Arkansas

Shareholder; President

LICENSURE

Tennessee 1976

Mississippi 2009

Arkansas 2009

ADMISSIONS

The United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, 1977

The Supreme Court of the United States of America, 1981

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, 1988

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 1991

The United States District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas, 1999

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2009

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, 2009

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 2009

SPECIALIZATION

Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 Listed Alternative Dispute Resolution Specialist, 1997

Civil Trial Specialist – Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal
Education and Specialization and National Board of Trial Advocacy, 2000

Medical Malpractice Specialist – Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization and American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys, 2004

National Board of Trial Advocacy – State Proctor, 2009 – Present

Certified Civil Pretrial Practice Advocate – The National Board of Legal Specialty Certification, 2012

PERSONAL

Born: Memphis, Tennessee 1951

LEGAL EDUCATION

SCHOOL: University of Memphis
DEGREE: Juris Doctor, 1975

UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION

SCHOOL: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
DEGREE: Bachelor of Arts, History, 1973

PREPARATORY EDUCATION

Christian Brothers High School, Memphis, Tennessee, 1969

Christian Brothers High School Hall of Fame, inducted 2008

Christian Brothers High School Band Hall of Fame, inducted 2009

LEGAL EXPERIENCE

Associate Attorney, Law Offices of Lee A. Hardison, 1977 – 1979
Partner, Hardison, McCarroll, Cook & Alexander, 1979 – 1984
Partner, Hardison, Cook & Cannon, 1984 – 1985
Partner, The Hardison Law Firm, 1985 – 1995
Shareholder and President, The Hardison Law Firm, P.C., 1995 – Present

PROFESSIONAL

Memphis Area Legal Services Pro Bono Publico for Senior Citizens Service Award, 1986, 1988

Memphis Area Legal Services Pro Bono Publico for Senior Citizens Ten Year Service Award 1991

Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers, inducted 1998

United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
Court-Appointed Mediation Panel, 2001

W.J. Michael Cody Pro Bono Publico Attorney of the Year Award, 2006

Judge, Tennessee Court of the Judiciary, 2007 – 2012

Legal Services Corporation Special Pro Bono Publico Award, 2007

Hearing Officer, Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court, 2009 – 2015

Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission – Pro Bono Publico Panel, 2009

Best Lawyers – Confidential peer selection as Best Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Memphis, Tennessee, 2010

Memphis Bar Association Judge Jerome Turner Lawyer’s Lawyer Award, 2010

Tennessee Bar Association Access to Justice Committee, 2011 – 2012

Best Lawyers – Confidential peer selection as Best Personal Injury Litigation – Defendant Lawyer in Memphis, Tennessee, 2013

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Memphis Bar Association – (Board of Directors 1993 – 1994, 2001;
Secretary – 2004; Treasurer – 2005; Vice President – 2006; President – 2007)
Fellow, Memphis and Shelby County Bar Foundation
Fellow, Tennessee Bar Foundation
Memphis Area Legal Services (Board of Directors 1993 – 1996)
Lawyers’ Journal Club of Memphis
Tennessee Bar Association
Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association
Mississippi Bar Association
Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project
Arkansas Bar Association
Federal Bar Association
American Bar Association
Fellow, American Bar Foundation
Defense Research Institute
American Health Lawyers Association
International Association of Defense Counsel
Master of the Bench, Leo Bearman, Sr. American Inns of Court, Memphis Chapter
Tennessee Academy of Mediators & Arbitrators

NATURE OF PRACTICE

Medical malpractice, hospital and lawyer liability defense; alternative dispute resolution services.

REPORTED CASES

Foster v. Amcon, 621 S.W.2d 142 (Tenn. 1981)

Michelsen v. Stanley, 893 S.W.2d 941 (Tenn. App. 1993)

Delashmit v. City of Covington, 889 S.W.2d 206 (Tenn. 1994)

Smith v. Methodist Hosp. of Memphis, 995 S.W.2d 584 (Tenn. App. 1999)

Tuggle v. St. Francis, 2000 WI 33191369 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2000)

Wilson v. Patterson, 73 S.W.3d 95 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2001)

Richberger v. The West Clinic, P.C., 2004 WL 787162 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2004)

Richardson v. Diaz, W2004-00773-COA-R9-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005)

Dickson v. Kriger, W2011-00379-COA-R9-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. 2012)

Kellon v. Lee, W2011-00195-COA-R3-CV, 2012 Tenn. App. LEXIS 323 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2012)

JUDICIAL EXPERIENCE 

Numerous occasions sitting as Special Judge, formerly in Shelby County, Tennessee Circuit Court and Shelby County, Tennessee Criminal General Sessions Court, more recently and currently in Shelby County, Tennessee Civil General Sessions Court, presiding over various jury and non-jury trials, motions, and other matters.

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION EXPERIENCE 

Myriad mediations, arbitrations, and other forms of alternative dispute resolution, on all civil topics excluding domestic relations.

PRO BONO PUBLICO EXPERIENCE

Participation since 1976 in numerous pro bono publico client representations; participation in the Memphis Bar Association “Attorney of the Day Program” held weekly at the Shelby County Courthouse, wherein volunteer attorneys meet with and undertake representation of clients who qualify for assistance under Legal Services Corporation guidelines; a founder (during my year as Memphis Bar Association President in 2007) and a continuing participant in the Memphis Bar Association Saturday Free Legal Clinics, held monthly at The Benjamin J. Hooks Central Library, wherein volunteer attorneys meet with and undertake representation of all potential clients who attend, regardless of Legal Services guidelines; referral attorney for pro bono publico clients under the aegis of the Community Legal Clinic, a charitable organization connected with the Memphis Interfaith Association; Co-Chair in 2009 and 2010 of the Memphis Bar Association Access to Justice Committee.

PRESENTATIONS

Lecturer – Workers’ Compensation Seminar – Sponsored by the Tennessee Municipal League Risk Management Pool – 9/9/89, Nashville, Tennessee – “Lump Sum Awards Under Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Law”

Lecturer – Medical Malpractice Seminar – Co-sponsored by the University of Memphis School of Law and the Memphis Bar Association, Inc. – 4/26/91, Memphis, Tennessee – “Deposing Plaintiff’s Experts”

Lecturer – Multi-Specialty Conference for Physicians – Sponsored by Methodist Hospitals of Memphis – 11/11/91-11/15/91, Bermuda – “Review of the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986 – Authorization and
Implementation of the National Practitioner Data Bank” and “Lessons Learned From Defending Malpractice Cases”

Lecturer – Basic Aspects of Medical Malpractice Seminar – Sponsored by Methodist Hospitals of Memphis – 1/20/92, Memphis, Tennessee – “Defending Malpractice Cases”

Lecturer – Workers’ Compensation Seminar – Sponsored by the Tennessee Municipal League Risk Management Pool – 7/31/92, Nashville, Tennessee – “Summary of the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Reform Act of 1992”

Lecturer – Personal Injury Litigation Practice in Tennessee Seminar – Sponsored by the National Business Institute, Inc. – 11/5/92, Memphis, Tennessee – “Personal Injury Litigation Practice”

Lecturer – Multi-Specialty Conference for Physicians and Health Care Professionals – Sponsored by Methodist Hospitals of Memphis – 2/3/93 – 2/6/93, Scottsdale, Arizona – “Review of the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986 – Authorization and Implementation of the National Practitioner Data Bank”

Lecturer – Medical Malpractice Seminar – Sponsored by the Memphis Hippocratic Society – 4/13/93, Memphis, Tennessee – “Medical Malpractice Law”

Lecturer – Trial Practice Seminar – Sponsored by the Tennessee Bar Association – 12/3/93, Memphis, Tennessee – “Cross Examining the Adverse Medical Expert”

Lecturer – Premises Liability Seminar – Sponsored by the National Business Institute, Inc. – 12/8/93, Memphis, Tennessee – “Premises Liability: Preparation and Trial of a Difficult Case In Tennessee”

Lecturer – Medical Malpractice Seminar – Sponsored by the Infectious Disease Society of Tennessee – 9/10/94, Nashville, Tennessee – “Infectious Disease Medicolegal Vignettes”

Lecturer – Medical Malpractice Seminar – Sponsored by the Memphis Society of Pathologists – 3/16/95, Memphis, Tennessee – “The Pathologist as Expert Witness”

Lecturer – Medicolegal Seminar – Sponsored by the Lawyers Journal Club of Memphis – 9/26/95, Memphis, Tennessee – “Physician/Patient Privilege in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi”

Lecturer – Multi-Specialty Conference for Physicians – Co-sponsored by Methodist Hospitals of Memphis and The University of Tennessee, Memphis, College of Medicine – 11/6/95 – 11/10/95. Maui, Hawaii – “The Practice of Defensive Medicine in Managed Care”

Lecturer – Trial Practice Seminar Sponsored by the Tennessee Bar Association – 12/4/95, Memphis, Tennessee – “Jury Selection”

Lecturer – University of Memphis School of Law Trial Advocacy Course – 3/4/97 Memphis, Tennessee – “Dealing with Adverse Expert Witnesses”

Lecturer – Insurance Law Seminar – Sponsored by the National Business Institute, Inc. – 4/25/97, Memphis, Tennessee – “Insurance Law: Third Party Coverage in Tennessee”

Lecturer – Medical Malpractice Seminar – Sponsored by Methodist Hospitals of Memphis – 5/12/97, Memphis, Tennessee – “Basic Medical Malpractice Law”

Lecturer – Medical Malpractice Seminar – Sponsored by State Volunteer Mutual Insurance Company – 6/26/97, Memphis, Tennessee – “Physicians In Malpractice Litigation”

Lecturer – Trial Practice Seminar – Sponsored by the Tennessee Bar Association – 10/23/97 – 10/24/97, Nashville, Tennessee – Second Annual Litigation Forum – “Theme and Theory in the Prosecution and Defense of a Civil Action”

Lecturer – Medical Malpractice Seminar – Sponsored by St. Francis Hospital – 11/3/97, Memphis, Tennessee – “Medical Records Documentation”

Lecturer – Insurance Law Seminar – Sponsored by the National Business Institute, Inc. – 1/30/98, Memphis, Tennessee – “Insurance Coverage Law in Tennessee”

Lecturer – The First Annual Mid-South Conference on Health Law Seminar – Jointly sponsored by The University of Arkansas, The University of Memphis School of Law, and The University of Mississippi Center for Continuing Legal Education 5/29/98, Memphis, Tennessee – “Thanatopsis – Medicolegal and Ethical Issues on Death and Dying”

Lecturer – Presentation – Memphis Lawyers Journal Club – 9/29/98, Memphis, Tennessee – “Thanatopsis – Medicolegal and Ethical issues on Death and Dying”

Lecturer – Professional Liability Seminar – Sponsored by the Memphis Bar Association, Inc. – 12/11/98, Memphis, Tennessee – “Medical Malpractice – From the Defense Perspective” and “Legal Malpractice Update”

Lecturer – Paralegal Assistant Seminar – Sponsored by the Greater Memphis Paralegal Alliance, Inc. – 4/21/99, Memphis, Tennessee – “Effective Use of Paralegals in Medical Malpractice Defense”

Presentation – University of Memphis School of Law Alternative Dispute Resolution Course – 11/23/99, Memphis, Tennessee – “Mock Mediation”

Lecturer – Trial Practice Seminar Sponsored by the National Business Institute, Inc.
– 12/15/99, Memphis, Tennessee – “Superior Deposition Strategies in Tennessee Civil Trial Practice”

Lecturer – Trial Practice Seminar – Sponsored by the Tennessee Bar Association – 4/5/00, Memphis, Tennessee – “Remedies and Negotiation”

Lecturer – University of Tennessee Medical School Student Surgical Society – 2/21/01. Memphis, Tennessee – “Basic Medical Malpractice Law”

Lecturer – Medical Malpractice Seminar – Sponsored by St. Francis Hospital – 7/23/01, Memphis, Tennessee – “Mock Behavioral Health Deposition”

Lecturer – Trial Practice Seminar – Sponsored by the National Business Institute, Inc. – 9/14/01, Memphis, Tennessee – “The Basics of Cross-Examination in Tennessee”

Lecturer – Medical Malpractice Seminar – Sponsored by State Volunteer Mutual Insurance Company – 4/26/02, Memphis, Tennessee – “Physician Client Trial Witness Preparation”

Presentation – Medical Malpractice Seminar – Sponsored by St. Francis Hospital – 7/29/02, Memphis, Tennessee – “Mock Labor and Delivery Deposition”

Lecturer – Trial Practice Seminar – Sponsored by the National Business Institute, Inc. –
4/10/03, Memphis Tennessee – “Admissibility of Evidence and Expert Testimony in Tennessee”

Lecturer – Medical Malpractice Seminar – Sponsored by Memphis Bar Association, Inc. – 8/13/03, Memphis, Tennessee – “Tort Law, Medical Malpractice and Products Liability Update”

Lecturer – Trial Practice Seminar – Sponsored by National Business Institute, Inc. – 10/3/03, Memphis, Tennessee – “Medical Malpractice in Tennessee”

Lecturer – Medical Malpractice Seminar – Sponsored by the Memphis Hippocratic Society – 10/12/04, Memphis, Tennessee – “Depositions”

Presentation – University of Memphis School of Law Alternative Dispute Resolution Course – 11/17/04, Memphis, Tennessee – “Mock Mediation”

Presentation – Trial Practice Seminar – Sponsored by the Memphis Bar Association, Inc. – 12/29/04, Memphis, Tennessee – “Videotaped Voir Dire, Opening Statements and Closing Arguments in an Actual Medical Malpractice Trial”

Presentation – University of Memphis School of Law Alternative Dispute Resolution Course – 4/18/05, Memphis, Tennessee – “Mock Mediation”

Lecturer – Medical Malpractice Seminar – Sponsored by Methodist Healthcare – Memphis Hospitals – 11/08/05, Maui, Hawaii – “Medical Malpractice – A Legal Primer” and “Medical Malpractice – Reports from the Front Line – What Went Wrong?”

Presentation – University of Memphis School of Law Alternative Dispute Resolution Course – 11/23/05, Memphis, Tennessee – “Mock Mediation”

Lecturer – Infectious Diseases / Primary Care Physicians Seminar – Sponsored by Methodist Healthcare – Memphis Hospitals – 3/30 – 31/06, San Antonio, Texas – “Legal Aspects of Infectious Diseases”

Presentation – University of Memphis School of Law Alternative Dispute Resolution Course – 10/11/06, Memphis, Tennessee – “Mock Mediation”

Moderator – 1st Annual Professionalism Seminar – Sponsored by Memphis Bar Association, Inc. – 10/26/06, Memphis, Tennessee – “Professionalism, Civility, and Courtesy”

Presentation – Trial Practice Seminar – Sponsored by the Memphis Bar Association, Inc. – 12/20/06, Memphis, Tennessee – “Mock Jury Trial”

Lecturer – Infectious Diseases / Primary Care Physicians Seminar – Sponsored by Methodist Healthcare – Memphis Hospitals – 3/15 – 16/07, San Antonio, Texas – “Legal Aspects of Infectious Disease for the Primary Care Provider”

Lecturer – The Leo Bearman, Sr. Inns of Court Chapter, 4/10/07, “Professionalism”

Lecturer – Geriatrics for the Primary Care Physician – Sponsored by Methodist Healthcare – Memphis Hospitals – July 7/2 – 5/07, Kohala Coast, Hawaii – “End of Life Issues”, “Medical Legal Aspects”, and “Nursing Home Care”

Moderator – 2nd Annual Professionalism Seminar – Sponsored by Memphis Bar Association, Inc. – 10/26/07
Memphis, Tennessee – “Professionalism, Civility, and Courtesy”

Presentation – University of Memphis School of Law Alternative Dispute Resolution Course – 11/7/06, Memphis, Tennessee – “Mock Mediation”

Lecturer – Professionalism Seminar – Sponsored Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association – 12/13/07,
Memphis, Tennessee – “Professionalism, Civility, and Courtesy”

Presentation – Trial Practice Seminar – Sponsored by Memphis Bar Association Litigation Section – 9/09/08, Memphis, Tennessee – ” ‘Reverse’ Batson Challenge; Post-Trial Transcribed Juror Debriefings”

Judge – Jurist – Tennessee Court of the Judiciary Trial – 9/22/08 – 9/23/08, Cocke County Courthouse, Cocke County Tennessee

Lecturer – Advance Directives Initiative Seminar – Jointly sponsored by the Memphis Bar Association, Inc. and Memphis Area Legal Services – 10/20/08, Memphis, Tennessee

Moderator – 3rd Annual Professionalism Seminar – Sponsored by Memphis Bar Association, Inc., and The American College of Trial Lawyers – 10/24/08, Memphis, Tennessee – “Professionalism, Civility, and Courtesy”

Lecturer – Pro Bono Seminar- Sponsored by Memphis Area Legal Services- 2/5/09, Memphis, Tennessee – “Pro Bono Concerns Across Tennessee”

Lecturer – Advance Directives Seminar – Sponsored by the Memphis Bar Association – 2/11/09, Memphis, Tennessee – “Overview of the Old and New Advance Directives Forms”

Panelist – Access to Justice Public Meeting – 2/20/09, Memphis, Tennessee, moderated by Chief Justice Janice M. Holder

Lecturer – Advance Directives Seminar – Sponsored by the Memphis Area Legal Services – 6/5/09, Memphis, Tennessee – “Advance Directives Forms”

Lecturer – Advance Directives and Testamentary Wills Presentation – Sponsored by The Memphis Bar Association Access to Justice Committee – 7/25/09, Riverside Missionary Baptist Church 3650 South Third Street Memphis, Tennessee

Lecturer – The University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences – 9/10/09, Memphis, Tennessee – “The Use and Admissibility into Evidence of Learned Treatises and Other Expert Writings”

Lecturer – Equal Justice Conference – Sponsored by Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services – 9/24/09, Paris Landing, Tennessee – “Advance Directives”

Presentation – Memphis Bar Association Trial Academy – 10/22/09, Memphis, Tennessee – “Cross Examination of Expert Witnesses”

Presentation – Memphis Lawyers Journal Club – 10/27/09, Memphis, Tennessee – “Thanatopsis – Medicolegal and Ethical issues on Death and Dying Revisited”

Moderator – 4th Annual Professionalism Seminar – Sponsored by Memphis Bar Association, Inc., and The American College of Trial Lawyers – 10/29/09, Memphis, Tennessee

Lecturer – Advance Directives and Testamentary Wills Presentation – Sponsored by The Memphis Bar Association Access to Justice Committee – 11/1/09, Greater St. Mark Church of God in Christ, 3517 Weaver Road, Memphis, Tennessee

Presentation – University of Memphis School of Law Alternative Dispute Resolution Course – 11/11/09, Memphis, Tennessee – “Mock Mediation”

Lecturer – Basic Medical Malpractice Seminar – Sponsored by the University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences – 4/29/10, Memphis, Tennessee

Lecturer – Medical Record Keeping Seminar – Sponsored by Mid-South Regional Blood Center (Lifeblood) – 7/28/10, Memphis, Tennessee.

Presentation – University of Memphis School of Law – 10/27/10, Memphis, Tennessee – “Mock Mediation”

Moderator – 5th Annual Professionalism Seminar – Sponsored by Memphis Bar Association, Inc., and The American College of Trial Lawyers – 11/9/10, Memphis, Tennessee

Lecturer – Memphis Lawyers Journal Club – 2/22/11, Memphis, Tennessee – “Medical Malpractice Update”

Lecturer – Infectious Diseases for Primary Care Physicians – Sponsored by Methodist Hospitals of Memphis – 2/26/11, Charleston, South Carolina – “Medico-Legal Issues in Infectious Diseases”

Presentation – Primary Care Issues in Women’s Health – Sponsored by Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare – 8/26/11, Memphis, Tennessee – “Medico-Legal Issues Related to Breast Disease”

Moderator – 6th Annual Professionalism Seminar – Sponsored by Memphis Bar Association, Inc., and The American College of Trial Lawyers – 11/9/11, Memphis, Tennessee

Presentation – University of Memphis School of Law Alternative Dispute Resolution Course – 11/9/11, Memphis, Tennessee – “Mock Mediation”

Lecturer- American Civil Law Courses at The Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia , St. Petersburg, Russia, The Moscow School of Economics – Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia, and The Kazan (Volga region) Federal University , Kazan, Tatarstan, May- June, 2013.

PUBLICATIONS

Gelfand, Michael S. and Cook, David M., Streptococcal Meningitis as Complication of Diagnostic Myelography: Medicolegal Aspects, 22 Clinical Infectious Disease 130 (1996).

Cook, David M., Physician/Patient Privilege in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi, 6 Memphis Bar Association Magazine 14 (1996).

Cook, David M., Practical Legal Comments on Informed Consent, 157 Arch. Intern. Med. 1766 (1997) (letter).

Cook, David M. and Wener, Andrew L., Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care: Medical and Ethical Issues on Death and Dying. The Tennessee Journal of Practice & Procedure (Fall 2000).

Cook, David M., The Last Favor, 24 Tennessee Medicine 103 (2010).