Coleman Cowan

3 Things to Know About Coleman Cowan:

• He received two Emmys, 2009 and 2013.
• He won a $5.1 million verdict for the grieving sons of a woman killed in a suspected road rage incident in Johnston County.**
• He secured a $2.8 million judgment for a family severely injured in a head-on collision with construction truck.**

Coleman Cowan is a Partner at the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin and leads the firm’s litigation team. An experienced trial attorney, Coleman handles complex, high-stakes matters involving personal injury, product liability, whistleblowing, and other sophisticated civil disputes. His practice focuses on cases where the outcome truly matters – and where careful preparation, strategic thinking, and persuasive storytelling can make the difference.

Coleman earned his J.D., cum laude, from Wake Forest University School of Law, where he was recognized as Most Outstanding Advocate and Best Oralist. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master’s Degree in Journalism, cum laude, from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

He began his professional life as a practicing attorney, building a strong foundation in litigation before an unexpected opportunity led him beyond the courtroom and onto the global stage.

After roughly ten years in legal practice, Coleman transitioned into journalism, spending the next decade reporting from around the world. He worked as a producer for 60 Minutes and CBSN On Assignment and as a reporter for BusinessWeek magazine. His assignments took him to war zones, remote regions, and major international events, covering stories related to conflict, politics, economics, sports, and adventure.

During that time, Coleman earned two Emmy Awards along with a Peabody, a Gracie, a Polk Award, and a Sigma Delta Chi Award, and received multiple additional nominations. The experience sharpened his ability to distill complicated facts into clear, compelling narratives – a skill that would later define his return to trial practice.

Ultimately, Coleman chose to return to North Carolina and to the courtroom, drawn by the opportunity to advocate directly for individuals and to help juries decide questions of accountability and justice. He often notes that the core of trial work mirrors investigative journalism: mastering complex information and presenting it in a way that resonates. The difference, he says, is that instead of addressing millions of viewers, he now speaks to twelve jurors whose decisions carry real and immediate consequences.

“Being an effective trial lawyer is really about taking a complex body of information and turning it into a compelling story.”

Throughout his career, Coleman has served as lead counsel in numerous cases resulting in multi-million-dollar jury verdicts.** His work has earned consistent peer recognition, including selection to Business North Carolina’s 2002 “Legal Elite” list, inclusion on the North Carolina Super Lawyers list from 2023 through 2025, and recognition on Best Lawyers in America “Best Lawyers” list for Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs from 2024 through 2026.*

In addition to his trial practice, Coleman is deeply engaged in the legal profession. He has developed continuing legal education courses for the North Carolina Bar Association and frequently speaks at legal seminars. He serves on the Civil Rules Committee for the Middle District of North Carolina and is a past chair of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Professional Vitality Committee.

In 2024, Coleman was named a Senior Lecturing Fellow at Duke University School of Law, where he teaches and mentors future litigators. He has also been invited to serve on the Wake Forest University School of Law Board of Visitors, beginning in July 2026, continuing his long-standing commitment to legal education and professional development.

*“Legal Elite” standards of inclusion: businessnc.com. “Super Lawyers” standards of inclusion: superlawyers.com. “Best Lawyers” standards of inclusion: bestlawyers.com.

**Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes in future cases because each case is unique and must be evaluated separately.