About Mark C.
Mark C. Cogan graduated from New York University School of Law in 1982 after completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Oregon in 1978. He entered the legal profession at a time when criminal appeals and trial practice were both evolving. Early academic training at NYU gave him grounding in appellate law and trial advocacy, which would inform much of his subsequent work.
His career began at the Legal Aid Society in 1982, where he served in the Criminal Appeals Bureau. That role placed him on the front lines of post-conviction work, drafting briefs and handling appellate arguments. He later moved into private practice in New York, working at Parker, Chapin, Flattau & Klimpl in 1986 and then at Ezra, O'Connor, Moon & Tam in 1987. Those years in private firms exposed him to different courtroom cultures and a broader range of litigation matters.
In 1988 he returned to the Legal Aid Society to work in the Criminal Defense Division. There he handled trial-level defense matters and developed practical courtroom skills. Nearly a decade later he established his own firm. Since 1997 he has been the owner and lawyer at Mark C. Cogan, P.C. Building a solo practice required shifting between client work and the administrative demands of running a firm. He took on both responsibilities while maintaining a case load in criminal defense and appeals.
Cogan has maintained long-standing ties to professional organizations. He has been a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers since 1994. He joined the Multnomah Bar Association and the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association in 1997. Since 2001 he has been part of the CJA Assigned Counsel Program in Federal Court, handling federally appointed defense work. The Oregon State Bar invited him as a guest to its annual media summit beginning in 2014, a sign of ongoing engagement with bar activities and the broader legal community.
Licensed to practice in Oregon, Cogan's background spans both trial and appellate practice. His early appellate work and later trial defense work inform how he approaches cases now. He represents clients in state and federal matters and has experience with appointed federal criminal defense through the CJA program. He currently practices criminal defense and appellate law at Mark C. Cogan, P.C.
