Sharing Our Memories: Harriet Newman Cohen
2.17.2026
In honor of our 150th anniversary, we asked longtime, involved members for their recollections of the New York State Bar Association.
Harriet Newman Cohen, who serves on the executive committee of the Family Law Section, recalled when her fellow bar members helped her husband during a medical emergency.
“My husband fainted during a section meeting. There was another one of my colleagues – she was usually an adversary. Her husband was a doctor, too. They came running over, and they helped my husband. They came along with us in the ambulance, and we went to the local hospital. We bonded over that.”
She also spoke of the bonds stemming from her first Family Law Section meeting in Saratoga.
“I was a brand-new lawyer. I went with them to the ballet. I went with them to Trotters, and I went with them to a concert, and I just fell in love with the meetings.
“I was at the bottom of the totem pole at that point. These people were luminaries that I had the opportunity to socialize with, to meet, to develop relationships. We had a camaraderie, and I realized that there was nothing like being part of a bar association, particularly this bar association. They were all very, very good to me. They introduced me to the New York State Bar Association, and I have never missed a meeting since 1980. I have gone every single summer.
“I always bring my firm – including my youngest people whom I mentor – and we always sit in the first row at the CLE. So everybody in the Family Law Section knows that Harriet Cohen’s firm is in the first row.”
Do you have a special memory you want to share in honor of our 150th anniversary? Email rmelnitsky@nysba.org and your memory may be featured on our website.
