Coleman Cowan
Proven VerdictsAbout Coleman Cowan
Coleman Cowan is a Partner at the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin, with approximately 20+ years of combined experience as an attorney and journalist. He practiced law for 10 years, then spent 10 years as a journalist and producer (winning two Emmy Awards in 2009 and 2013, plus Peabody, Gracie, Polk, and Sigma Delta Chi awards), before returning to legal practice. He has obtained multi-million dollar verdicts in product liability, personal injury, and complex litigation matters.
Cowan earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1992, his Juris Doctor cum laude from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1995, and his Master of Science cum laude from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2007.
He is admitted to the North Carolina Bar and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. His other memberships include the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Public Justice Foundation, Taxpayers Against Fraud, National Association of Consumer Advocates, North Carolina Advocates for Justice, and the North Carolina Bar Association.
His legal honors include Best Lawyers (2024-2026), Super Lawyers North Carolina (2023-2026), and Business North Carolina's Legal Elite (2002).
Proven verdicts and settlements
A Johnston County jury awarded $5.1 million to the family of Joan Drake, killed when a driver going 98 mph struck her car as she turned into a Clayton Walmart, after Farrin attorneys Coleman Cowan and Donald Clack tried the case without putting on a single medical bill.
A mother and her two teenage daughters were seriously hurt in an October 2018 head-on crash on North Carolina Highway 49 with a company truck driven by an unlicensed man. After the injury claims were resolved by agreement, a federal court held that the construction company's commercial excess policy covered the accident and that interest was owed on top. The Fourth Circuit affirmed in August 2025, and the family's total recovery reached $2,861,458.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.
