E. Steven Coren, Partner

Biography:

Steven Coren has more than 40 years of experience representing individuals and families in personal injury cases, including dental malpractice, machine injuries, animal attacks, slip and falls, snow and ice related injuries, and accidents involving cars, bikes, trains and motorcycles; divorce and family issues; and probate litigation. As a civil litigator, he has appeared in most courts in Massachusetts and the United States District Court in Massachusetts. He is an approved mediator for the Middlesex Probate and Family Court and was formerly a Hearing Officer for the Board of Bar Overseers (2006-2012). Attorney Coren is Chair of the firm’s Personal Injury practice group and a founding member of the firm.

Attorney Coren 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.

Representative Experience

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 $240,000 settlement in a dental malpractice case involving the loss of a tooth and severe pain and discomfort after extensive dental work was performed.

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 our business valuation expert’s opinion of the value of a wife-owned wedding gown business worth over $300,000 where the opposing expert had zero value.
  • Negotiated a favorable settlement in a divorce case involving a client who was subjected to alleged abuse by her husband during their marriage.
  • Succeeded in a post-divorce termination of alimony trial due to statutory retirement and proving no circumstances warranted continuation.
  • Successfully defended husband in 209A abuse petition trial.
  • 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 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.
  • Representing clients in all areas of probate law including estate and will disputes.
  • Frequently appointed by judges of the Massachusetts Probate Courts as an administrator of troubled or contested estates.

Business Litigation

  • Serving as appellate counsel 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.

Professional Experience:

  • Board of Governors, Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, Mentoring Committee Chair, 2013 – present
  • Chair, Family Law Section, Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, 2020
  • Massachusetts Bar Association, Committee on Civility and Professionalism, 2019 – 2020
  • Presiding over hearings on complaints against attorneys as a Hearing Officer for the Board of Bar Overseers (2006-2012).
  • Lecturer, MCLE Family Law Institute, 2015-present.
  • Lecturer, Trial Practice and Procedure/Evidence, MCLE, 2014-present.
  • Lecturer, Metrowest Legal Services, Divorce Institute, 2012-present.
  • Serving as conciliator-mediator for Middlesex and Norfolk Probate and Family Courts.
  • Attorney Coren is a founding partner of KCL and Chair of our Personal Injury and Litigation Practice Groups.

Special Interests – Education and Scuba Diving:

Attorney Coren has combined his passion for the law with his commitment to education and his love of scuba diving.

Actively involved in the field of law-related education, Attorney Coren has helped fosters programs in schools to teach students about the law and its procedures and created opportunities for students to participate in moot court programs. His activities include:

  • Founding and serving as past president of the Massachusetts Association for Law-Related Education, Inc., and recipient of its Distinguished Service Award.
  • Helping to found the Lawyer/Teacher Partnership Program within the Massachusetts Bar Association.
  • Co-author of In Search of Justice: “Legal Education Materials for Secondary and Junior High Schools” published by the Massachusetts Bar Association and used in secondary schools throughout Massachusetts.
  • Presenter at various law-related conferences, including American Bar Association Law-Related Education seminars, Massachusetts Bar Association Law-Related Education seminars and conferences, the Massachusetts Bar Association Law-Related Education lawyer-teacher partnership program and the Massachusetts Bar Association Law-Related Education Mock Trial program.
  • Presiding annually as a judge for national mock trial competitions.

Attorney Coren is a certified scuba instructor and award winning underwater photographer. His accomplishments include:

  • Author, “The Law and the Diving Professional,” published by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), and it has been sold all over the world.
  • Representing the Bay State Council of Divers and many scuba groups and dive shops.
  • Successfully challenging a coastal town’s right to require every scuba diver to display his or her own dive flag, although the Massachusetts state law allowed groups of divers to have to only display one flag.

Speaking & Writing:

Attorney Coren frequently speaks at law related conferences, including the American Bar Association and the Massachusetts Bar Associations. He has also published articles in law related publications. Recent articles and presentations include:

  • MetroWest Legal Services, Probate & Family Court Lawyer for the Day Training (November 2022)
  • Massachusetts Bar Association, Practicing with Professionalism, “Professionalism, Civility and Maintaining a Principled Mindset” (March 2022)
  • “Financial statements: the importance of being earnest,” Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys Journal, March 2021
  • MetroWest Legal Services, Divorce Basics Training Seminar (2020)
  • MCLE New England, “Family Law Trial Advocacy Workshop” (2017, 2016, 2015)
  • MCLE New England, Practicing with Professionalism, “Managing Your Clients’ Expectations (and Your Own)” (2017)
  • MetroWest Legal Services, “Divorce Basics Training Seminar” (2016)
  • MCLE New England, “Introducing & Excluding Evidence at Trial” (2016)
  • Probate and Family Court Conciliation Training for the Norfolk and Middlesex Bar Associations (2015)

Awards:

  • 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.

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