Few Americans have done more than Jerome A. Cohen to advance the rule of law in East Asia. Professor Cohen has been a scholar, teacher, lawyer, and activist for more than sixty years, encouraging legal reform, promoting economic cooperation, mentoring law students, and working to resolve international crises. In his memoir, Professor Cohen recounts a dramatic life, offering first-hand insights from the study and practice of Sino-American relations. In the early 1960s, he met with émigrés in Hong Kong, interviewing them on Chinese criminal procedure. After economic reform began 20 years later, Mr. Cohen’s knowledge of Chinese law took on new importance as foreign companies began to pursue business opportunities. Helping China develop and reconstruct its legal system, he made an influential case for the roles of Western law and lawyers.
In an interview conducted on March 5, 2025, Jerome A. Cohen, in conversation with Stephen Orlins, discusses his varied and fascinating career.
