Biz briefs 12/18
Published 12:00 am Sunday, December 18, 2016
Certification indicates that the attorney has intentionally focused his legal practice to improve the proficiency and quality of his legal services and to stay current in the specialty field. Only 3.7 percent of attorneys achieve specialty certification, according to the North Carolina State Bar. In North Carolina, just over 1,000 attorneys have earned certified specialist status in a community of approximately 27,000 attorneys, the State Bar reported.
Cochran, who joined the Salisbury law firm in 2015, concentrates on federal and state court criminal defense. He also handles federal criminal appeals for Kluttz Reamer.
Specialization in criminal law requires meeting continuing education requirements, devoting 25 percent or more of practice time to the specialty and passing a six-hour exam in the specialty field. It also requires confirmation by the attorney’s peers that he has the qualifications to be board certified in the specialty. Re-certification is required by the board every five years.
Cochran is a 2006 graduate of Wake Forest University School of Law and a 2002 magna cum laude graduate of Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Mich., with degrees in history and Spanish. Cochran is married with two children and previously served as head junior varsity baseball coach at RJ Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem.
He was employed by the Forsyth County District Attorney’s Office for five years and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina for four years. At the D.A.’s Office, Cochran served as a Superior Court assistant district attorney for the Violent Crimes Division and the General Felony Division. As a special assistant United States attorney, Cochran was responsible for prosecuting gun and drug crimes coming out of Forsyth County. He also wrote briefs and argued to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.