Professor of Law, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University
Professor Ben Gershman is one of the original faculty members at Pace Law and has taught as a visiting professor at Cornell Law School and Syracuse Law School. While in private practice he specialized in criminal defense litigation. A former prosecutor with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office for six years, he is the author of numerous articles as well as two books on prosecutorial and judicial ethics. He served for four years with the Special State Prosecutor investigating corruption in the judicial system. He is one of the nation’s leading experts on prosecutorial misconduct. He is active on several Bar Association committees, and is a frequent pro bono litigator. Professor Gershman has taught in the London Law Program, and was named James D. Hopkins Professor for the 2007–2009 academic years.
Senior Counsel, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP
Joel Cohen, an experienced white-collar criminal lawyer, joined the firm in 1985 after ten years as a prosecutor, first with the New York State Special Prosecutor’s Office and, second, as an Assistant Attorney-in-Charge with the U.S. Justice Department’s Organized Crime & Racketeering Section (E.D.N.Y.). In those positions, he concentrated in the investigation, prosecution and trial of organized crime figures and corruption cases involving high-ranking public officials in New York, including the top leadership of the Colombo crime family, many members of the elite narcotics division of the New York Police Department, and the first ever prosecution of a sitting FBI agent.
Since arriving at Stroock, Mr. Cohen has represented and actively counseled individuals and corporations that have been investigated and/or prosecuted for alleged federal racketeering, securities violations, tax evasion, bribery, fraud, corruption, obstruction of justice, money laundering, environmental offenses, and customs violations involving alleged international frauds. He has also represented attorneys on ethical issues and in disciplinary proceedings in a number of jurisdictions in the New York area.
The Grand Jury: A Bulwark Against the State? [POLICYbrief]
Bennett L. Gershman, Joel Cohen
The grand jury has been called a sword and shield for the people, but is...