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

Nonprofit Organization Check-Up

by | Jan 5, 2010

Now is the right time to review and evaluate the organization and operation of your nonprofit organization. Enforcement activity of tax-exempt organizations has increased exponentially by both the Internal Revenue Service and states attorneys general. Failure to...

How Minnesota Nice Affects Board Decisions

by | Dec 31, 2009

In managing the business and affairs of a corporation, a Board of Directors has a great deal of power and authority and few restrictions. Each individual director must, however, comply with the legally required standard of conduct. Minnesota law provides that a...

Family Law; How Far Have We Really Come?

by | Oct 27, 2009

Kay Hunt spoke on October 27, 2009 at Gender Fairness in the Courts: A 20 Year Retrospective, held in conjunction with the Minnesota Women Lawyers. Kay presented with Susan Rhode on “Family Law: How Far Have We Really Come?”

Verdicts, JMOL, Post-Trial Procedures & Motions

by | Oct 22, 2009

Kay Hunt spoke at a Minnesota CLE seminar, How to Litigate the Civil Case in Minnesota on October 22, 2009. Kay presented on “Verdicts, JMOL, Post-Trial Procedures & Motions (including preserving the right to appeal).”