Attorney Gerald Cowen

Gerald Edward Cowen, long-time Hollywood and Hallandale lawyer, has built his practice around serving client needs as a transactional attorney.

Transactional law, refers to the practice of law as it relates to money, business and commerce. “A transactional attorney provides legal aid to entrepreneurs with contract drafting, real estate acquisition, and intellectual property protection,” says Cowen. “It also provides protection to the individual and his or her personal assets.”

Cowen received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Pennsylvania State University and his Masters in Education from Temple University. He taught for several years in private and public schools throughout Philadelphia. After moving to Florida, he studied law at Nova Southeastern University, where he earned his Juris Doctor in 1980.

Throughout his career, Cowen was involved in the planning, negotiating and document drafting of contracts in all types of business transactions. In more popular words, he was instrumental in overseeing “the law of the deal.” That involved a thorough understanding of the business, financial and economic aspects of all entities involved in formulating contracts and disclosure documents. It also necessitated the ability to conduct due diligence and counsel clients on the legalities, involving their business decisions.
In the 1980s, Cowen worked for a law firm with clients that included small and major corporations, developers, condominium and homeowner associations. While with that firm, Cowen was party to developing the first condominium project approved by the State of Florida. Strange as it may seem, in that project, the buyer not only was deeded the unit he or she was purchasing, but also the airspace within the unit. Cowen states that if that building was ever leveled, aside from his or her share in the underlying property, the owner still owns the airspace of the unit that was there, as well as their percentage of the common areas. Today, Cowen admits, proceeding to selling the leveled property, would pose a problem.

When Cowen opened his own practice in 1985, his early focus concentrated on transactional work commercially, on a more personal level for his clients and protecting their individual assets. That included estate planning, establishing trusts and writing customized wills as per their needs.

“Regardless of the size of a client’s assets,” says Cowen, “my most important role as an estate planning attorney is to assist individuals and couples in avoiding probate, saving time and money. This includes assisting with pre-need documents, such as Power of Attorney and Healthcare Surrogate, all to protect the individual’s interests.”

In that context, Cowen is also a probate attorney, who oversees the gathering of assets as per the will, paying off debts, final distribution of the remaining funds and in accordance with the individual estate plan, as per the law.

Gerald Edward Cowen maintains an active real estate practice in the sale and leasing of commercial properties and follows through with tenant compliance as per the contract. He helps individual clients with purchase, mortgage and leasing contracts, as well as serving as counsel for landlord/tenant disputes, evictions and association matters.

Cowen also represents clients in “mail-away” transactions for out-of-state buyers’ and sellers’ closings in Florida. In so doing, he prepares documents for sale and purchase, title, insurance, closings and provides any needed explanation of Florida law to incoming residents or business owners.

Licensed for over 35 years, Gerald E. Cowen is a community-oriented professional with interests centered around Hollywood. He has owned several commercial and residential properties in the city and serves as a member of the Board of Directors of his homeowners association. Mr. Cowen also served on the Board of the Hollywood Housing Authority, an agency vested to find affordable housing within the city. In that position, he assisted in negotiating and contracting for the purchase and management of Authority housing projects.
Since 1996, Gerald Cowen is very proud of his years of involvement with the American Cancer Society. He was the first co-chairman of the Broward “Relay for Life” and was involved in the very popular Broward Cancer Society “Jail or Bail” fundraising event. Although not as active today, he has been honored with the designation of Lifetime Member of the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society, Broward Chapter.

From his office at 2200 Hollywood Boulevard, Cowen says, “I have had a very varied, satisfying career and I enjoy helping people navigate their every-day problems that necessitate a ‘legal eye.’”

In his spare time, Gerald Cowen is an avid scuba diver, fisherman and has travelled extensively worldwide. He is a member of the Board of Directors of South Florida Divers, Inc.

This year, in 2021, Martindale-Hubbell, a global network of attorneys and websites that provides client and peer review ratings, lists Gerald Edward Cowen as “Peer Rated for High Professional Achievement.”

I guess you can’t beat a commendation like that, especially coming from your colleagues in a renowned, respected publication!

Gerald Edward Cowen
Attorney-at-Law 954-921-5110
2200 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood, Florida 33020