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SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT JUSTICE JOHN M. GREANEY
TO PRESENT CLIENTS' SECURITY BOARD'S
WILLIAM J. LEDOUX AWARD TO ATTORNEY JERRY COHEN
Boston, MA-To recognize extraordinary efforts in helping a client
recover significant financial losses resulting from the misuse of funds
by an attorney, Supreme Judicial Court Justice John M. Greaney will present
the fifth annual Clients' Security Board's William J. LeDoux Award to
Attorney Jerry Cohen of Newton. The event will take place in the Supreme
Judicial Court Courtroom in the Suffolk County Courthouse on Thursday,
June 19, 2003 at 10:00 a.m.
Through a portion
of the annual registration fees paid by attorneys to the Board of Bar Overseers,
the Clients' Security Board reimburses clients who have been victimized by instances
of attorney misappropriations.
Established in 1997
in honor of the late William J. LeDoux, a member of the Clients' Security Board
from 1987 to 1997, the award is presented annually to an attorney who performs
outstanding legal work in representing a claimant before the Board. Mr. LeDoux,
who served as Chairman of the Board for seven years, is known for his many achievements
in advancing the Board's goals in serving the public.
Mr. Cohen, of the
Boston law firm of Perkins, Smith & Cohen, LLP, was selected by the Clients'
Security Board as this year's award recipient for the work he performed after
a minor received a financial award from the Board. The minor had previously received
insurance proceeds arising from the death of his father in excess of $200,000,
and these were entrusted to an attorney, who distributed some of the money for
the benefit of the minor and misappropriated the remainder. Subsequently, the
attorney was disbarred, and the Clients' Security Board awarded $200,000 to the
minor and remaining family, but suggested that they receive assistance in managing
the money. At no charge to the minor and remaining family, Mr. Cohen served as
custodian for the child under the Massachusetts Transfers to Minors Act, worked
out a plan with the family of long term distribution, including set installment
payments, special payments arising from new needs, and establishing an investment
plan, all with a view to balancing long term and short term needs in an unusual
situation, while respecting family relationships and the minor's growing ability
for decision making.
A partner at Perkins,
Smith, & Cohen, LLP, Mr. Cohen has practiced law for more than 40 years,
specializing in intellectual property law. Chair of the firm's Science and Technology
group, he has served as Chair of the International Law Section of the Boston
Bar Association and of the Massachusetts Bar Association's Business Law Section;
President of the Boston Patent Law Association; and Editor-In-Chief of the Massachusetts
Law Review. From 1994 to 1998, he was a member of the Board of Bar Overseers.
A graduate of Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute, he earned a J. D. degree, with distinction, from George
Washington University Law School. He is an adjunct professor at Suffolk University
Law School and at Roger Williams University Law School. He also serves on the
Board of Directors of the Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the Lawyers
Alliance for World Security.
Established by the
Supreme Judicial Court in 1974, the Clients' Security Board is composed of seven
attorneys appointed by the Supreme Judicial Court who oversee the disbursement
of funds to clients who have been victimized by attorney defalcation. The Board's
Chair is Joseph D. Steinfield of Prince, Lobel, Glovsky & Tye LLP.
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