Michael Cohn was born in Brooklyn, New York on August 18, 1953. He received a bachelors of science degree in Accounting from Brooklyn College in 1975, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1984. At the University of Oregon, he was employed by the law school as a tutor for approximately 20 students in torts and property law. He received the highest grade in Contracts, Property Law, Federal Courts, Indian law, and Pollution Control Law. During law school he worked as a legal research assistant in the areas of torts and Federal Courts. Mr. Cohn was admitted to the Alaska Bar in June of 1985.
Mr. Cohn has been practicing law in the State of Alaska for over 28 years, and worked with Weidner & Associates, for over 27 years, in the areas of tort law, commercial litigation and appeals. He has authored scores of briefs submitted to the Appellate Courts, and hundreds of motions regarding summary judgment. He has worked on over 30 cases which resulted in over one million dollar settlements/verdicts as well as numerous cases settling for substantial six figure sums.
Mr. Cohn was nominated, along with two other attorneys, for motion and brief writing for the Trial Lawyer of the Year in 1987 for their successful effort before the Supreme Court to establish law that hospitals have a nondelegable duty in operating emergency rooms and therefore the hospitals are legally responsible for negligence of independent contractor physicians in emergency room.