Alison Cohen

Cohen Defense Group , Inc.

Alison Cohen is a founding member of the Cohen Defense Group, Inc., a private criminal defense firm that provides first level conflict defender services for Placer and Nevada counties. She currently supervises the Cohen Defense Group’s Juvenile and Appellate Units for both counties.

Alison completed her undergraduate degree at U.C. Santa Cruz, and her J.D. at Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco, earning certificates in Litigation and Public Interest Law. Admitted to the Bar in 1997, she began her career defending criminal cases with the Placer County conflict firm.

In 2017, Alison and her husband, David Cohen, created the Cohen Defense Group and built it into the largest private criminal defense firm in Placer County. In 2024, they added offices in Nevada County and began providing conflict defender services there. Alison was the primary juvenile delinquency attorney for Placer County conflict cases for 23 years. She sat on the committee that developed Placer County’s competency protocol and continues to work with justice partners to develop policies and procedures beneficial to youth in the delinquency system.