M. Dawes Cooke, Jr. Admitted to American College of Trial Lawyers
November 8, 2007
Charleston, S.C. – M. Dawes Cooke, Jr., has become a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in America.
The induction ceremony at which Cooke became a Fellow took place recently before an audience of approximately 730 persons during the recent 2007 Annual Meeting of the College in Denver, Colorado.
Founded in 1950, the College is composed of the best of the trial bar from the United States and Canada. Fellowship in the College is extended by invitation only and only after careful investigation, to those experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality. Lawyers must have a minimum of fifteen years trial experience before they can be considered for Fellowship.
Membership in the College cannot exceed one percent of the total lawyer population of any state or province. There are currently approximately 5,661 members in the United States and Canada, including active Fellows, Emeritus Fellows, Judicial Fellows (those who ascended to the bench after their induction) and Honorary Fellows.
The College strives to improve and elevate the standards of trial practice, the administration of justice and the ethics of the trial profession. Qualified lawyers are called to Fellowship in the College from all branches of trial practice. They are carefully selected from among those who customarily represent plaintiffs in civil cases and those who customarily represent defendants, those who prosecute accused of crime and those who defend them. The College is thus able to speak with a balanced voice on important issues affecting the legal profession and the administration of justice.
Mr. Cooke is a Member of the firm of Barnwell Whaley Patterson & Helms, LLC and has been practicing in Charleston for 27 years. He is a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference. Cooke is past President of the Charleston County Bar Association and a past member of the South Carolina Bar Board of Governors. He currently serves as Chairman of the South Carolina Bar’s Commission on Judicial Independence and Impartiality. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and of the University of South Carolina School of Law.
Established in Charleston in 1938, Barnwell Whaley Patterson & Helms, LLC, serves and counsels businesses and professionals in the state of South Carolina and beyond. Widely respected for their work in complex litigation matters, the firm’s 16 members and associates focus on the areas of intellectual property, civil litigation defense, professional malpractice defense, construction law, business law and products liability defense.
