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
Grandparent Visitation Clarified
The Minnesota Court of Appeals recently clarified the bounds of grandparent visitation in its decision in the case of In re the minor child C.D.G.D. v. Darst. Minnesota has long recognized a statutory right for grandparents to petition the Court for visitation with...
Duty to Defend
John Crawford spoke at the Minnesota Insurance Law Deskbook & Seminar on July 18, 2011 for Minnesota CLE. Session description: Duty to Defend: An interactive presentation discussing duty to defend, when attorney’s fees are recoverable in coverage disputes,...
Client Wins Partnership Breakup Case
Lommen attorneys Thomas Jacobson, Kay Hunt and Diane Odeen successfully represented David Bushard before the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a case that dealt with the breakup of a partnership. In 1995, Bushard and Steven Reisman formed PressEnter, a partnership that...
Lommen Abdo Files Suit Against Distributor of Defective Hip Replacement System
MINNEAPOLIS – 4/29/11 – A lawsuit was filed today in the Minnesota First District Court in Carver County on behalf of three plaintiffs who are claiming injuries resulting from a defective hip replacement system. The suit alleges that Simpson & Associates of...
Minnesota Insurance Law Deskbook, 4th Edition
John Crawford serves as Editor-in-Chief for the Minnesota Insurance Law Deskbook, 4th Edition (2011) (Updated 2015). In addition to serving as the Deskbook's editor, John wrote chapter 6 of the Deskbook regarding the duty to defend. Read the full article.
Preserving Issues for Appeal: Post-Trial Motions
Kay Hunt moderated a panel during the Fifth Annual Appellate Practice Institute by Minnesota CLE on March 4, 2011, “Preserving Issues for Appeal: Post-Trial Motions.” Panel description: The appellate process actually starts well before the notice of appeal is...