GW Law Alumnus’s Latest Gift Supports Experiential Learning While Helping Local Small Businesses and Nonprofits

Having cherished his experience as a student at GW Law and the rewarding career that followed, Jeffrey Kohn, J.D. '84, and his family have made multiple generous financial donations to his alma mater. Most recently, they donated $1.5 million to create the Jeff and Martha Kohn Visiting or Associate Professorship for the Small Business and Community Economic Development Clinic. An additional $1 million gift from Kohn's estate will transform that faculty position into an endowed director for the clinic.

With previous gifts, Kohn funded scholarships for GW Law students and endowed the Jeffrey and Martha Kohn Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Research, a position currently held by Laurie Kohn. He also serves on the GW Law Dean's Advisory Counciland the Business and Finance Law Council.

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Kohn has spent more than four decades at O'Melveny & Myers, where he was a partner in the labor and employment law group and held various leadership positions, including managing partner of O'Melveny's New York office for over ten years.

"GW Law helped to launch my career," Kohn said. "I got to my law firm because of GW and my legal education. I developed lasting relationships at the law school. I always thought that if I could give back, I would."

After years of practice, in 2023 Kohn was invited to become the inaugural Professor of Practice in Business and Finance Law at GW Law. He brings real-world experience to students, teaching business lawyering as a faculty member in the highly successful GW Law in New York(GWNY) as well as coordinating the GWNY program from his office at O'Melveny & Myers. Additionally, Kohn commutes each week to D.C. to teach employment law and labor law on the Foggy Bottom campus. In his classes, Kohn shares his expertise in labor and employment law, leveraging over four decades of experience as a renowned expert in the field.

"The law of the workplace is fascinating," Kohn said. "You are dealing with everyday problems, issues, and concerns for a company and its employees. You handle interesting legal questions affecting employees and the occasional disputes that arise. The practice also gives you the opportunity to guide institutions on maintaining a positive and supportive workplace culture, something that has been very important to me at my own workplace."

George Washington University President Ellen M. Granberglauded Kohn's loyalty and commitment to GW.

"As a leader, innovator and changemaker, Jeff Kohn exemplifies the best of GW Law," said Granberg. "Through his generosity and commitment, he creates meaningful opportunities for students to gain real-world experience while supporting local businesses and nonprofits. His dedication strengthens both our university and the communities we serve."

Kohn's gift will be transformative, endowing one of the very first transactional clinics in the nation, and ensuring the enduring legacy of its late founder, Professor Susan Jones. Under faculty supervision, students enrolled in the Small Business and Community Economic Development Clinic work to support financial literacy, entrepreneurship and community economic development in the D.C. area and beyond.

The clinic presents GW students with a unique experiential education, allowing them to represent clients and businesses who would otherwise not have access to a lawyer, according to GW Law Dean Dayna Bowen Matthew, who joined Granberg in praise of Kohn.

"The far-reaching impact of Jeff and Martha Kohn's contributions to GW Law and the legal profession cannot be overstated," Matthew said. "Their gift has not only expanded opportunities for our students and strengthened GW Law's role as a national leader in community economic development, but it will also help GW Law help indigent business owners start and grow enterprises that can strengthen underserved communities. This gift will amplify the clinic's impact and continue to expand GW Law's role as a good neighbor in the Washington, D.C., community it serves."

"The clinic is designed not just to support economic development within the community, but also to give students who are interested in business law the experiential learning of being a lawyer representing and advising businesses," Kohn said. "In the clinical world, we don't see many clinics that are business law-oriented, so this is a really good opportunity for students interested in learning what it's like to practice as a lawyer in the business law world while supporting smaller businesses in development."

As a student at GW Law, Kohn said, he appreciated the breadth of the course offerings and the quality of the professors, some of whom are now his colleagues. He also enjoyed his work as a resident advisor in Mitchell Hall.

"Since I was the first one to go to college in my family, I had to do what I could to help pay for law school," Kohn said. "So, I became a resident advisor my second and third year of law school in an undergraduate dorm. I met some great students who were my residents, one of whom became a future client."

From impacting students as an RA to impacting the law school through teaching and philanthropy, Kohn's influence has made GW Law, and indeed, the community it serves, a better place.