It may be hard to believe, but CBS’ venerable newsmagazine “60 minutes” has been on the air more than 40 years, and has never had a legal analyst. That is changing, as the program announced that Andrew Cohen will be joining the program as its legal analyst.
According to CBS “in his new assignment, Cohen will help 60 Minutes correspondents, producers and executives with law-related stories, including deciphering legal documents, providing sources from the legal community, and otherwise guiding the program’s coverage of legal events and issues.”
Cohen has been with CBS News since 1997, and is currently senior legal analyst and legal editor for CBS News Radio, a role in which he will continue.
More information after the jump.
ANDREW COHEN, AWARD-WINNNING LEGAL COMMENTATOR, TO ADD NEW ROLE AS LEGAL ANALYST FOR “60 MINUTES”
Andrew Cohen, an award-winning legal analyst whose commentaries and reports have been featured on radio and television at CBS News for 15 years, will become the first-ever legal analyst for 60 MINUTES, the program’s Executive Producer and CBS News Chairman Jeff Fager announced today.
Cohen will immediately join 60 MINUTES as an analyst, a duty he will perform in addition to his longtime work as the senior legal analyst and legal editor for CBS Radio News. In his new assignment, Cohen will help 60 MINUTES correspondents, producers and executives with law-related stories, including deciphering legal documents, providing sources from the legal community, and otherwise guiding the program’s coverage of legal events and issues.
“So many of our stories touch on legal issues,” said Fager. “Andrew’s experience and great analytical abilities will be a great resource for all of our reporters at 60 MINUTES.”
Cohen has been with CBS News since 1997, when he joined CBS Radio News to cover the Oklahoma City bombing trials. He has provided analysis and commentary on thousands of legal and political events and issues, including Supreme Court nominations, the Florida election recount, the Clinton impeachment trial and stories impacted by the legal war on terror. He’s also covered high profile criminal and corruption cases like the Unabomber case, the Lewis “Scooter” Libby trial, the Enron trials, and the corruption trials of Ted Stevens and Rod Blagojevich.
Coverage of law-related stories by him and his CBS Radio News colleagues has been recognized with several RTDNA Edward R. Murrow awards and the Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists.
Cohen has appeared on SUNDAY MORNING and other CBS News broadcasts and for 10 years was a regular contributor to CBSNews.com, where he wrote the award-winning legal column, “Courtwatch.” He is currently focusing on litigation over President Obama’s health care legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as well as the legal and political battles over immigration and judicial nominations.
“Andrew continues to be an invaluable resource for us, always there to comment when news and the law intersect, and especially for providing perspective for our listeners on the big legal decisions from our highest courts,” said Harvey Nagler, vice president, CBS Radio News.
Cohen is also is a national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine’s website, TheAtlantic.com, where he writes about law, politics, culture and sports.
Before joining CBS Radio News, Cohen had been a civil litigator at the Denver law firm Gorsuch Kirgis, where he specialized in probate litigation, public utilities litigation, and appellate work. Cohen was born in Montreal and graduated from Boston University in 1988 with a bachelor’s of science degree, cum laude, in print journalism. He graduated from BU’s School of Law in 1991.