M. Dawes Cooke, Jr

M. Dawes Cooke Jr.’s practice focuses on complex civil litigation, professional liability defense, construction defect litigation, products liability litigation and personal injury litigation. He is also a much sought after mediator and arbitrator, and he frequently lectures on the subject of alternative dispute resolution. He is admitted to the South Carolina Bar and the United States Supreme Court Bar. Cooke is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. He holds a Martindale-Hubbell Preeminent rating (the highest, formerly called AV), and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, health care litigation, medical malpractice law for defendants, personal injury litigation for defendants, personal injury litigation for plaintiffs, arbitration, and mediation. Best Lawyers has named Cooke as a Lawyer of the Year in the Charleston market nine times since 2009 in the areas of arbitration, mediation, bet-the-company litigation, and personal injury litigation. Chambers USA recognizes Cooke for his work in the areas of complex civil disputes, professional liability defense and personal injury litigation.  Benchmark Litigation has named him as a Local Litigation Star in the areas of  insurance, product liability, medical malpractice, and construction. He is also regularly listed in Super Lawyers as one of the top 10 attorneys in the state of South Carolina, and was ranked number one attorney in the state in 2014, 2015 and 2016.  He was profiled in the April 2011 edition. The South Carolina Association for Justice awarded him the “Worthy Adversary Award” in 2013 and Charleston Business Magazine named him to the lowcountry Legal Elite list in the area of insurance law.

A native of Beaufort, South Carolina, Cooke received his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia, where he 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 of the University of South Carolina Law Review. In 1993, he received an Honorary Doctor of Laws 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. He is past president of the South Carolina Bar, past president of the Charleston County Bar Association, past president of the Charleston Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, past president of the James L. Petigru American Inn of Court, and past chairman of the South Carolina Bar’s Commission on Judicial Independence and Impartiality.

Cooke serves on the South Carolina Bar’s Committee on Judicial Independence and Impartiality.  He is also a member of the Bar’s Dispute Resolution Section Council and the Professional Liability Committee. He is a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference and a member of the Defense Research Institute, the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), and the National Association of College and University Attorneys. He is a former member of the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit Public Defender selection committee.

In addition to his leadership roles within the legal community, Cooke is past president of the Board of Directors of East Cooper Community Outreach and has served on the board since its inception in 1989. He has been honored with ECCO’s Stone Soup Award for outstanding service. Additionally, he has served as president of the East Cooper Breakfast Rotary Club and as vice chairman of the Rotary District 7770 Gift of Life Board of Directors. He is a former Rotarian of the Year.

Contact Karen Jessee, legal assistant for Mr. Cooke
843-577-7700    email