Phil Cole

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

Best Practices for Preserving Electronic Evidence

Best Practices for Preserving Electronic Evidence

In today's digital age, electronic evidence or “ESI” (electronically stored information) is becoming increasingly important in legal proceedings. ESI can include anything from emails and text messages to social media posts and GPS data. However, ESI can be easily...

Ethical Duties of Minnesota Lawyers to Clients

Ethical Duties of Minnesota Lawyers to Clients

As legal professionals, lawyers in Minnesota have a number of ethical duties to their clients. See Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct (“MRPC”)(http://lprb.mncourts.gov). These duties include maintaining client confidentiality, avoiding conflicts of interest,...