05.07.2021

Plunkett Cooney partner Dennis G. Cowan was recently appointed to the board of directors of the Oakland Community Health Network (OCHN). His three-year term is through March 31, 2024.

OCHN leads a provider service network that assists approximately 23,000 Oakland County children and adults with developmental disabilities, mental illnesses and substance use disorders at more than 300 service sites across the county. It also manages a $350 million budget funded in part by the Michigan Department of Health Human Services, general fund, grants and Oakland County.

“I am very grateful the Oakland County Board of Commissioners selected me for this important role with such an outstanding organization,” said Cowan, a Co-leader of the firm’s Governmental Affairs and Business Planning & Transactions practice groups. “OCHN is dedicated to serving those who are among the most in need of help and assistance in our community, and I am pleased to be part of this network.”

Cowan has the distinction of having previously served as President & CEO of Plunkett Cooney, one of the Midwest’s oldest and largest full-service law firms. Currently, he focuses his legal practice on obtaining governmental licensing and real estate development approvals for clients at the local, county and state levels. He has particular experience advocating on behalf of clients seeking zoning, site plan and other land use approvals. Cowan also represents clients before state administrative boards, as well as with the Michigan Attorney General's office.

Additional areas of his expertise include banking law, business law and transactions and corporate law.

A 1984 magna cum laude graduate of the Detroit College of Law, now known as the Michigan State University College of Law, Cowan has been involved in some of the state’s largest and most significant business deals, including a bid to build a Detroit casino, securing approvals for multi-million-dollar developments in suburban communities, and assisting with the financing package that helped make the city of Detroit’s “Grand Bargain” bankruptcy possible in 2014.

Cowan, who received his undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts/Boston in 1978, is a member of the Oakland County Bar Association; the Real Property Law, Corporation and Business Law, and Public Corporations Law sections of the State Bar of Michigan; and the State and Local Government Section of the American Bar Association.

During his more than 30 years of practice, Cowan served 14 years as a member of the Royal Oak City Commission. After six years as a City Commissioner, he was elected and served four consecutive two-year terms as Royal Oak Mayor. As a result of his extensive experience as a public official, Cowan offers a unique perspective to advising clients on legal issues related to all levels of government.

Established in 1913, Plunkett Cooney is a leading provider of transactional and litigation services to clients in the private and public sectors. The firm employs approximately 150 attorneys in seven Michigan cities, Chicago, Illinois, Columbus, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana. Plunkett Cooney has achieved the highest rating (AV) awarded by Martindale-Hubbell, a leading, international directory of law firms.

For more information about Dennis Cowan joining the OCHN board of directors, contact the firm’s Director of Marketing & Business Development John Cornwell at (248) 901-4008 or via email at jcornwell@plunkettcooney.com.

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