Dennis Cohen Appointed Queens College Executive Counsel
—An attorney and former judge, he has extensive nonprofit experience with municipalities, counties, and district court—
Flushing, NY, October 28, 2024—Dennis Cohen has been named executive counsel and labor designee for Queens College, CUNY. A highly experienced litigator, negotiator, and expert in contract and labor law, he will report directly to the president.
“We are delighted to welcome Dennis Cohen to Queens College,” says President Frank H. Wu. “In addition to his extensive legal experience, he has a deep understanding of the needs of nonprofit institutions in the metropolitan area. I would like to express my gratitude to the search committee and search panel, chaired by Jeffrey Rosenstock, assistant vice president for Governmental Relations and External Affairs, for their service.”
Cohen, who holds a BA in sociology from the State University of New York at Old Westbury and a JD from Hofstra University School of Law, is a member of the State Bar of New York and the Eastern District of New York. He will hold primary responsibility for managing litigation and negotiations on issues involving the administration, faculty, staff, and students. He will advise the college on a wide range of administrative concerns such as contracts and compliance with state and federal law; develop significant legal documents and correspondence; and administer and interpret university bylaws, policies, and procedures as well as collective-bargaining agreements. Cohen also will serve as the college ethics officer and records access officer, responsible for training college employees in compliance with ethics obligations and responding to subpoenas and Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests. In addition, he will be the campus immigration liaison. He is expected to work closely with CUNY’s Office of the General Counsel.
“I am very excited to continue my public service career with one of the top public colleges in the country,” said Dennis Cohen. “I want to thank President Wu and the search committee for placing their trust in me.”
Cohen, who has a long record of public service, was a senior attorney for the Workers’ Compensation Board in Brooklyn; served the Town of Babylon as an assistant, deputy, and finally town attorney; was chief deputy county executive and county attorney for Suffolk County; and most recently was corporation counsel for the City of Long Beach. In addition, he is former district court judge in Suffolk County District Court.
His experience involves numerous high-level responsibilities in municipal and county offices. Among them, he supervised town and legal staff (including about 70 attorneys for Suffolk County), drafted legislation and contracts, handled and supervised litigation, and represented public entities in employment-related issues and collective-bargaining negotiations (including 12 different municipal unions). As a judge, he presided over both civil and criminal cases.
Cohen also brings teaching experience to QC. At Hofstra he was an adjunct professor, instructing second-year law students in core lawyering skills. He volunteered as an instructor for the Town of Babylon Youth Court, where he taught high school students about law at all levels of government and prepared them to serve as attorneys, judges, and jurors in mock trials. He has coached Little League baseball and youth basketball for many years.
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