College of Law

Claire Cahoon

Lecturer in Law

Claire Cahoon is an assistant federal public defender with the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of Ohio. She joined the Federal Public Defender's Cleveland office in 2014, later transferring to the Toledo branch in 2018. In her current role, Cahoon represents men and women accused of a broad range of federal crimes involving firearms, drugs, child sex crimes, fraud, terrorism, and other offenses in the role of lead trial counsel. She also represents clients on appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.

Prior to joining the Federal Public Defender, Cahoon held several positions with civil litigation law firms in Cleveland. She began her career as an assistant state public defender in the Ohio Public Defender's Appeals and Postconviction Unit, appearing regularly before Ohio's district courts of appeals and the Ohio Supreme Court. Cahoon holds a J.D. from Capital University Law School and a bachelor's degree in English from Otterbein University.

Cahoon teaches Lawyering Skills I and II. She previously served as an adjunct professor of law at Cleveland Marshall College of Law teaching Advanced Brief Writing from 2012-20 and coached a variety of moot court teams.