H. Rodgin Cohen, senior chairman of Sullivan & Cromwell, has been at the epicenter of virtually every key event impacting banking and Wall Street since the 1970s. Often referred to simply as “Rodge,” he is one of a handful of living legends of the corporate bar.
Rodge was one of a small group of lawyers who helped to negotiate the financial terms that resolved the Iranian hostage crisis. His “Cohen plan” laid the groundwork for banks to branch across state lines. He created the legal framework permitting banks to offer what were consid- ered non-traditional services, such as insurance products. Through his participation in virtually every major bank merger, he developed new tools for bidders and targets, in-cluding a bank-specific poison pill. Following the September 11 attacks, he worked to modify global payment processes to curb money laundering and terrorist financing. Finally, during the recent financial crisis, he served as trusted counselor to scores of banks in navigating the most challenging period since the Great Depression; he was the only lawyer portrayed in the HBO film, “Too Big to Fail.”
