Legendary IBEW Counsel and Labor Lawyer Was 92

Retired IBEW general counsel Laurence "Larry" Cohen, who served the Brotherhood with distinction for nearly a half century, died on Dec. 24 following a brief illness. He was 92.

Cohen served as general counsel from 1980 until his retirement in 2011 and previously worked at the law firm of Sherman Dunn, the IBEW's legal representation since 1947. Current general counsel Jon Newman, who remained close to him until his death, noted that Cohen spoke to seven International Conventions during his tenure as general counsel.

No one is likely to match that number, Newman said.

"I was just fortunate to apprentice under him," he added. "The words that come to mind when I think of Larry are smart and funny."

In addition to his work for the IBEW, Cohen served as general counsel to the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO and the Asbestos Workers Union. He argued four cases before the Supreme Court and won them all, the most notable being IBEW v. Foust in 1979.

In that case, an IBEW local in Wyoming had been sued for breach of the duty of fair representation. It was on the losing end in a lower court and the plaintiff was awarded $75,000 in punitive damages.

Cohen realized the dangerous precedent that could set. Anti-union forces could use such suits to drain resources if a local union were liable for punitive damages. An appeals court upheld the earlier ruling, but the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in the IBEW's favor, saying that punitive damages could not be awarded in duty of fair representation cases.

That precedent stands to this day.

"If punitive damages are a possibility, even if a union believes it would win a duty of fair representation case, it has so much exposure that it often would be forced to settle," Newman said. "When punitive damages are taken off the table, unions are not going to be shaken down or forced into a settlement in these cases."

Richard Resnick, who succeeded Cohen as the IBEW's general counsel and is now retired, said Cohen's intelligence, sense of fairness and warm personality allowed him to reach across the aisle and helped the IBEW and other construction unions form strong relationships with management.

"He was just a wonderful litigator," Resnick said. "It's not easy to argue a case before the Supreme Court and he was a master at it.

"He was my mentor," Resnick added. "I loved the guy."

A native of Washington, D.C., Cohen looked to be headed for the family business. As a young man, he worked for Cohen's Picture Framing, which was well known in the District of Columbia, and went on to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.

Cohen's Picture Framing was founded by his grandfather, a Russian immigrant.

"He and his sons built it into a fairly successful capitalist [enterprise]," Cohen said in a 2009 interview that was part of an AFL-CIO oral history project, "even though he remained until his dying day an ardent socialist."

He decided to attend law school after watching television coverage of the Army-McCarthy hearings. With a passion for social justice, Cohen decided he wanted to represent unions and working people after taking a labor law class during his second year at Yale Law School, from which he graduated in 1959.

His first job after that was working for the Teamsters Board of Monitors — a three-person board that oversaw the Teamsters after it was put into federal receivership in 1958. He stayed in that position until the following year, when he was hired by the legendary Lou Sherman to join Sherman Dunn.

He left in 1964 for a three-year stint as a legal assistant to a member of the National Labor Relations Board before returning to Sherman Dunn for good in 1967. At the time, the IBEW made organizing in the Deep South a priority and Cohen, who was Jewish, was sent to assist.

He said in the 2009 interview that he was sometimes referred to with anti-Jewish slurs, even by other lawyers. He once checked out of a North Carolina hotel when he learned an operator was listening to his phone conversations and revealing the content to virulently anti-union local politicians.

Resnick said that work showed Cohen's commitment to the IBEW and his own personal toughness.

"Here was this nice Jewish guy not only facing a lot of anti-union folks, but also a lot of antisemitism," Resnick said.

Cohen succeed Tom Dunn as general counsel in 1980 and remained in the role for the next 31 years, continuing his tireless work for labor.

"He was an icon and staple of the IBEW," said Ricky Oakland, the IBEW's chief of staff.

Oakland worked closely with Cohen beginning in 2003, when Oakland was appointed director of the CIR/Bylaws and Appeals Department. CIR stands for the Committee on Industrial Relations, which works to settle disputes between the IBEW and its management partners in a satisfactory manner for both sides.

"We had to go before the international president several times and one thing he taught me was never oversell an issue," Oakland said. "Don't waste [the president's] time. Lay out the facts, but when he makes a decision, stop selling.

"I have taken that to this day. Once the president makes a decision, move onto the next topic, and Larry taught me that."

A career disappointment came in 1998. President Bill Clinton nominated Cohen to be general counsel of the NLRB, but Republicans controlling the Senate squashed the nomination and it never reached the floor.

That did not nothing to lessen his profound legacy. Newman said Cohen was generous in his time with young lawyers — including Newman himself, who joined Sherman Dunn in 1995.

"He was a very good mentor in how to approach a legal issue and doing legal research," Newman said. "He was very generous in including young lawyers in client meetings, where they were exposed to interesting cases and could meaningfully participate."

Cohen is survived by his wife of 62 years, Jo, along with two children and seven grandchildren. He was an avid Washington Commanders fan and died just before the team's surprising run through the NFL playoffs.

He was asked during the 2009 interview what was the most fun he had during his career.

"Advancing the cause of workers and winning," he said. "The only statement that Richard Nixon ever made with which I agreed with is, 'I have tasted victory and I have tasted defeat, and victory tastes better.'"