Longest-serving judge steps off the bench after 27 years

Judge Lawrence Cohen, who is believed to be the longest-serving full-time judge in the country, is retiring this week after nearly 27 years on the bench.

“Judges have much in common with Jews,” Cohen, who retires on Friday, tells the JC. “Give 60 judges a legal problem and you’ll probably get 60 different opinions, particularly on matters of discretion. Everyone takes great pride in thinking differently, but judges are also very supportive of each other and there’s a great network of help on offer behind the scenes.”

Born and raised in Liverpool, Cohen qualified as a solicitor aged 24 in 1982 and shortly after moved to London, where he eventually started his own firm. At the age of 35, he became a deputy district judge and, he says, “as soon as I started doing it, I knew that this was what I wanted to do in life. It completely mesmerised me; it was fantastic. I loved the skills involved and the thought processes that went into making decisions.”

He then focused on working to become a full-time judge, and did so aged 40, which, in those days, was the minimum age required for the position. He began sitting “pretty much exactly on my 40th birthday and I’ve been doing it ever since”.

Now, after nearly 27 years as a district judge, sitting exclusively at Edmonton county court in north London since 1998, the 66-year-old has overseen many thousands of cases and is “very proud” of what he does and his body of work. “I enjoy it now as much as I did on my first day. I love the work, and I will miss it very much.”

He says that unlike being a lawyer, judges “don’t mind” who wins or loses, which “is very freeing, and so it becomes all about pure decision-making and applying the facts to the law. I don’t enter the fray. I just listen to the evidence, which is a skill in itself, am sceptical, try to spot when people are not telling the truth, and come to a decision based on what I’ve heard. What better job can you have than that?”

The Muswell Hill Synagogue member says the biggest challenge is coming up against “a brand-new situation that you’ve never come across before, possibly a very long and complicated case, with completely different solutions being put to me by the parties.

“They all leave the room at the end, and you’re left to make up your mind. The case has taken all day, and now it’s four o’clock and my first thought is: ‘I haven’t got a clue what to do here.’ But everyone is waiting for me, waiting for me to make up my mind.

“It’s at that time you’ve got to grit your teeth, make a reasoned decision and explain it to the parties. It’s a great feeling getting to the end of a case like that.”

But the greatest challenge is also entwined with the greatest joy of the job, he says – “coming to a fair decision that hopefully sends all parties home at least understanding why I did what I did”.

Cohen says there are many overlaps between Jewish values and being a good judge, like “doing the right thing, being generous and helping others, being public-spirited and positively influencing the wider world”.

In his retirement, as well as “all the clichés” of spending more time with his wife, Deborah, two children, Jessica and Sam, and five grandchildren, all of whom live locally, Cohen is looking forward to playing more Bridge and going to the theatre. He will also embark on extensive travel plans, which will see him jetting off to myriad countries including Nepal, Estonia, Finland, Spain, Uzbekistan, and Australia.

He will also offer his time and services to two prominent Jewish charities that are close to his heart and who might benefit from his skills as a lawyer.

“I’d like my professional legacy to be that of a fair judge, not famous – except in my own mind and household – but just fair,” he said.

“When people say I’ve been a fair judge, my heart sings, because that is the biggest compliment you can give a judge, and it’s the essence of the job.”