All of us at Cohn Lifland Pearlman Herrmann Herrmann & Knopf mourn the passing of our colleague, mentor, and friend, Albert L. Cohn.
Albert was one of New Jersey’s pre-eminent litigation attorneys until his passing on December 27, 2011. The practice of law was literally in his blood. He was born in Paterson, New Jersey to a family of accomplished attorneys. After graduating from Georgetown University (cum laude) and Harvard Law School and following his honorable discharge from the United States Air Force, Albert joined the law practice of his father, David Cohn. He remained with the firm for his entire professional career--growing it to a full-service firm of more than 20 attorneys today.
In his 57 years of service to the bar, Albert excelled as a vigorous and dynamic litigator both at the trial and appellate levels. He garnered numerous professional accolades and distinctions--including peer designation as an “AV” rated lawyer in the Martindale Hubbell Law Directory. In addition to his professional achievements, Albert was a prolific author and his articles appeared in numerous publications.
Albert’s contributions to the legal community go far beyond his individual professional achievements. He was always an active member of his national, state and local Bar Associations, including his dedicated service as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a delegate to the General Council of the New Jersey Bar Association and a trustee of the Bergen County Bar Foundation.
A staunch proponent of legal education, Albert taught as an adjunct professor at Rutgers Law School (Newark) for 26 years. He also served as Chair of the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education and was the first recipient of the Alfred C. Clapp Award in legal education, presented annually to an attorney or judge for excellence in legal education. He received a special achievement award from NJ ICLE in 2007, he was a founder of the Morris Pashman Inn of Court, serving on its executive committee, and he was a member of the permanent faculty of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy in New Jersey.
In addition to his contributions to the legal community, Albert was an active patron of the arts, serving as a trustee of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and trustee (and, subsequently, trustee emeritus) of the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players--proudly appearing in three of its performances (albeit in non-singing roles) at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
At Albert’s funeral on December 29, 2011, Bergen County Assignment Judge, the Honorable Peter E. Doyne, noted that the hallmark of Albert’s legal career was his indefatigability whether representing a client or tirelessly working to better the legal profession in New Jersey. As noted by Judge Doyne, even though Mr. Cohn may no longer be with us, his legacy of 57 years of dedication to the legal community lives on.
Indeed, Albert was the true embodiment of the Cohn Lifland Pearlman Herrmann & Knopf motto: “A Firm Commitment to Excellence.” He will be greatly missed by all of us.
