Renegade Lawyer: The Life of J.L. Cohen (Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History)

J.L. Cohen, one of the first specialists in labour law and an architect of the Canadian industrial relations system, was a formidable advocate in the 1930s and 1940s on behalf of working people. A 'radical lawyer' in the tradition of the great American counsel Clarence Darrow or contemporary advocate Thomas Berger who represent the less powerful and seek to reform society and to protect civil liberties, Cohen was also a 'labour intellectual' in Canada, similar to those supporting Roosevelt's New Deal in the United States. He wrote Collective Bargaining in Canada, served on the National War Labour Board during the war, and advised the Ontario government about policy issues such as mothers' allowances, unemployment insurance legislation, and labour law. As a Marxist and a Jewish immigrant, his commitment to the labour movement resulted in part from his background and was deepened by his experience of the 1930s Depression. His was an unusual perspective for a middle class professional, and his ethnic origins and his political views subjected him to discrimination. Though respected professionally, he made enemies. At the end of the war, Cohen was convicted of a criminal charge, was disbarred and later reinstated, and died suddenly in 1950 at the age of fifty-three. Though he rose to the top of his profession, he had a difficult, complex private life that contributed to his personal disgrace and professional downfall. His obituary in the Globe and Mail described him as a dynamic, sharp-witted man who rose from humble beginnings to become the most influential labour lawyer in Canada, and it concluded with what may be a fitting epitaph, 'He championed all the wrong people in all the right things.' "J. L. Cohen, one of the first specialists in labour law and an architect of the Canadian industrial relations system, was a formidable advocate in the 1930s and 1940s on behalf of working people. In representing the less powerful and seeking to reform society and protect civil liberties, he was a 'radical lawyer' in the tradition of the great American counsel Clarence Darrow and contemporary Canadian advocate Thomas Berger. Cohen was also among a group of 'labour intellectuals' in Canada, similar to those in the United States who supported Roosevelt's New Deal. He wrote Collective Bargaining in Canada, served on the National War Labour Board, and advised the Ontario government about policy issues such as mothers' allowances, unemployment insurance legislation, and labour law." "In this biography, Laurel Sefton MacDowell presents a thorough and insightful account of a brilliant but complex public figure. Cohen's commitment to the labour movement resulted in part from his background as a Marxist and a Jewish immigrant, and was deepened by his experience of the Depression. His was an unusual perspective for a middle-class professional, and his ethnic origins and political views subjected him to discrimination. Though respected professionally, he made enemies. At the end of the war, Cohen was convicted of a criminal charge; he was disbarred but later reinstated, and died suddenly in 1950 at the age of fifty-three. Though he rose to the top of his profession, he had a difficult, complicated private life, which contributed to his personal disgrace and professional downfall. His obituary in the Globe and Mail described him as a dynamic, sharp-witted man who rose from humble beginnings to become the most influential labour lawyer in Canada, and it concluded with what may be a fitting epitaph, 'He championed all the wrong people in all the right things.'"--Jacket MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict CONTENTS 10 FOREWORD 12 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 14 ABBREVIATIONS 16 Introduction 20 Part One: Defending Workers, 1927–1939 28 1 The Making of a Lawyer 30 2 Lawyer for the Communist Party, 1927–1931 48 3 Advocate for the Poor, 1927–1939 71 Part Two: Redesigning Labour Policy, 1936–1943 98 4 Labour Lawyer, 1936–1943 100 5 Designing Ontario Labour Policy, 1942–1943 126 6 National War Labour Board Service, 1943 139 Part Three: War and Aftermath, 1939–1946 168 7 Defending Wartime Internees, 1939–1943 170 8 Politics and Espionage, 1944–1946 226 Part Four: Relations with the Law Society, 1945–1950 254 9 On Trial, 1946–1947 256 10 Disbarment, 1947 284 11 The Struggle For Reinstatement, 1947–1950 310 Epilogue 324 NOTES 334 GLOSSARY 392 BIBLIOGRAPHY 396 PICTURE CREDITS 408 INDEX 410