Jerome Cohen, Legal Pioneer Who Bridged East and West, Leaves Lasting Legacy in Chinese Law
Trailblazing Scholar Transformed Understanding of China’s Legal Landscape While Championing Human Rights
Jerome A. Cohen, whose groundbreaking work established Chinese legal studies in American academia and who later became one of the first Westerners to practice commercial law in the People’s Republic of China, has died at the age of 93. Throughout his illustrious career spanning more than six decades, Cohen not only shaped generations of scholars, diplomats, and legal practitioners but also emerged as a prominent voice advocating for human rights and the rule of law in China during periods of both engagement and tension between Beijing and Washington.
As the founder of Chinese legal studies in the United States, Cohen’s influence extended far beyond academia. His journey began in the 1960s at Harvard Law School, where he established the country’s first program dedicated to studying Chinese law at a time when the subject was virtually nonexistent in Western legal education. “When I started, there was no field,” Cohen once remarked in an interview with The New York Times. “People thought I was wasting my career.” This pioneering spirit characterized Cohen’s approach throughout his life – seeing opportunity where others perceived barriers and building bridges across seemingly unbridgeable divides. His early scholarly work, including his seminal 1968 book “The Criminal Process in the People’s Republic of China,” provided Westerners with unprecedented insights into a legal system that had remained largely opaque to outside observers.
Cohen’s academic contributions, however significant, represent only one facet of his remarkable career. In the wake of President Nixon’s historic 1972 visit to China and the subsequent normalization of diplomatic relations, Cohen recognized the potential for legal practice in a China gradually opening to international commerce. In 1979, he joined the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, becoming one of the first foreign lawyers to establish a commercial practice in China. During this period, Cohen advised numerous multinational corporations navigating China’s emerging market economy while simultaneously helping Chinese enterprises understand Western legal frameworks. His practical experience in China’s evolving legal landscape complemented his scholarly expertise, giving him a uniquely comprehensive perspective that few could match. “Understanding China requires more than just studying texts,” Cohen frequently told his students. “It demands engagement with the living reality of how law functions – or fails to function – in Chinese society.”
The depth of Cohen’s impact becomes evident when considering the remarkable network of students and mentees who went on to shape U.S.-China relations across multiple domains. His former students include prominent academics, diplomats, legal practitioners, and policy experts who have influenced bilateral relations for decades. At Harvard and later at New York University School of Law, where he founded the U.S.-Asia Law Institute in 2006, Cohen mentored figures who would go on to lead major institutions and shape international policy. Beyond formal teaching, Cohen demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to developing talent, often connecting promising students with opportunities and maintaining lifelong relationships with those he mentored. “Jerry didn’t just teach about China’s legal system; he created an entire field and populated it with brilliant minds,” said Elizabeth Economy, a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. “His legacy lives on through the hundreds of scholars and practitioners who carry forward his commitment to understanding China through its laws and legal institutions.”
Perhaps most notably, as China’s global influence expanded and its human rights record came under increased scrutiny, Cohen emerged as a principled voice advocating for political prisoners, religious minorities, and civil society activists facing persecution. Despite his extensive business and governmental connections in China, Cohen never hesitated to speak out against injustice, even when doing so complicated his professional relationships or limited his access to the country. His commentaries in international media outlets and testimony before Congress provided clear-eyed analysis of China’s legal developments while highlighting cases of individuals suffering from systemic abuses. Cohen’s advocacy was distinguished by its precision and fairness; he avoided ideological extremes while insisting that China’s leadership be held accountable to the country’s own constitutional principles and international commitments. “The rule of law isn’t a Western concept being imposed on China,” Cohen frequently argued. “It represents universal principles that Chinese intellectuals and ordinary citizens have fought for throughout their modern history.”
As U.S.-China relations deteriorated in recent years amid trade disputes, technological competition, and geopolitical tensions, Cohen continued to argue for constructive engagement while acknowledging the significant challenges facing bilateral relations. He criticized policies from both countries that undermined cooperation, warning that isolating China would not advance human rights or security interests. Even into his nineties, Cohen maintained an active schedule of writing, speaking, and advising on Chinese legal developments, demonstrating an intellectual vitality and commitment that inspired colleagues decades his junior. His final years were dedicated to documenting his experiences and insights in memoir form while continuing to mentor young scholars. The complex legacy Cohen leaves behind – as scholar, practitioner, bridge-builder, and human rights advocate – reflects the multifaceted nature of U.S.-China relations themselves. As both countries navigate an uncertain future in their relationship, Cohen’s example of principled engagement, rigorous analysis, and unwavering commitment to human dignity offers valuable guidance for the next generation of China specialists. “Understanding doesn’t require approval,” Cohen often reminded his audiences, “but without understanding, we cannot hope to build a more just and peaceful world.”
A Scholar’s Journey: From Harvard to the Heart of Chinese Legal Reform
Cohen’s intellectual journey began far from the corridors of Chinese government offices where he would eventually advise on legal reforms. Born in 1930 to a Jewish family in New Jersey, Cohen demonstrated exceptional academic abilities from an early age. After graduating from Yale University and Yale Law School, he clerked for Supreme Court Justices Stanley Reed and Felix Frankfurter, experiences that shaped his deep respect for constitutional governance and judicial independence. These formative professional years gave little indication that Cohen would eventually become the preeminent Western expert on Chinese law, but they instilled in him the rigorous analytical framework that would serve him throughout his career. The pivotal moment came in 1960 when, as a young professor at Berkeley Law School specializing in international law, Cohen made a fateful decision to focus on China at a time when the country remained largely isolated from Western academic inquiry.
The challenges Cohen faced in establishing Chinese legal studies were formidable. When he moved to Harvard Law School in 1964 to establish its East Asian Legal Studies program, he encountered skepticism from colleagues who questioned whether Communist China even had a legal system worthy of scholarly attention. Undeterred, Cohen mastered Mandarin Chinese, cultivated relationships with scholars in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and meticulously gathered materials on Chinese legal practices that were largely inaccessible to Western researchers. His methodology was groundbreaking – combining textual analysis of legal documents with interviews of former mainland residents and close observation of how disputes were actually resolved in practice. This approach yielded insights that transcended ideological assumptions prevalent during the Cold War era and established a template for empirically grounded scholarship on Chinese law that continues to influence the field today.
During China’s Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), when formal legal institutions were largely dismantled, Cohen’s scholarly focus adapted to examine how the absence of formal law affected Chinese society. Rather than abandoning his field as irrelevant during this turbulent period, he documented how informal dispute resolution mechanisms operated and analyzed the political campaigns that replaced judicial processes. This flexibility and commitment to understanding China on its own terms, rather than through preconceived Western frameworks, became hallmarks of Cohen’s intellectual approach. His scholarly contributions during this period helped Western policymakers maintain some understanding of Chinese governance during a time of radical upheaval, providing an essential foundation for the diplomatic opening that would follow under President Nixon.
From Classroom to Courtroom: Pioneering Legal Practice in a Changing China
The normalization of U.S.-China relations in 1979 coincided with the beginning of China’s economic reforms under Deng Xiaoping, creating unprecedented opportunities for legal engagement. Cohen’s transition from academia to legal practice at this pivotal moment demonstrated his remarkable ability to adapt to changing circumstances while maintaining intellectual integrity. At Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, he established one of the first foreign law practices in Beijing, advising clients on navigating China’s evolving commercial regulations. His practical work included negotiating some of the first major joint ventures between American companies and Chinese state enterprises – complex transactions that required not only legal expertise but also cultural fluency and political acumen.
During this period, Cohen witnessed firsthand China’s halting progress toward developing a more predictable legal framework for commercial activities. He served as advisor to Chinese legal institutions drafting new economic legislation and training judges and lawyers in international commercial practices. Through this work, Cohen gained unparalleled insights into the internal deliberations shaping China’s legal reforms. His unique position straddling Western and Chinese legal worlds made him an invaluable resource for businesses, governments, and international organizations seeking to understand China’s rapidly evolving legal landscape. “Jerry could translate not just the language but the concepts and assumptions underlying Chinese legal thinking in ways that made them comprehensible to Western audiences,” noted Donald Clarke, professor at George Washington University Law School and a former student of Cohen’s. “Equally important, he could explain Western legal concepts to Chinese counterparts in terms that resonated with their own traditions and experiences.”
Cohen’s commercial practice, however, never compromised his commitment to advancing fundamental legal principles. He consistently advocated for greater transparency, judicial independence, and procedural protections within China’s developing legal system. In meetings with Chinese officials and in his public commentary, Cohen emphasized how strengthening the rule of law would benefit China’s economic development and international standing. This principled approach earned him respect from Chinese legal reformers while maintaining his credibility with Western observers. Cohen’s ability to engage constructively with Chinese institutions while remaining true to his values demonstrated that commercial interests and human rights advocacy need not be mutually exclusive in foreign policy toward China.
