Cohen Employment Law was founded by Michael B. Cohen, an award-winning employment law attorney licensed in North Carolina and Virginia. Mr. Cohen has extensive experience representing his clients in wage and hour class actions, restrictive covenant and trade secret litigation, and leave and accommodation actions before courts and administrative agencies across the country. Mr. Cohen has also helped counsel and advise businesses of all sizes, from publicly traded companies to small startups, through a number of complex employment law issues, including independent contractor misclassification, exempt employee misclassification, non-compete violations, non-solicitation violations, trade secret misappropriation, managing leave and accommodation requests, and terminations.
Mr. Cohen has successfully represented both plaintiffs and defendants—from individuals to Fortune 50 companies—in high stakes lawsuits nationwide. His experience practicing on both sides of the “v” provides him with rare insight as to how the other side thinks, strategizes, and operates. Mr. Cohen brings that background, along with his expertise, zealous advocacy, and commitment to transparency, to every one of his engagements.
Mr. Cohen is a Board Certified Specialist in Employment Law, a designation held by just 3.5% of North Carolina attorneys. Every year since 2018, Mr. Cohen has been recognized as a North Carolina “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers®, a rating service of outstanding attorneys from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional development. Mr. Cohen was also recognized by Best Lawyers in America®: Ones to Watch in 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Prior to launching Cohen Employment Law, Mr. Cohen practiced with Troutman Pepper Locke, an international law firm with over 1,600 attorneys, and Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, one of the largest labor and employment law firms in the world. Mr. Cohen started his career with a boutique firm focused on litigating wage and hour class actions and later practiced with regional defense firms.
Mr. Cohen resides in Apex, North Carolina, with his wife, Amanda, two children, and two dogs (a husky/shepherd mix and a pitbull).
Cohen Employment Law focuses on representing its clients within four core practice areas
We regularly handle class action claims for unpaid wages, including overtime premiums, commissions, bonuses, and tips, as well as issues involving improper deductions, independent contractor misclassification, and exempt employee misclassification.
We represent executives, shareholders, managers, and other employees in negotiating or adjudicating their employment agreements and severance packages, including non-competes, non-solicitations, confidentiality provisions, and more.
We vigorously advocate for our clients in disputes over stolen, misused, or otherwise misappropriated trade secrets and other confidential information, and we have litigated high stakes lawsuits involving misappropriated software, code, customer lists, business strategies, and other proprietary or sensitive materials.
We assist clients with leave of absence issues under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and other federal and state statutes. We also assist with issues involving accommodation requests due to disability status, pregnancy, and religious beliefs or practices.