For Self-Storage Facility Operators
Lawyer Profiles
Jeffrey W. Cowan - Principal
Jeffrey W. Cowan earned his B.A. (cum laude) from Cornell University in 1986 and his J.D. from the UCLA School of Law in 1991. In law school, Mr. Cowan served as the constitutional law teaching assistant for Professor Jonathan Varat, and he completed the Moot Court Honors Program. Mr. Cowan is licensed to practice law in California and in Washington, DC.
Mr. Cowan has an "AV ® Preeminent" rating from Martindale-Hubbell. In 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, Mr. Cowan was named a "Southern California Super Lawyer".
Professional Experience
Before starting his own firm, Mr. Cowan was a partner and an associate at Kendig & Ross, an "AV ® Preeminent" boutique in Century City where he spent nine years practicing complex business litigation and employment law. His clients ranged from Fortune 500 corporations to smaller businesses in Los Angeles, the Midwest and the East Coast. Individual clients ranged from celebrities to professionals and just “regular folk.” Mr. Cowan also successfully prosecuted criminals for the Ventura County District Attorney, the Los Angeles City Attorney and the Inglewood City Attorney through the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Trial Advocacy Program.
Mr. Cowan then spent two years as “Of Counsel” to Hennelly & Grossfeld, an "AV ® Preeminent" Los Angeles law firm that did high stakes trials for Fortune 500 corporations.
Mr. Cowan has substantial trial experience. It includes:
- Prosecuting (and winning) jury trials
- Numerous court trials and arbitrations
- Defending wage claims before the Labor Commissioner
- Handling and arguing appeals and writ petitions in the state and federal courts
Published Opinions: Kim V. J. F. Enterprises, 42 Cal. App. 4th 849 (1996), and Cowan v. Krayzman, 196 Cal. App. 4th 907 (2011).
Articles: “How To Get Paid When The Client Cancels,” Genii, The International Conjurors’ Magazine, Volume 56, No. 5, March 1993.
Non-legal experience
Mr. Cowan has more than 25 years experience performing non-legal magic: delighting audiences as a professional magician. His performances have ranged from Hollywood’s Magic Castle nightclub to the SEMA trade show in Las Vegas, the Playboy Mansion, the Canadian and Dutch embassies in Washington D.C., Beverly Hills society affairs, and fraternity and sorority formals at Cornell University. Mr. Cowan is also the co-author (with Benjamin Garth) of How to Eat Fire Without Indigestion, and he has published original sleight-of-hand-tricks for use by other magicians.
Finally, Mr. Cowan is a long-time member of the Board of Directors of the Cornell Club of Los Angeles.
Ilana Makovoz - Counsel
Ilana Makovoz is counsel to The Cowan Law Firm. She is a business litigator with extensive experience litigating complex, high-stakes disputes in the federal and state courts. In 2007, Ms. Makovoz was listed in Los Angeles magazine as a "Southern California Rising Star".
Academic Background
Ms. Makovoz received her J.D. from The Harvard Law School in 2000 after earning her B.A. summa cum laude from UCLA in 1997. At Harvard, Ms. Makovoz was on the Board of Directors and General Secretary and Treasurer, as well as legal counsel, on the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. She also served as a note editor on the Harvard Women's Law Journal. She is licensed to practice law in both California and New York.
Professional Experience
Ms. Makovoz started her legal career by practicing business litigation with Latham & Watkins for four years (first in New York and later in Los Angeles). Her practice areas included general commercial litigation, intellectual property law (e.g., copyright and trademark law), entertainment law, and Internet/Computer technology disputes. She represented clients ranging from Fortune 500 corporations to small entrepreneurs and businesses. Ms. Makovoz has experience conducting arbitrations and mediations as well as trial and appellate practice.
Ms. Makovoz has also authored the following articles: "Advising Clients About Hacker Insurance", Los Angeles Lawyer, February 2003; "Homeschooling on Copyright Law: The P2P Threat", which was published & presented at the Latham & Watkins Internet Conference in December 2003 and which pertained to the copyright law ramifications of downloading music and video files off of the Internet, and "Hacker Insurance: The Last Line of Defense for Network Security," which has been cited by Guidance Software in its publications and business literature.
Outside of the law, Ms. Makovoz enjoys reading and films/theater.
Richard D. Greta – Of Counsel
Richard D. Greta has an “Of Counsel” association with The Cowan Law Firm. He is a corporate and securities lawyer who consults on litigation issues.
Academic Background
Mr. Greta earned his J.D. from the UCLA School of Law in 1991. In law school, Mr. Greta received the American Jurisprudence award in constitutional law, served as the comments editor on the Federal Communications Law Journal, and completed the Moot Court program. Mr. Greta also holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where he was the president of its Pre-legal Society.
Professional Experience
Mr. Greta spent nine years practicing corporate and securities law at the Los Angeles office of Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw. Often heading up a team of lawyers, Mr. Greta worked on matters ranging from mergers, acquisitions and dispositions to private and public offerings, international and domestic joint ventures, real estate ventures loan securitizations and financings, tender offers and proxy solicitations, ranged from multi-national corporations such as Abbott Laboratories to Ernst & Young LLP, Soros Capital, LP, CB Richard Ellis, Foster Freeze Inc, and Robertson Stephens, as well as smaller local companies and high net worth individuals. Before that, Mr. Greta spent four years practicing law at Gipson, Hoffman & Pancione, where he did a mixture of corporate and entertainment transactional work and general litigation.
Mr. Greta also holds a real estate broker license and is a real estate developer. He is an avid skier and golfer.