Phillip A. Cole / Retired
Former Areas of Practice: Legal Malpractice, Professional Liability, Medical Malpractice, Commercial Litigation, Business Litigation, Intellectual Property Litigation, Shareholder/Owner Disputes, Wrongful Death
Phillip A. Cole / Biography
Before his retirement, Phil Cole used his extensive litigation experience in handling personal injury cases, commercial disputes, business torts, class actions, medical malpractice claims, and the defense of all types of claims brought against lawyers. Mr. Cole has been a frequent lecturer and a published author in the areas of trial strategies and professional liability subjects. Mr. Cole was a board certified civil trial advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy before retiring.
He has been a qualified neutral under Rule 114 of the Minnesota General Rules of Practice and included on the civil neutrals rosters for both facilitative/hybrid and adjudicative/evaluative panels. Mr. Cole was selected as the Minneapolis Best Lawyers Legal Malpractice Lawyer of the Year for 2011 and as the Minneapolis Best Lawyers Legal Malpractice Lawyer-Defendants of the Year for 2014 and again in 2019. Cole, a member of the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys until his retirement, was certified as a specialist in the litigation of both legal and medical professional liability claims (this national organization is not accredited by the Minnesota Board of Legal Certification).
Mr. Cole has also been recognized in the International Who’s Who, Who’s Who in American Law, the National Registry of Who’s Who, and as one of The Best Lawyers in America© by U.S. World & News Report. He has been repeatedly listed as a Minnesota Super Lawyer and has been listed as a Top 100 Minnesota Super Lawyer for over a dozen years. Before his retirement he was rated AV Preeminent® for the highest level of professional excellence by Martindale-Hubbell.
Education
- University of Maryland, B.A., 1961
- Georgetown University, J.D., 1964
News + Articles
What Is an Equitable Distribution in Divorce?
Divorce often involves difficult decisions about finances, property, and long-term security. One of the most important legal concepts in any Minnesota divorce is equitable distribution, which governs how marital property is divided between spouses. Many people...
Estate Planning for Family Businesses: Succession, Taxes, and Long-Term Planning
Family businesses are unique in many ways. Mostly because they’re never just businesses. A machine shop started by a grandfather in the 1970s. A lakeside resort run by siblings who still argue about whose turn it is to buy bait. A second-generation HVAC company where...
What Investors and Entrepreneurs Should Know About Financing a Minnesota Cannabis Business
Minnesota’s cannabis industry feels a little bit like the Wild West right now—in the best and most stressful ways possible. There’s excitement everywhere. People are sketching out business plans at breweries, talking cultivation strategies over coffee, and trying to...
Susan Bullard Elected to Lommen Abdo Board of Directors
We are pleased to welcome Susan Bullard to the firm’s Board of Directors. Susan focuses her practice on estate planning, probate, trust administration, business succession planning, and legal counsel for privately owned businesses, partnerships, and limited liability...
Brent Johnson Joins Lommen Abdo Board of Directors
Lommen Abdo is pleased to share that Brent Johnson has been elected to the firm’s Board of Directors. Brent represents businesses and individuals throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin in matters involving business law, commercial transactions, shareholder disputes,...
Lommen Abdo News – May 2026
In this edition of the Lommen Abdo newsletter, you’ll find: Retirement announcements honoring Kay Nord Hunt and Glenn Kessel for their many years of dedication to the firm and the legal profession. Family law insights from Andrew Hunstad covering parenting time, child...