Kent alumnus and Kent Law Campaign Patron Jonathan Lionel Cohen QC has been appointed a Justice of the High Court.
Jonathan’s appointment, approved by the Queen last month, follows the retirement of Sir Anthony Edwards-Stuart.
He will be assigned to the Family Division, with effect from 2 October and will be known as The Honourable Mr Justice Cohen.
After graduating from Kent, Jonathan was called to the Bar in 1974 and obtained pupillage at 4 Paper Buildings. He became a specialist family lawyer dealing with high end divorce settlements as well as a number of legally aided child care cases. He took Silk in 1997 and was Head of Chambers at 4 Paper Buildings from 2003 to 2012.
He was appointed as an Assistant Recorder in 1993, as a Recorder in 1997 and as a fee-paid Judge of the First-tier Tribunal, Health, Education and Social Care Chamber in 2000. He was authorised to sit as a Deputy High Court Judge (Family Division) in 2005.
In his online alumni profile for Kent Law School, Jonathan says: ‘Family Law is a fascinating area. No two cases or clients are the same. It is the area of law which affects more people than any other. I enjoy helping people through difficult times and doing my best for them in and out of court; I like forming my own judgment of the best result of a case and, if the case cannot settle, trying to persuade the Judge that I am right.’
Recently, Jonathan was a Patron of the Kent Law Campaign, supporting a £5 million fundraising project for the Wigoder Law Building, a new home for Kent Law Clinic and the Law School’s Mooting Programme that was completed and opened in 2016.
Jonathan is also a qualified mediator, collaborative lawyer and arbitrator. He is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers and is a member of: the Family Law Bar Association; the Professional Negligence Bar Association; and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.