Michael Kohan ‘08 is the Principal of Kohan Law Group, a boutique civil practice focusing on personal injury, commercial litigation, family law, estate disputes, guardianships, and landlord-tenant work. The firm has a main office in Manhasset and a satellite office in New York City, handling cases all over Long Island, the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester and Rockland counties. Kohan is admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey, California (voluntarily inactive) as well as the Eastern/Southern Districts of New York and the United States Supreme Court.
Hofstra Law Experience
Kohan started his law school career at a New York City law school and transferred to Hofstra Law in his second year. “Commuting from Long Island to the City was taking too much of a toll,” he said. “I transferred to Hofstra Law. The school was better, and the campus was nicer.”
Kohan’s time at Hofstra Law also gave him a unique experience with an iconic United States Supreme Court judge. “As a Hofstra Law student, I was able to participate in their study abroad program in Sorrento, Italy with Ruth Bader Ginsburg as our professor,” he says. “Seeing her every day and having her teach me in a small class environment was one of my best experiences during law school.”
“I have hired three alumni to work with my firm, and I’ve had several law clerks from Hofstra Law.”
“I loved Hofstra Law; I loved the campus; I loved being close to home. The students and professors were friendly. I stay connected with a lot of my law school classmates, and some have become my best friends. I have hired three alumni to work with my firm, and I’ve had several law clerks from Hofstra Law.”
Professional Experience
During law school, Kohan clerked for the Abrams Fensterman law firm where he gained broad experience working with senior partners in the firm’s numerous practice areas. Kohan’s first job after graduation was with a small firm that practiced almost exclusively landlord-tenant/real estate litigation, with some family law. He stayed at the firm for three years before starting his own firm in 2012, beginning with landlord-tenant work. “Landlord-tenant is a very technical area of practice,” he says. “Doing that work taught me to be a perfectionist.”
His practice expanded from there. “I started doing personal injury work as a favor for friends and family and I enjoyed it,” he says. He was first introduced to personal injury law while at Hofstra Law, where he participated on the trial team and advanced to the nationwide championship in Austin, Texas after receiving a “Trial Team Champion” award from the New York State Bar Association’s Trial Lawyer’s Section. “The fact patterns in those competitions involved complicated personal injury matters,” he says.
As his firm grew, Kohan hired another Hofstra Law graduate who was on the trial team with him, whose focus was personal injury. “That increased the personal injury practice even more,” he says. “Then I expanded the practice, onboarding attorneys with landlord-tenant, commercial litigation, and personal injury experience. I have never done any hardcore advertising; my work comes mostly through word-of-mouth referrals and the best form of advertising for me is doing a solid job on existing cases.”
Bar Association Involvement/Teaching at Hofstra Law
After law school, Kohan became involved in the leadership of several different associations, including the Brandeis Association, the Queens County Bar Association, the Iranian-American Bar Association and the Network of Bar Leaders. He remains involved with many of them to this day.
Kohan joined the Brandeis Association after having become a student member during a luncheon they had at Hofstra Law. He eventually became Brandeis’ President, and is now Immediate Past President. Through the Brandeis Association, he became involved in the Queens County Bar Association. “I grew up in Queens, and the Queens County Bar Association recruited from Hofstra Law, and some of the members of the Brandeis Association were also members of the Queens Bar,” he says.
Kohan served as a member of the board of managers for 6 years at the Queens County Bar. “I was asked to move up to the executive committee, which would have led to me becoming President of the Queens Bar in 3-4 years, but ultimately I declined, due to the time commitment involved,” he says. “I was still involved with other bars, and I didn’t want to spread myself too thin.” He remains involved in the Queens Bar as an active member as well as a member of their Nominating Committee.
“I was advised that being a part of the organization would give me a lot of exposure.”
In 2018, he got involved in the Network of Bar Leaders (NoBL), a coalition of over 60 bar associations in the New York metro area, where he currently serves as President. “I was recruited by the Surrogate in Manhattan, who was the President at the time,” he says. “I was advised that being a part of the organization would give me a lot of exposure.”
“Winding down some of my other bar association involvement has helped me to focus on the NoBL,” he says. “The NoBL encourages networking and camaraderie among the bar associations themselves. That makes it unique among associations. The members are bar associations, rather than individuals. We send bi-monthly announcements to all of the member bar associations about every other association’s events and activities. I try to attend as many events of other associations as possible.”
The NoBL also has its own events, awards, and dinners. “We also do smaller talks via Zoom and in person on various issues affecting bar associations,” Kohan says. If there is an issue that affects the bar, we will hold a forum on it.”
During Covid, Kohan and a few Appellate Division judges cofounded the “Jewish Bar Alliance NY,” an umbrella bar of the Jewish bar associations — a conglomerate of the Jewish lawyers of Manhattan, Queens, Nassau, Brooklyn, Westchester, and the rest of the 9th judicial district. “We have been doing a lot of important activism,” he says. He remains involved as one of the officers of the organization.
Kohan is also a regular arbitrator at the Nassau County District Court as a result of his involvement with the Nassau County Bar Association, where he is an active member of various committees. “I was appointed to that position by the Nassau County Bar Association after a screening process. I regularly allow high school students, law school students, attorneys and clerks and staff sit next to me on the bench to observe the proceedings.”
Since 2015, he has been teaching at least 1-2 continuing legal education programs per year to organizations including the NYS Academy of Trial Lawyers, the Queens County Bar, Queens County Women’s Bar, and the Nassau County Bar. He has also volunteered his time over the years with a legal housing clinic and a non-profit for the needy, including indigent widows and widowers.
In addition, from 2017-2018, Kohan served as an adjunct professor at Hofstra Law where he participated in the Foundational Lawyering course and assisted students on how to employ effective litigation techniques prior to and during trial.
Advantages of Bar Association Membership
Kohan places a high value on active bar association membership. “As a young lawyer, a lot of the advantages of bar association membership is the exposure to and interaction with members of the judiciary that you don’t get outside of the courtroom,” he says.
“As a student and then as a young lawyer, being involved in both the Brandeis Association and the Queens Bar, it was great because there were so many members who were judges. It was a great opportunity to meet judges off the bench in a more relaxed atmosphere and environment. I got to know them on a personal level and became friends with some of them.”
“Even if you are not a new attorney, if you get involved in bar associations, judges start respecting you more, you become more confident and that can be a benefit in the courtroom.”
But bar association membership goes beyond relationships with the judiciary. “The other big advantage is the networking and possible referrals that come from membership. I have gotten a decent amount of business as a result. I’ve developed not just professional relationships, but personal friendships, too. And there are other benefits as well, including free CLEs and free or discounted events for members.”
“My bar association activity resulted in me applying for and being appointed (since 2018 and to the present) to the Appellate Division 2nd Department’s committee on character and fitness where we evaluate the admission of new attorneys and the readmission of suspended and disbarred attorneys.”
Advice for New Lawyers
In addition to getting involved with bar associations, Kohan has other advice for young lawyers. “I didn’t work at a law firm during my first summer in law school,” he says. “I regret that. In hindsight, it would have been a great experience. It helps you do better in your coursework and be more familiar with legal terminology/procedures if you are working in a legal environment. I think people should work in a legal environment every summer, even if it is less lucrative than another opportunity. Work in a law firm or for a judge, even in an unpaid internship in your 1L summer. Get a perspective of what judges want from practitioners.”
“Make sure you enjoy practicing law and that you enjoy the area of law in which you are practicing.”
He also recommends working for the District Attorney’s Office for those who seek to have a career in trial work. “If I could go back in time, I would work in the DA’s Office for a year or two. It’s great exposure and it is a different experience than you get from working in a private firm.”
Kohan also cautions that litigation isn’t for everyone. “You have to really like this profession because otherwise it can be very stressful at times,” he says, “especially if you are doing trial work. I love my job. There are easier ways to make money, but this is what I chose. Make sure you enjoy practicing law and that you enjoy the area of law in which you are practicing. As the saying goes, ‘If you like what you do, you will never work a day in your life.’”
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