Harvey B. Cohen

July 29, 1930 – December 6, 2022

Harvey B Cohen, 92, died peacefully surrounded by family in McLean, Virginia on December 6 ^th .  Born July 29, 1930 in New York City, he was the son of the late Harry and Stella Cohen.  Harvey was his charming and magisterial self until the end, with an enduring affection to his loving wife Marina.  It was a life well-lived.

. Harvey was a trial lawyer extraordinaire from "central casting", representing a wide range of clients in complex civil litigation matters in state and federal court. For more than 50 years, he handled business disputes including securities, malpractice, insurance and bankruptcy litigation. Harvey was the managing partner and lead litigation counsel of Cohen , Gettings, Alper and Dunham and successor firms during the 1960's through the 1990's.   After he closed his firm, he continued to actively practice law past the age of eighty with Miles & Stockbridge and then DiMuro Ginsberg.

Retired Arlington Circuit Court Judge Joanne F. Alper who worked with Harvey for 18 years shared the following thoughts: " Harvey was the most outstanding trial attorney of his generation, with a unique ability to connect with judges and juries.  He gave me the opportunity, as a young woman in the mid-1970's, to gain valuable experience and work my way to Partner in Northern Virginia, when there were very few women in the profession.  I would not have had the career that I did without Harvey."

Education:  Georgetown University Law Center, L.L.M. 1961.Georgetown University Law Center, L.L.B. 1959. University of Miami, A.B. 1952.  From 1954-1956, he served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force with tours as a young officer in Tokyo, Japan.

Upon graduation from Georgetown, Harvey held the positions of Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (1960-1961) and Counsel for the House of Representatives, Select Subcommittee on Labor (1961-1962).   Harvey is past-President of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and member of its Board of Governors. Listed as a "Washington, DC Super Lawyer", The Best Lawyers in America (ATLA), and Virginia State Bar Association: Medical Malpractice Review Panel.

Harvey was actively involved in Virginia politics, running for House of Delegates in 1963.  Later he was a close confidant and advisor to Gov Linwood Holton, Sen John Warner, and served in honorary capacity to Presidents Nixon, Ford and Bush (41), chairing Bush's Virginia presidential campaign in 1980.  Harvey's family still tell stories about the U.S. Secret Service taking over Key Drive when Tricia Nixon (Cox) hosted a reception at the Cohen residence in Alexandria.

Growing up in New York City, Harvey attended public schools and enjoyed the freedom of city living in the 1940's, including trips on the subway to Coney Island and other adventures.  During his teens, his family moved to Washington DC where a young Harvey helped his mother run the family Dry Cleaning business.  Summers were spent with his Plager cousins in Long Branch, New Jersey.  After college in Miami, attended on ROTC scholarship, he headed to Japan serving as an Air Force Intelligence Officer with flyovers of the Korean Peninsula in a B52.

Harvey will be remembered for his intelligence and his sense of humor. His charm and beguile talked his way out of many a speeding ticket in his Lincoln Continentals.  He fascinated his grandchildren with tales of stickball in NYC and the escapades with his Plager cousins in Long Branch - one of which famously ended with precarious fence hopping and a bad broken arm for Harvey.  His kindness, quick wit and irreverent repertoire filled many a room with laughter.

Harvey is survived by his beloved wife Marina and his four children, Teresa Cohen Kelley, (Lance) of Round Hill, VA, Mark Cohen, (Stasha) of Darien CT, Douglas Cohen of Reston, VA, and Annastelle Cohen (Washington DC).  Harvey is also survived by his sister, Joyce Chantker.  Harvey was proud of his seven grandchildren, Katherine Lamb (Justin), Alexandra Spooner (ret Capt. Steven Spooner, USMC), Danielle Gatling, Jonathan Gatling, Joseph Cohen, Jake Cohen, Zachary Cohen, and his three great grandchildren, Lydia and Sophie Spooner, and Aria Lamb, as well as his nieces and many cousins. Harvey was pre-deceased by his first wife (Joan Bradley Ogren) who passed in 2018 and is buried at Arlington Cemetary.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Army Navy Country Club on January 27th.