Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesBy his side: Steven M. Cohen, left, with his boss, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, last year.Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s former top aide, Steven M. Cohen, has landed in the private sector two months after he left the administration, taking a job at a Washington-based law firm that is seeking to increase its presence in New York City.
Mr. Cohen, who was secretary to the governor from the beginning of the Cuomo administration until he resigned in July, is becoming a partner at Zuckerman Spaeder, a litigation boutique that specializes in complex civil and commercial cases. He will lead the expansion of the firm’s New York City office, which previously had three lawyers.
Mr. Cohen, 48, will focus on crisis management and other thorny legal matters facing individuals and corporations, including corporate disputes and investigations by criminal authorities and regulatory bodies.
“I plan on building a law practice that uses the same kind of strategic planning and innovative thinking that made the Cuomo administration successful,” Mr. Cohen said in a statement.
As Mr. Cuomo’s top adviser, Mr. Cohen’s primary role was overseeing the transition to the governor’s office. He also coordinated the administration’s efforts to win the legalization of same-sex marriage, one of Mr. Cuomo’s biggest legislative victories.
Previously, Mr. Cohen was Mr. Cuomo’s right-hand man in the state attorney general’s office, serving as his counselor and chief of staff. Before that, he was a partner at the Cooley law firm, and earlier he served as a federal prosecutor in New York’s Southern District, where he was chief of the violent gangs unit.
Mr. Cohen was succeeded in the governor’s office by Lawrence S. Schwartz, who had held the same position in the administration of Mr. Cuomo’s predecessor, David A. Paterson.