Philadelphia Daily News Jenice Armstrong Column
By Jenice Armstrong, Philadelphia Daily News
Jul. 10–In the sordid Christie Brinkley divorce drama that’s been all but impossible to ignore — even with all the other crazy celebrity hijinks in the news lately — it turns out there’s a Philly connection.
And no, it’s not that some other former teenage mistress of Brinkley’s soon-to-be ex, Peter Cook, has surfaced, say, in Doylestown.
But now we know that Robert Cohen, the high-profile divorce attorney who has been representing her since she ditched her last lawyer earlier this year, teaches a class at Penn’s law school and has been doing so for the past five years.
It’s called, fittingly, “Anatomy of a Divorce.”
Cohen dropped this factoid Tuesday night during an appearance on “Larry King Live.” According to a transcript of the show, Cohen said, “I would like to start by saying that I’m fortunate enough to teach at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
“And I tell my students — and, of course, in divorce law — that if you have the law on your side, you pound the table at the law, and if you have the facts, you pound the table at the facts. And if you don’t have anything, you pound the table. And that’s what [Peter Cook's attorney] has just done, Larry.”
Cohen didn’t respond to an e-mail I sent him yesterday, but Penn’s Web site describes his academic offering at the school thusly:
“This course provides exposure to the dynamic process of representing the spectrum of clients, including same-sex couples, in a dissolution of marriage case and the unique issues, such as dealing with the media, gag orders, and seeking to close courtrooms to shield children when representing high-profile and high-net-worth individuals [Daily News italics].”
Interestingly, Brinkley’s case has been taking place in open court — something the former supermodel’s been slammed for because of all the damage it may do to the only innocents in this whole mess, the couple’s two children, ages 10 and 13.
Even if they’re somewhat shielded by being away from it all at summer camp, as Brinkley has said, the proceedings are a matter of very public record.
They may never read the transcripts of their parents’ court dealings, but it’s only a matter of time before they learn more than they ever wanted to know about their dad’s sexual antics before an Internet Web cam and the toy saleswoman-turned-teen mistress who cost their father $300,000.
Meanwhile, the headline-making case could well be lurching toward a resolution.
Twice yesterday, proceedings were halted as attorneys presumably worked toward a settlement. Asked if that’s what she was hoping for, Brinkley, leaving the courthouse in Central Islip, N.Y., pressed her hands together as if she were praying and said, “It’s what I hope and pray for.”
Us, too!
But if you think about it, do these two people even really want a resolution? Or do they just want to keep duking it out? Are they even thinking about the kids?
A psychiatrist testified earlier this week that both Brinkley and Cook are in need of professional help. Stephen Herman testified that Cook was a narcissist and that Brinkley needs therapy to deal with her anger issues — and she also needs to take a hard look at her choices in men.
And, of course, the children could benefit from therapy to help them heal.
It’s time to wrap this case up so that process can begin.
As Cohen, who co-authored ‘”Reconcilable Differences: Seven Essential Tips to Remaining Together From a Top Matrimonial Lawyer’” (Pocket Books, 2002), told the New York Times in 2002, ‘”You inflict pain by dragging it out, by leaking to the tabloids and by being nasty.
“A divorce that stretches on for years typically becomes a public mud bath with very little upside.”
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