section.
• JMHS Alumni News, Harriet Newman Cohen' 49: From Latin to Family Law
• The Magazine of Brooklyn Law School, Harriet Cohen '74 The Marriage Broker
• Member and Editor, Brooklyn Law School Law Review, 1972-1974, Law Review Member and Editor, 1972-1974, Brooklyn Law School
• Panelist, Annual ABA Family Law Meetings, ABA Family Law Panelist
• Harriet Cohen, who has taught CLE courses, has been a panelist at annual ABA Family Law Meetings as well as a featured speaker for other professional and bar associations and groups., Professional and Bar Associations and Organizations, Panelist and Featured Speaker

Verdicts/Settlements:

• Mediation Committee of the New York State Supreme Court, County of New York, 2019

Representative Clients:

• Paul George (NBA star), Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Lawrence Fishburne, Linda Lavin, (Wife of) Howard Stern and many other celebrities

Other Outstanding Achievements:

• Honored by Brooklyn Law School as Alumna of the Year, 2020

Educational Background:

• Barnard College, B.A.
• Bryn Mawr College, M.A.