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Carrie Cohen

Carrie Cohen

Lecturer in Law

Carrie H. Cohen has a distinguished record of success in the courtroom handling high stakes litigation, with a particular focus on white-collar and securities cases. She is a Partner at Morrison & Foerster practicing White Collar Defense. Prior to joining the firm, she was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where she tried public corruption, investment fraud, and securities cases, including securing the conviction of Sheldon Silver, the longtime Speaker of the New York State Assembly, on corruption and money laundering charges. Ms. Cohen also served in the New York State Attorney General’s Office, as Chief of the Public Integrity Unit in the Criminal Division, and prior as Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Bureau, receiving the Louis J. Lefkowitz Memorial Award for outstanding service.

Ms. Cohen is an experienced trial attorney, having tried both criminal and civil cases, and has vast experience conducting large and complex criminal and civil investigations involving federal, state, and local agencies, and regulators. In addition to being the lead prosecutor in the Sheldon Silver case, Ms. Cohen has been lead or co-lead counsel on other significant public corruption cases, including the prosecution of then-state Comptroller Alan Hevesi for personal use of state employees’ time, and on investment and securities fraud trials, including a significant multi-stock securities fraud case and an $80 million Ponzi scheme case. As a former federal and state prosecutor, Ms. Cohen focuses on white-collar criminal matters, securities and investment fraud cases, internal investigations, regulatory enforcement proceedings, bribery and enterprise corruption cases, and consumer, health care, procurement, and tax fraud matters. Prior to her government service, Ms. Cohen spent six years in private practice, including as a litigation associate at Morrison & Foerster.

Ms. Cohen is a bar association leader and regular speaker at white-collar and bar association programs. Among her many public service roles, Ms. Cohen has held numerous bar leadership positions, including serving as the past Vice President of the New York City Bar, as chair of its Executive Committee and a member of its Nominating Committee, and as former Chair of the Federal & Commercial Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association. Ms. Cohen currently serves on the Advisory Group to the New York Federal-State Judicial Council, as a representative to the New York State Bar Association House of Delegates, and as a member of the Federal Bar Council, American Inns of Court. Ms. Cohen also has been a leader in advancing women in the legal profession both in the United States and globally, and currently serves as a member of the New York City Bar’s Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, where she spearheads a professional development program for women attorneys in Latin America.