Contributing Your Services Pro Bono To MFY Is A Satisfying Experience

Editor:  Before retiring in 2007, what had been your involvement in the law?

Cogan:  After graduating from law school in 1976, I went to work for several law firms as a corporate and tax associate.  In about 1984, I started working for American Express Company in its corporate tax law department, rising through the ranks until I became general tax counsel.  American Express was a fascinating place to practice tax law.  There we had the opportunity to do tax planning for a company with operations around the world and to work on a number of cutting-edge financial deals and corporate transactions.

Editor:  When and why did you decide to retire?

Cogan:  I decided to retire during the summer of 2007.  Shortly before that time, my colleagues began to refer to me as a “treasure.”  Once you’re referred to as a “treasure,” you know it’s time to go.  That time was also propitious since it allowed me to accompany my son, who was applying to colleges, on his tour of colleges around the country.

Editor:  Did you immediately start to volunteer?

Cogan:  Far from it.  After leaving American Express, I swore that the last thing I wanted to do was to practice law in any capacity.

Editor:  What changed your mind?

Cogan:  After about six months, I found that I began to miss practicing law.  I decided I was going to volunteer as a lawyer, but in a field as far removed from tax law as I could find.

Editor:  Why did you choose family law?

Cogan:  Unlike tax law, it involves flesh and blood clients.  Also, unlike advanced corporate tax planning, which is akin to playing three-dimensional chess wearing a blindfold, the body of family law is manageable.

Editor:  Why did you choose to volunteer at MFY Legal Services?

Cogan:  There were a number of reasons.  MFY – located in downtown Manhattan - sponsors a project known as the Kinship Caregiver Law Project, which provides full pro bono representation of grandparents and others in adopting or gaining custody or guardianship of children of their relatives.  It’s great work assisting grandparents who are trying to rescue children whose lives have fallen apart.  MFY is also a great organization that has been representing low-income New Yorkers since 1963 on a range of issues, including housing, disability rights, employment, consumer, foreclosure and family law.  The spirit of “sticking up for the little guy” pervades the organization.

Editor:  What do you do at MFY?

Cogan:  That has changed over time.  Initially, I spent time preparing a comprehensive new manual on legal custody and guardianship for outside lawyers, which was a good way to cut my teeth on the basics of family law.  After that, I have spent most of my time representing clients in family court in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan in adoption and other matters.  Most recently, I prepared an amicus brief in an important case involving the special rights of grandparents to visit their grandchildren.

Editor:  How many hours do you volunteer at MFY?

Cogan:  Normally about 10 hours a week.  But it varies.  In a week in which I have to go to court or need to prepare litigation documents, I may spend upwards of 20 hours.  Even during busy weeks, however, I can still spend a lot of time with my family and on other post-retirement activities.

Editor:  What has been your experience at MFY?

Cogan:  Despite the challenges that all non profit legal services agencies face, MFY enables people to practice law at a high level.  Also, the people in my area took the time to train me in my new field and have been very accommodating in allowing me to take on assignments of increasing complexity.  Though legal aid work is generally a young person’s game, MFY has ultimately done a fine job integrating me and other senior volunteers into its operations and making us feel at home.

Editor:  What has been your high point and low point in volunteering?

Cogan:  Though most of my clients have been responsive and appreciative of my efforts, some of my clients have been more challenging.  That should not be surprising since life has not been easy for many of those we represent.
The high point of my experience so far has been the finalization of my first adoption in Kings County Family Court this past April.  There I met an amazing 4-year child, abandoned at birth, whose paternal grandmother was seeking to adopt her.  I was so taken by the child – who was reading fluently by the time I met her – that I have been assisting the grandmother to gain special educational opportunities for the child.  It’s a far cry from doing foreign tax credit planning.