Arthur Michael Cohen is recognized by Continental Who's Who
NEW YORK, Oct. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Arthur Michael Cohen is recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Pinnacle Lifetime Member in the field of Law in recognition of his role as Partner of Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP.
Member in the field of Law in recognition of his role as Partner of Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP.
With its establishment at the dawn of 1854, and a rich history to contribute to its longstanding success, Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP is the only major law firm in the United States whose practice is devoted almost exclusively to public finance and public projects. Long recognized as providing to its clients excellent legal services, the lawyers at Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP are expertly equipped to act as bond counsel, special tax counsel, borrower's counsel, disclosure counsel, underwriters counsel and bank counsel in state and local municipal bond issues, as well as to provide unparalleled legal representation in connection with alternative project delivery, securitizations and public-private partnerships, among other areas.
With over forty-two years of experience practicing at Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP, Arthur Cohen is commended for his outstanding contribution to the field of public finance. Having spent his entire professional career in lower Manhattan, Arthur Cohen is most proud of his role as counsel to the underwriters for the multiple municipal bond financings necessary to provide funds for the reconstruction of each of Towers 3, 4 and 7 of New York's World Trade Center, as well as for the financing of the office building known as One Bryant Park in Times Square utilizing for the first time a combined financing structure of both municipal revenue bonds and collateralized mortgage-backed securities. A prominent professional in the field, Arthur Cohen has attained expertise within the areas of economic development, government finance and project finance.
Arthur grew up near Yankee Stadium in the Bronx with his mother and older brother (his father having died when Arthur was only three), and knew he wanted to be an attorney from a relatively young age. He recalls that in his Law School applications he cited to two motivating influences: the movie starring Gregory Peck entitled "To Kill a Mockingbird", and the short story, "The Devil and Daniel Webster" by the author Stephen Vincent Benét. Having been accepted in accelerated public school courses, Arthur skipped both the third and eighth grade, and graduated from the Bronx High School of Science at the age of 16. He then continued his education and attended the City College of New York where, as a Pre-Law Major, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. His family not being able to afford for Arthur to attend Law School immediately after college, he worked for one year as a stock record clerk at a Wall Street banking firm. Thereafter, Arthur would then go on to attend Brooklyn Law School, where he received his Juris Doctor Degree graduating magna cum laude and being an Articles Editor of the school's Law Review.
In his last year of Law School, as is the case with most Law School students, Arthur sent out his resume to many law firms including Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP – and he received a very polite rejection letter from the then hiring partner. However, because Arthur is a firm believer that sometimes fate or luck will sometimes lend you a helping hand, Arthur forgot to note the rejection on his tally of law firm responses. And so, a month later, Arthur sent out more resumes, including a repeat resume to Hawkins Delafield, and a new hiring partner invited Arthur to interview and gave Arthur an offer. Public finance as a practice area was not one for which Arthur had a familiarity, but he embraced it and worked hard to succeed at it.
Arthur was made a partner in his seventh year at the firm. His work and professional philosophy as an Associate, and which continues while a Partner, could be summed up in four principles: (i) arrive early to the office and work as long as is necessary to satisfy both the transaction's schedule and your client's needs; (ii) when faced with multiple tasks, begin with the most difficult or least appealing task, and the remaining tasks will be easily effected; (iii) relate to your clients and your adversaries as a person, treat all with respect, and use in-person or telephone communication (rather than e-mail messages) to establish relationships and points in common; and (iv) if you have a sense of humor, use it -- not only to win and keep clients, but also as a tool in advancing your client's interests.
Arthur met his wife Susan on a tour of Israel (and perhaps not so coincidentally, shortly after he placed within the Western Wall in Jerusalem a note from his mother asking for divine help in finding a wife for her son). He plays racquetball, enjoys water sports and biking, is active in his local temple, and is an avid reader of mysteries, thrillers and other forms of literary escape. He continually negotiates with Susan to not throw out his many books, as he was told early on that "books are your friends, and since you don't throw out your friends, you also should not throw out your books." Arthur and Susan live in Short Hills, New Jersey with their daughter Samara and their son Adam, both of whom are attending college, and neither of whom desires to be a lawyer ("Dad works too hard").
To further his professional development, Arthur Cohen is a proud and active member of several organizations including the National Association of Bond Lawyers, the Council of Development Finance Agencies, the New York State Economic Development Council, and the New York State Bar Association. Additionally, he regularly lectures and teaches before varied organizations.
In recognition of his professional accolades, Arthur Cohen was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Development Finance Agencies in 2016, was named Super Lawyer in the New York Metropolitan Area for Government Finance for each of years 2006 through 2017, and was recognized by Marquis Who's Who as a Distinguished Humanitarian and for Inclusion in Who's Who in America (2017).
Arthur Cohen dedicates this recognition with special thanks to his wife Susan, his children Samara and Adam, his mother of blessed memory Rose Ellen Cohen, and his brother Howard Lloyd Cohen. He also specially dedicates this recognition to Robert C. Rosenberg, his late mentor at Hawkins Delafield who gave him his chance to succeed (the "new hiring partner who invited Arthur to interview" and who taught Arthur everything about the practice).
For more information, please visit https://www.hawkins.com/
Contact: Katherine Green , 516-825-5634, [email protected]
SOURCE Continental Who's Who
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