H. Rodgin Cohen

Henry Rodgin "Rodge" Cohen (born 1944) is an American corporate lawyer whose practice focuses on commercial banking and financial institutions. He is currently the senior chairman of the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.

Early life and education

Henry Rodgin Cohen was born in 1944, in the Fort Hill section of Charleston, West Virginia, to Louis and Bertie (Rodgin) Cohen. His father ran drugstores and his mother was a high school teacher.

After studying in the local public schools through junior high, Cohen attended and graduated from Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. He then graduated from Harvard College (1965), and Harvard Law School (1968). The Wall Street Journal refers to Cohen as "arguably the country's leading banking lawyer". He has been called "the trauma surgeon of Wall Street".

During the 2008 financial crisis, Cohen defended the financial system and Wall Street: "I am far from convinced there was something inherently wrong with the system."

Cohen was played by Robert J. Hogan in the 2011 film Too Big to Fail.