Ian Ross Cohen

Ian R. Cohen is a veteran executive legal leader and the driving force behind IRC Legal, specializing in providing Strategic Counsel, Deal Architecture, and Fractional General Counsel services. With 17 years of comprehensive legal experience, Ian has cultivated a unique perspective that translates complex legal frameworks into decisive business advantages.

The Executive Command Perspective

Ian’s differentiated value stems from a dual-track career: nearly a decade spent mastering high-stakes M&A and securities law in BigLaw in New York City, followed by serving as full-time General Counsel for two dynamic companies. This journey provides him with the rare ability to execute legal strategy both from the rigorous perspective of outside counsel and the high-speed, operational standpoint of the executive team.

Scalability and Strategic Transactions

As a proven Deal Architect, Ian has been central to the corporate lifecycles of scaling businesses, successfully guiding companies through every critical financial milestone: Series Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C financing, and successfully navigating Going Public transactions. His experience is not just transactional; it is deeply entrenched in the boardroom, ensuring that strategic legal decisions align directly with shareholder goals and market demands.

Translating Insight into Action

Ian's core strength lies in translating complexity into clarity. He possesses a keen awareness of what is truly important versus what is merely noise, allowing him to focus resources efficiently. This manifests in his ability to:

• Streamline communication between legal, operations, and sales teams.
• Translate "legalese" into clear, actionable business insights.
• Establish cross-functional processes that enable teams to move with confidence, quickness, and strategic alignment, driving business scaling.
• Ian R. Cohen offers clients the sophisticated judgment of a senior executive and the technical mastery of a top-tier lawyer delivering Executive Legal Command on a flexible basis.

Representative Transactions

• $1 billion sale of PE-backed telecom company
• $1 billion sale of PE-backed government contracting business
• $10 million to $50 million seed financing rounds
• Series A, B and C financing rounds ($50 million to $300 million)
• Going public transactions, including SPAC transactions
• SAFE note financing rounds
• Convertible note financing rounds
• Tender offers to existing stockholders
• Minority and majority brand investments
• Hundreds of commercial agreements (tech, SaaS, ecommerce, retail, logistics, leases, licenses, B2B, B2C)
• Joint ventures, partnerships and fund formation
• Entity formations (corporations, limited liability companies and others)
• Dispute resolutions

Education

University of Maryland - College Park, BA

Hofstra University - School of Law, JD