Attorney History
Biographical Information and Job History
Howard M. Cohen was born on Election Day November 7, 1950 in Paterson, New Jersey. His parents are both World War II veterans. Howard learned to appreciate the importance of education and hard work when he saw his father with three children to support go to college at night to get his accounting degree. Howard earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, DC. As an undergraduate student he worked with Citizens Advocate Center where he assisted on a project involving job discrimination in federal employment. He turned this research into a Senior Honors Thesis and became the first student to graduate with Special Honors in Sociology from GWU. He also worked at the Wilderness Society where he developed an appreciation for the outdoors and his concern for the environment. In addition, he had the honor of serving as a United States Senate Intern and researched and drafted speeches about consumer product safety issues.
Howard then proceeded on to law school at Cleveland State University where he served as Issue Editor and Executive Editor of the Law Review. Upon graduation from law school and admission to the Ohio Bar in 1976 he worked for a small Cleveland law firm where he handled labor relations matters from the management side. He was co-counsel on a case before the National Labor Relations Board, handled workers’ compensation claims and represented a multi employer health and welfare fund. Howard’s interest in the environment led him to a new job with a regional planning agency where he worked on water and air quality issues for the northeast Ohio area.
Building on his environmental expertise he returned to the Washington, DC, area where he worked for a private publishing and consulting firm. He helped develop and wrote for a new publication called Hazardous Waste Report and served as legal and managing editor. He also was the Project Manager and Principal Investigator on a report for President Carter’s Inter Agency Task Force on Environmental Data and Monitoring. Howard’s growing legal environmental expertise led him to be invited to serve as a speaker on a panel with then Governor Bill Clinton at the National Governor’s Association. During this time, Howard met his wife, Janice, who has PhD in nursing and was working in Washington, DC, as a consultant on health care issues.
In 1980 Howard took a new job at the Environmental Protection Agency where he helped draft hazardous waste regulations and was involved in trying to coordinate regulatory activities with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. To further his educational background Howard enrolled in a Masters of Law program at George Washington University and began taking evening classes. He never completed the degree because he moved to Providence, Rhode Island, to accompany his wife who accepted a new job.
In Rhode Island , Howard worked with a small law firm and began doing consulting work with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RI DEM). He eventually accepted a full-time legal position with RI DEM and advanced to Assistant Chief Legal Counsel, Acting Chief Legal Counsel and Acting Director of Legal Services. He served as chair of the Rhode Island Bar Administrative Law Committee and was active in the Bar’s Environmental Law Committee.
Once again following his wife, Howard moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1989 (just before Hurricane Hugo hit) when his wife accepted a faculty position with the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In 1990 Howard was admitted to the North Carolina Bar, his first and only child, Amanda, was born and he formed a partnership with another Charlotte attorney. Howard focused his practice on workers’ compensation matters, personal injury employment claims and environmental work. Among the cases he handled was an overtime wage claim for a group of employees against a major local employer. He was also hired by the City of Charlotte to represent the City in an environmental claim against some major corporations which resulted in a settlement of almost $1million dollars.
In 1992 Howard joined the law firm of Blair Conway Bograd & Martin where he continued doing environmental and labor relations work. He represented clients in labor arbitration matters and handled claims before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
In 1994 Howard became a solo practitioner and continues his solo practice to date. While maintaining his solo practice, for a few years Howard was also under contract with the City of Charlotte and the Mecklenburg County Alcohol Beverage Control Board to help enforce alcohol licensing requirements. As a solo practitioner Howard found that he could focus more on what he really wanted to do, provide the personal service clients need and represent individual employees on a variety of employment matters. While occasionally he will represent a small business, the vast majority of his work involves representing individuals. As his employment practice grew he phased out his environmental law work and now limits his practice to employment matters, workers’ compensation, personal injury claims and he serves as both a mediator and arbitrator.
Howard resides in southeast Charlotte, and maintains his office in the historic Johnston Building in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. His daughter graduated from East Mecklenburg High School and his wife now heads the nursing graduate program at Queens University. Howard and his wife are avid Carolina Panther fans and you can find them in the upper level end zone on game days.
Licenses, Memberships and Awards
Howard Cohen is admitted to practice law in North Carolina, and is admitted to practice in the North Carolina Federal District Courts in the Western and Middle Districts. He also maintains inactive status in the Ohio Bar.
Howard is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association, the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) and the North Carolina Advocates For Justice (NCAJ). He belongs to the Employment Law and Workers’ Compensation Sections of the NCAJ and is a member of the Labor and Employment, Dispute Resolution, and Workers’ Compensation Sections of the NCBA. He also served as Chair of the Mecklenburg County Bar Lawyer Referral Service and was the first chair of the Mecklenburg County Bar Solo & Small Practice Section. Howard is a long-term member of the Sierra Club and of the Catawba Lands Conservancy.
In 1997, Howard was honored for his outstanding service to the Mecklenburg County Bar Lawyer Referral Service.
212 S. Tryon St., STE 952
Charlotte, NC 28281
Tel: 704-335-8139
Fax: 704-335-8130
hcohen@bellsouth.net