MICHAEL C. COHAN

MICHAEL C. Cohan has been the managing partner of Cavitch, Familo & Durkin in Cleveland since 2006. He specializes in complex litigation and employment law.

Cohan has spent his entire legal career at the Cavitch firm. Prior to being managing partner, he served on the firm’s Board of Directors for many years and was chair of the Litigation Department.

Early in his career Cohan successfully litigated a trade secrets case in which the appellate opinion set out the first comprehensive test in Ohio for determining the viability of a trade secrets claim. That case became one of the most widely cited Ohio cases on trade secrets.

In another major case, after breaches by the lessees, he helped advise the owner and lessor of a harness horse racing track to repossess the racetrack, and then successfully litigated the resulting lawsuit. That case became the leading case in Ohio regarding the rights of a commercial landlord to use self-help to repossess property.

Despite being trained as a litigator, Cohan’s passion is helping privately owned businesses avoid litigation. He has developed into a trusted advisor and friend to those types of clients. He frequently advises clients on various topics, including employment contracts, non-competition agreements, trade secrets and all aspects of employment law.

Cohan earned a BA, magna cum laude, from Boston College, and a JD from Loyola University of New Orleans where he served as an editor of the Loyola Law Review.

Cohan and his wife have four adult children. His paternal ancestors were from counties Cork and Galway, and they initially settled in South Boston. He is a founding member of the Irish American Law Society of Cleveland.