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Inside Cohen Dowd Quigley, the Phoenix boutique a senior litigation partner left a major firm to build in 1991 — deliberately small, deliberately focused on the toughest commercial cases other firms turn down.
Cohen Dowd Quigley — At a Glance
| FIRM | Cohen Dowd Quigley, P.C. |
| FOUNDED | 1991, Phoenix — Ronald Jay Cohen |
| FOUNDER BACKGROUND | Ron Cohen — senior litigation partner at Streich Lang, 1972–1991; faculty/advocacy instructor at Harvard, Emory, Cardozo, LSU, and ASU law schools |
| LEADERSHIP | Daniel G. Dowd, President — Southwest Super Lawyer in every edition since inception; Daniel P. Quigley — Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year,” Litigation – Real Estate, 2022 |
| FOCUS | Complex commercial litigation: business disputes, real estate conflicts, employment-related disputes, administrative law, higher education law |
| NOTABLE CLIENT | Arizona Board of Regents (25+ years advising its three public universities) |
| OFFICE | Phoenix, AZ |
| CONTACT | cdqlaw.com |
Origin: Leaving a Big Firm to Build a Small One
Ron Cohen spent nearly two decades — from 1972 to 1991 — as a trial lawyer at Streich Lang, a major Phoenix firm, rising to senior litigation partner before leaving to found Cohen Dowd Quigley with a deliberately narrow vision: a small, boutique firm specializing exclusively in complex commercial litigation, hiring only lawyers capable of handling the toughest, most demanding cases. Cohen has taught trial advocacy at Harvard, Emory, Cardozo, Louisiana State, and Arizona State University law schools, and has lectured in more than 100 programs across the U.S. and Europe.
Practice Areas
CDQ’s practice centers on business disputes, real estate litigation, employment-related disputes (breach of contract, discrimination, trade secret misappropriation, non-compete enforcement), administrative law, and higher-education law — the firm has advised the Arizona Board of Regents and its three public universities for more than 25 years. Every attorney at the firm is a litigator; the firm stays engaged in each matter from inception through any necessary appeal.
Track Record
Recent institutional matters the firm has handled include disputes involving the City of Scottsdale’s Downtown Infill Incentive Program and the City of Tempe’s Government Property Lease Excise Tax and master developer agreements. The firm reports securing a multi-million dollar judgment including an award of treble damages and attorneys’ fees in a recent matter, per its own materials, though Awesome Attorneys was not able to independently identify the specific case for citation.
Past-Results Disclaimer: These are the firm’s own case summaries. Every case is different, and no past result guarantees a similar outcome in any future matter.
Client Voice
Awesome Attorneys did not locate individually attributable, quotable client reviews for Cohen Dowd Quigley on major platforms as of the research date; the firm’s public reputation is documented primarily through peer recognition and institutional client relationships rather than a large consumer-review footprint, consistent with a boutique serving corporate and governmental clients.
Community
Ron Cohen’s decades of trial-advocacy teaching at some of the country’s most prominent law schools represents a sustained contribution to the broader legal profession beyond his own casework, and the firm’s long-standing institutional relationship with Arizona’s public university system reflects an unusually deep, multi-decade civic tie for a litigation boutique of its size.
Recognition
Daniel G. Dowd has been named a Southwest Super Lawyer in every edition of the publication since the firm’s founding era — a peer-influenced, research-driven selection. Daniel P. Quigley was named Best Lawyers’ “Lawyer of the Year” for Litigation – Real Estate in Phoenix for 2022, and Daniel E. Durchslag is recognized by Best Lawyers in Commercial Litigation and Litigation – Real Estate. These are independently vetted, peer-review credentials rather than purchased or submission-based awards.
The Arizona Legal Backdrop
What follows is general legal information, not legal advice.
Arizona commercial disputes frequently run through the Uniform Commercial Code as adopted in A.R.S. Title 47. Business entities are governed by the Arizona Business Corporation Act, A.R.S. Title 10, and the Arizona Limited Liability Company Act, A.R.S. § 29-3101 et seq. Trade secret misappropriation claims — part of CDQ’s employment-adjacent litigation work — run through the Arizona Uniform Trade Secrets Act, A.R.S. § 44-401 et seq. Government-entity real estate and lease matters, like the Tempe and Scottsdale disputes the firm has handled, often intersect with Arizona’s public procurement and municipal law framework layered on top of ordinary contract law.
The Awesome Attorneys Assessment
Cohen Dowd Quigley’s genuine strength is depth over breadth: a deliberately small roster where every attorney litigates, a founder with a rare pedigree teaching trial advocacy at the nation’s top law schools, and one of the state’s longest-running institutional relationships with its public university system.
The honest caveat: this is a small, high-intensity boutique built for complex, high-stakes disputes — clients with a routine or lower-value commercial matter may find the firm’s focus and fee structure better suited to bigger, more contested cases than everyday business disputes.
Methodology & Sourcing
This profile was researched in August 2026 from cdqlaw.com (firm site, “Our History” page, attorney bios), Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and LawCrossing’s firm profile. Cohen Dowd Quigley, P.C. did not commission, review, or pay for this profile.
Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice
This profile is an independent editorial article published by Awesome Attorneys. Awesome Attorneys does not endorse, recommend, or warrant any lawyer or law firm profiled on this site, and inclusion in this series is not paid placement.