(NEW YORK) Katten today announced as its New York office managing partner Wendy E. Cohen, who co-chairs the firm's Investment Management and Funds practice and has long prioritized supporting women attorneys, particularly those in the field of finance. Cohen has spent the majority of her career at Katten, which provided invaluable support after she returned from a multiyear hiatus to raise her family.
Cohen started her legal career in 1986 as a first-year associate at the venerable New York-based Rosenman & Colin LLP and was there when the firm merged with Katten in 2002. She succeeds Structured Finance and Securitization partner Chris DiAngelo, who has served as managing partner since 2013.
DiAngelo is credited with managing Katten's increased growth in New York, shepherding that office through the pandemic and guiding its move to a new space in Rockefeller Plaza last year. He will formally turn over the reins to Cohen on June 1.
"Wendy is right for this role. She is authentic and cares deeply about people. She is a skilled counselor with a strong penchant for over-and-above client service, all of which will enhance our strategic efforts in New York and elsewhere," said Katten CEO Noah Heller, who is based in New York.
"Chris was an excellent leader of our New York office. He deepened the sense of community even as he continued to lead teams representing our clients on innovative deals in our preeminent Structured Finance and Securitization practice," Heller added. "Similarly, some of the top private investment funds in the industry count on Wendy's counsel because she is sharp, collaborative and strategic, undaunted by challenges."
In a move largely considered a risk, Cohen left the workforce to grow her family before being considered for partner. She returned to Katten about five years later, the mother of three, working remotely, then gradually ramping up to full time before making partner.
A member of Katten's National Compensation Committee and co-founder of its Women in Finance initiative that supports and helps leverage the skills of those Katten attorneys, Cohen attributes her success to the firm's longstanding support.
"I am proud to take on this new role at a firm that realized well before others in the industry that accommodating an untraditional career path for a talented female attorney could result in a triple win — for me, for my clients with whom I have had decades-long relationships, and for the firm, which benefits from the retention of talent and the strength of those relationships," Cohen said.
New York
