M. Dawes Cooke, Jr. [ member ]
M. Dawes Cooke, Jr.’s practice focuses on complex civil litigation, professional liability defense, and personal injury litigation. He is also a much sought after mediator and arbitrator.
Cooke holds a Martindale-Hubble Preeminent rating (the highest, formerly called AV), and he is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of bet-the-company litigation, alternative dispute resolution, commercial litigation and personal injury litigation. He was named the 2011 Bet-the-Company Litigator of the Year. He is also regularly listed in Super Lawyers as one of the top 25 attorneys in the state of South Carolina and is one of only four South Carolina Super Lawyers listed in the category of medical malpractice defense. Cooke was profiled in the April 2011 edition of South Carolina Super Lawyers.
A native of Beaufort, South Carolina, Cooke received his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia where he majored in philosophy and graduated with high distinction. He earned his J.D. from the University of South Carolina (cum laude), where he served as clerk of court for the Society of Wig and Robe and as symposium editor for the University of South Carolina Law Review. In 1993, he received an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina.
Cooke served as a law clerk for the Honorable Sol Blatt, Jr., U.S. District Judge for South Carolina and as a governor’s appointee to the South Carolina Joint Legislative Automobile Insurance Study Committee and is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is Immediate Past President of the Charleston Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Cooke is past president of the Charleston County Bar Association and past member of the South Carolina Bar Board of Governors. He currently serves as chairman of South Carolina’s Commission on Judicial Independence and Impartiality and is a member of the Dispute Resolution Section Council of the South Carolina Bar. Cooke is a member of the Defense Research Institute and the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC).
In addition to his leadership roles within the legal community, Cooke is active in civil society. He is president of the Board of Directors of East Cooper Community Outreach and has served on the board since its inception 21 years ago. In 2008 he was honored with ECCO’s Stone Soup Award for outstanding service. Additionally, he has served as president of the East Cooper Breakfast Rotary Club and vice chairman of the Rotary District 7770 Gift of Life Board of Directors.
Contact M. Dawes Cooke, Jr.
Contact Karen Jessee, legal secretary for Mr. Cooke
*CV, BV and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies.
