From Cop to Counselor: Ankit Kapoor Brings Empathy and Grit to High-Stakes Divorce Law

There’s no such thing as a routine day for Ankit Kapoor, a founding partner at the Manhattan-based law firm Cohen Stine Kapoor LLP. One moment he’s filing an emergency motion; the next, he’s in mediation or preparing for trial. It’s a pace Kapoor not only embraces but seems tailor-made for — a residual mindset from his earlier career as an NYPD officer, where unpredictability was the rule.

“In the NYPD, we used to say there’s no such thing as a routine job. Every call is different,” Kapoor said in a recent interview. “It’s the same with my clients. Every case is a new story, new people, new emotions.”

Kapoor specializes in matrimonial and family law — an area that deals with, as he puts it, “the two most important things to anyone: their children and their money.” His practice spans complex divorces, custody battles, and the increasingly evolving field of fertility and surrogacy law. And while the legal issues are complex, Kapoor is just as focused on the human toll they take.

“I often joke that I’m a very expensive therapist,” he said. “Clients are going through some of the worst moments of their lives. I tell them, ‘I may not be able to fix everything emotionally, but I will never add to your anxiety. I’ll calm the storm, not add to it.’”

Kapoor’s journey into law wasn’t conventional. After earning a degree in political science from Hofstra University in 2010, he joined the NYPD and later attended Brooklyn Law School at night — while still serving as an officer. He credits his time on the force with shaping his ability to gather facts, build trust quickly, and remain calm under pressure.

“Being a police officer, you learn to assess a situation fast — who needs help, what’s the best course of action,” he said. “Those instincts serve me well in law, especially in the emotionally charged environment of family court.”

Kapoor’s client list includes high-net-worth individuals and public figures, often with multi-jurisdictional complications. During the pandemic, while many couples found themselves stuck in small apartments, Kapoor’s clients fled to homes in Connecticut, the Hamptons, or Florida —keeping his calendar filled with cross-border custody and property disputes.

But not all cases involve just people. Kapoor recalled one unusual situation in Miami where he was hired to supervise dog visitation between a client and his ex.

“She didn’t trust him with the dogs,” Kapoor said. “So I supervised the visit, just like you would with a child custody case. That was a first —even for me.”

While some clients come to Kapoor seeking retribution, he’s candid about the limits of the law and the costs — both financial and emotional.

“I tell clients, ‘You have to get beyond the rage and turn the page,’” he said. “If you want to spend $700 an hour to go after your ex, I’ll do it. But if I think it’s not in your best interest, I’ll walk away from the case. That hasn’t happened yet because my clients usually listen to me.”

Kapoor’s legal work is not confined to traditional divorces. He is one of a growing number of attorneys addressing fertility law, a rapidly expanding area thanks to advances in reproductive technology and shifting family dynamics. New York’s 2021 Child Parent Security Act, which legalized gestational surrogacy, opened the door to complex legal arrangements between intended parents and surrogates.

“It’s a huge shift,” Kapoor said. “With gestational surrogacy, you can now pay someone to carry a child who’s not biologically related to them. That wasn’t legal in New York just a few years ago.”

Kapoor helps clients navigate both gestational and traditional surrogacy contracts and is quick to point out the legal nuances between the two. In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate provides her own egg and retains parental rights unless formal adoption procedures are followed. Courts don’t always honor pre-signed contracts, which makes expert counsel critical.

His mastery of the law is matched by a near-obsessive commitment to staying up-to-date.

“I get alerts on every major case in my field,” he said. “That’s how I can give my clients the most current, relevant advice. Strategy depends on knowing where the law stands today — not last year.”

For Kapoor, the rewards of the job come not in courtroom theatrics, but in personal victories. He recently helped a father win custody of one of his children after a long battle.

“He was overwhelmed with gratitude,” Kapoor recalled. “Moments like that stay with you.”

Kapoor currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the New York State Bar Association and co-chairs its Legislation Committee. He’s also active in diversity-focused groups, including the South Asian Bar Association and the Asian American Bar Association of New York.

Fluent in Hindi and Punjabi, Kapoor represents a new generation of attorneys — deeply empathetic, highly specialized, and relentlessly committed to doing what’s right, even when it’s not easy.

“Being a lawyer is not just about knowing the law,” Kapoor said. “It’s about knowing people — and knowing how to help them when they need it most.”