For more than four decades, asbestos litigation has kept skilled lawyers on their toes. That's been true for Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman's Robin Cohen for the past 25 years.

But a case decided in November in favor of client Warren Pumps Inc. presented more than the usual professional challenges. She had to step in at the last minute after her law partner and friend Randy Paar died suddenly from a fall in June 2012, four months before trial.