RONALD JAY COHEN is the founding partner of Cohen Dowd Quigley.  From 1972 until June 1991, Ron was a trial lawyer at the Phoenix, Arizona law firm of Streich Lang where he became a senior litigation partner.  Ron has practiced in all areas of complex commercial litigation and is one of the most respected litigators in the United States.  Ron has served as a Faculty Member and Advocacy Demonstrator throughout the country, including at Emory University School of Law, Harvard Law School, Louisiana State University School of Law, Cardozo Law School and Arizona State University School of Law.  He has taught and lectured in more than one hundred programs throughout the United States and Europe.

Ron was the co-recipient of the Maricopa County Bar Association Robert R. Mills Member of the Year Award in 1986.  The Honorable Robert E. Keeton Award annually presented by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy recognized Ron in 1991 as the finest teacher of advocacy in the United States.  Ron has been a National Team Leader at the National NITA program in Boulder, Colorado three times and served many years as a Trustee on the Board of NITA and as a member of its Executive Committee.  Ron was thereafter honored by being named as a NITA Trustee Emeritus.   Ron was selected as an original Master of the Sandra Day O’Connor Inn of Court and during his membership served on its Executive Committee.  In 2000 – 2001, Ron was elected Chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation, leading its 65,000 members.  Ron has been named as a Super Lawyer, Best of the Bar, Business Journal’s Who’s Who in the Law, Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators and received numerous other professional awards and recognitions.  Ron was also honored to present the Irving Younger Lecture at the University of Minnesota and the Edward Ross Lecture in Litigation at Temple Law School. Ron has taught, nationally and internationally, programs on Conducting Winning Depositions and Expert Witness Preparation.

Locally, Ron has been a Maricopa County Judge Pro Tem, led and taught dozens of Evidence and Trial Advocacy Programs and been a team member of the Judicial Performance Review.  He was lead trial lawyer or co-lead trial lawyer in obtaining several of the largest plaintiff’s verdicts in the history of Arizona.  In 2003, the Arizona State University of Law Student Center was named the Ronald Jay Cohen Student Center in his honor.  Ron reduced his full-time practice of law in 2008.

University of Minnesota Law School
J.D., 1972
University of Minnesota Law Review, 1970-1972

University of Wisconsin
B.A., with honors, 1970.

Arizona
United States District Court, District of Arizona
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
United States Supreme Court

Expert Witness Opinion Testimony Under the New Arizona Rules of Evidence, 1980-1981, Arizona Bar Journal, December, 1982
The New Practice in Cross Examination of a Character Witness Under Arizona Rules of Evidence, 405(a), 1978 Arizona State Law Review 31 (co-author)
Arizona Legal Forms, Debtor-Creditor, Civil Procedure, Domestic Relations, Commercial Transactions, Criminal Procedure and Business Organizations (West, 1988-1992) (co-editor)
Arizona Rule of Evidence 704:  Combating Ultimate Issue Evidence, Arizona Attorney, 1991 (co-author)
Book Review on Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts, Arizona Attorney, Spring, 1999
For The Love Of Lawyering, American Bar Association Section of Litigation Journal: Opening Statement, 2000
Powerful Witness Preparation, American Bar Association Section of Litigation Journal: Opening Statement, 2000
Looking Forward to the Past, American Bar Association Section of Litigation Journal: Opening Statement, 2001
Conducting a Winning Deposition, American Bar Association Section of Litigation Journal: Opening Statement, 2001

Twelve CDQ Lawyers Named to SuperLawyers®

Twelve CDQ Lawyers Selected to SuperLawyers Lists

Eleven CDQ Lawyers Selected to Super Lawyers Lists

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Victory For CDQ’s Client

Ten CDQ Attorneys Named To SuperLawyers Lists For 2021

CDQ Obtains Dismissal Of Civil Rights Claim

CDQ Lawyers Named to 2020 SuperLawyers List

CDQ Lawyers Named to 2019 Super Lawyers® Lists

Recent Accomplishments

CDQ Attorneys and CDQ Ranked by Chambers USA

CDQ Lawyers Named to 2018 Super Lawyers® Lists

Ron has repeatedly been recognized for his leadership in the legal community. He has been honored by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (“NITA”) with the Honorable Robert E. Keeton award, received the Maricopa County Bar Association’s Robert R. Mills Member of the Year award, and served as Chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation. Ron has also been a Maricopa County Judge Pro Tem, led and taught dozens of Evidence and Trial Advocacy Programs.  For the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (“NITA”), Ron taught more than 60 National Programs, was on the faculty at the National Program in Denver, CO for 12 years, and was the National Team Leader for three years, with perfect 7.0 ratings.   He served as the Adjunct Professor of Evidence at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Visiting Professor of Evidence at the Indiana School of Law, gave the Irving Young Lecture at the University of Minnesota, and gave the Edward Ross Lecture In Litigation at Temple Law School.  Ron was a faculty member and demonstrator at Emory University School of Law, Harvard Law School, Louisiana State University School of Law and several other law schools throughout America.  Ron was a CLE Presenter for Professional Education Group, the National Practice Institute and the Lorman Education Series.  Ron has also been a team member of the Judicial Performance Review. Ron was selected as an original Master of the Sandra Day O’Connor Inn of Court and during his membership served on its Executive Committee.