E. Steven Coren, Esq.

Personal Injury

• Winning what is thought to be the highest slip and fall jury verdict in the history of Norfolk Superior Court in the amount of 1.34 million dollars. The Judge in the case commended Attorney E. Steven Coren saying, “I’ve seen a lot of slip and fall, trip and fall cases, but I think that was about as well tried as I’ve seen, Mr. Coren. You did a very fine job for your client.” Read the transcript from the case.
• Obtained a $950,000 settlement in a difficult personal injury case involving a client who was injured when the wheelchair she was in pitched her onto the sidewalk. The client, who was not using the wheelchair’s seatbelt, suffered serious and permanent injuries.
• Winning a jury trial in a difficult invasion of privacy/emotional distress case involving a client whose psychiatric records were unlawfully accessed by her ex-husband and his sister-in-law and provided to a guardian ad litem (GAL) during a post-divorce contempt case to establish a new child visitation schedule. The GAL violated GAL standards by not first seeking written authorization from the client and further by not first informing the client that the GAL was obtaining this information and intended to disclose it in her report. The jury found the client suffered from the intentional infliction of emotional distress and awarded damages against all three defendants totaling $92,800 with interest. This case is significant as emotional distress damages typically awarded by juries are minimal. Young v. McDonough et al, Boston Municipal Court; No.  2015 01 CV 1523 (2019).

Dental Malpractice

• Obtained a $375,000 settlement in a dental malpractice case involving a client whose dental implants were done improperly, resulting in bone loss; electrical shock sensation in the lips, chin and mouth; drooling and numbness.
• Obtained a $99,500.00 settlement in a dental malpractice case involving iatrogenic damage,  traumatic extraction of tooth #18 resulted in permanent loss of alveolar bone with a severe decrease in bone width, unplanned damage to tooth #19 resulting in loss of tooth #19 which required subsequent surgery to restore the site with a dental implant, failure to properly diagnose extraction complication via radiographs with prolonged pain and suffering.
• Obtained a $240,000.00 settlement in a dental malpractice case involving creating  prostheses on periodontally compromised teeth, placement of implants outside the bony housing, placement of implants too close to one another creating the likelihood of future bone loss, placement of implants in contact with each other resulting in damage to the body of the implant, placement of implants at divergent angles creating forces which could cause implant fracture and failure to assess implant stability.

Divorce/Family Law

• Negotiated a property division settlement with marital assets valued over $5 million and resolved a complicated inheritance issue.
• Negotiated a settlement of 70 percent of the marital home to our client due to the misconduct of her husband.
• Negotiated a settlement involving a $4.6 million asset division with inheritance and alimony issues.
• Succeeded in a divorce trial by having the Probate Court adopt client’s business valuation expert’s opinion of the value of the opposing party’s business as being worth over $300,000 where the opposing expert claimed zero value.
• Succeeded in a post-divorce termination of alimony trial due to statutory retirement and proving no circumstances warranted continuation.
• Successfully negotiated a settlement involving substantial income and over $4.5 million in assets and alimony where the client did not want to litigate and insisted on fairness to the spouse.
• Successfully defended client in divorce case against attempt by opposing spouse to claim that client’s mother’s many real estate properties were actually the property of the client.
• Steve also has served as an expert witness in attorney negligence cases involving divorce and family law matters. He has opined on the breach of the legal duty owed to a client in a family law case, negligent settlement conduct, breach of the obligation of zealous representation, improper charging of attorney fees, failure to argue correct asset division and proper division of real estate, negligent conduct in discovery matters, failure to discover relevant information, failure to pursue the right of support for a client, failure to have witnesses testify and failure to pursue legal theories.

Probate Litigation

• Successfully prevailed in a highly contested estate case involving a $1.2 million trust, a 20-acre farm, and a restaurant and the land it occupied on behalf of a client who was sued by her two brothers after her parents passed away.

Business Litigation

• Successfully defended appeal in the case of Williams v. Vanaria, 2000 Mass. App. Div. 162 (2000), which affirmed the legal principle that a successor corporation is not liable for the debts of a preceding corporation where there are separation of identities, no transfer of assets, and separate bank accounts.

Steve graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and Boston University School of Law. He is licensed to practice before the courts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States District Court of Massachusetts, United States First Circuit Court of Appeals, United States District Court of Northern California and has appeared in the courts of New Hampshire.

• Steve has been a member of the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys for many years and was a member of the Board of Governors from 2013 through 2025. He chairs the Mentoring Program section and is Chair of the Family Law Section.
• Steve serves as a member of the Board of the Needham Golf Club Charities which raises moneys that are donated to the Town of Needham nonprofit organizations and for scholarships for Needham High School seniors. 
• Steve was appointed a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association Committee on Civility and Professionalism, 2019 – 2020.
• Steve was appointed to two terms as a Presiding Hearing Officer to sit as an administrative judge over hearings on complaints against attorneys for the Board of Bar Overseers between 2006 and 2012.
• Steve was a Lecturer in thur field of family law litigation for MCLE Family Law Institute, from 2015-2018. 
• Steve was a Lecturer on the panel for Trial Practice and Procedure/Evidence, MCLE in 2014.
• Steve has served as a mentor to young or inexperienced attorneys through programs administered by the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Supreme Judicial Court and the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys.  
• Steve has been a Lecturer for the annual Metrowest Legal Services Basic Divorce Program from 2012 to the present.

• Steve has been the recipient of four prestigious President’s Awards from the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys in 2013, 2015, 2022 and 2025.
• Steve was a recipient of the 2013 Triple Threat pro bono award from MetroWest Legal Services. The award was given for service and dedication, including Attorney Cohen’s representation of pro bono family law clients, providing attorney-of-the -day services at Middlesex probate and family Court in Marlboro, Massachusetts and serving as moderator and lecturer on the Metrowest Divorce Seminar programs.
• Steve has volunteered for many years as a judge in the annual Massachusetts Bar Association Mock Trial Competition a statewide event where high school teams participate in a mock trial competition

• 2022, 2015 and 2014 President’s Awards from the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys (MATA). The award is given annually to individuals whose commitment and dedication to MATA is extraordinary.
• 2013 Triple Threat pro bono award from MetroWest Legal Services. The award was given for service and dedication, including Attorney Cohen’s representation of pro bono family law clients, providing attorney-of-the -day services at Middlesex probate and family Court in Marlboro, Massachusetts and serving as moderator and lecturer on the Metrowest Divorce Seminar programs.

• Personal Injury
• Family Law
• Probate Litigation