Coleman Cowan

Coleman Cowan is an attorney and Emmy Award–winning 60 Minutes producer who leads the litigation section at the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin in Durham, North Carolina. As a trial lawyer and Partner with the firm, Coleman focuses his practice on Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, including matters involving personal injury, product liability, insurance bad faith, and complex litigation. His work often involves high-stakes disputes that require careful preparation, strategic advocacy, and clear presentation to judges and juries.

Coleman earned his Juris Doctor with honors from Wake Forest University School of Law in Winston-Salem, where he received awards for 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 with honors from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

After beginning his career as an attorney, Coleman spent approximately a decade working as a journalist, taking him from North Carolina courtrooms to locations around the globe. He served as a producer for 60 Minutes and CBSN On Assignment, and as a reporter for BusinessWeek magazine. His reporting addressed topics such as war, politics, economics, sports, and adventure. During this time, his work received two Emmy Awards, as well as a Peabody, Gracie, Polk, and Sigma Delta Chi award, along with several additional nominations.

Throughout his legal career, Coleman has participated as lead counsel in jury trials resulting in multi-million-dollar verdicts. In 2002, he was selected by Business North Carolina Magazine as one of North Carolina’s “Legal Elite.” He was also named to the 2023 North Carolina “Super Lawyers” list by Super Lawyers and to the 2024–2026 “Best Lawyers” list for Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs by Best Lawyers in America.

Coleman has developed continuing legal education courses for the North Carolina Bar Association and regularly speaks at legal seminars. He serves on the Civil Rules Committee for the Middle District of North Carolina and is Chair of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Professional Vitality Committee.

In 2024, Coleman became a Senior Lecturing Fellow at Duke University School of Law, where he shares his litigation experience with law students preparing for careers in the courtroom.

He has also been invited to serve on the Wake Forest University School of Law Board of Visitors and will begin supporting and advising the institution in that role in July 2026.