James K. Cowan, Jr.

Jim is the Chairman of CowanPerry PC. His practice focuses on serving as outside general counsel to business owners; representing management in the full spectrum of labor & employment issues confronted by employers in today’s workplace; handling complex business litigation matters; and representing property owners and developers on land use issues and commercial real estate projects. He represents a wide range of employers, business owners and developers in the region, ranging from high-tech start-ups to large manufacturers, and from local property owners to international corporations and national developers.

He has over thirty years of trial experience representing employers in business and commercial litigation, myriad types of business and partnership disputes, and the waterfront of employment-related litigation, including wrongful termination, discrimination, wage-hour, disability and FMLA claims.

Over the course of his career, he has represented companies in federal and state courts across Virginia in commercial litigation and in the defense of wrongful discharge claims, including disability, age, family medical leave, sexual harassment, race, and gender under the Americans with Disabilities Act; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; the Family Medical Leave Act and Fair Labor Standards Act; Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 42 U.S.C. §1981; and before the Court of Appeals and the Virginia Supreme Court on appellate matters. Jim also represents employers before the NLRB, the EEOC and the Virginia Employment Commission. Additionally, he specializes in the preparation of affirmative action plans and responding to OFCCP and other Department of Labor audits.

Jim serves as outside general counsel to a number of prominent companies and non-profits in the region, and as the general counsel to Onward, the New River Valley’s economic development alliance. Jim is also a sought-after speaker and corporate trainer locally and for national programs, and serves on the Virginia Bar Association Labor & Employment Law Section Council.

In 2025, Jim was named Best Lawyers’ “Lawyer of the Year” in Corporate Law in Roanoke. He has been recognized for over twenty years as one of “The Best Lawyers in America;” as a Virginia “Super Lawyer,” 2007 to present; and has been repeatedly named to Virginia Business Magazine’s “Legal Elite” for Labor/Employment law.