Shareholder; President

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

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

CERTIFICATIONS and RECOGNITION

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

Tennessee Supreme Court Approved Mediator, 2001

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

Judge, Tennessee Court of the Judiciary, 2007-2011

Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers, inducted 1998

Christian Brothers High School Hall of Fame, inducted 2008

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

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

Legal Services Corporation Special Pro Bono Publico Award, 2007

MEMBERSHIPS AND 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
Memphis Area Legal Services (Board of Directors 1993-1996)
Lawyers’ Journal Club of Memphis
Fellow, Tennessee Bar Foundation
Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association
Tennessee Bar Association
Federal Bar Association
American Bar Association
Defense Research Institute
American Health Lawyers Association
International Association of Defense Counsel
Listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 2001
Master of the Bench, Leo Bearman, Sr. American Inns of Court, MemphisChapter

NATURE OF PRACTICE

Medical malpractice, hospital and professional 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)

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.

PRESENTATIONS

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”

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

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”

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

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”

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

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”

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

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

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”

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

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

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

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”

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

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

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

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

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

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”

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

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

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”

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

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”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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”

Trial Practice Seminar - Sponsored by the Memphis Bar Association - 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”

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"

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"

Trial Practice Seminar - Sponsored by the Memphis Bar Association, Inc. - 12/20/06, Memphis, Tennessee - "Mock Jury Trial"

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."

The Leo Bearman, Sr. Inns of Court Chapter, 4/10/07, "Professionalism."

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".

Professionalism Seminar - Memphis Bar Association - 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"

Professionalism Seminar - Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association - 12/13/07,
Memphis, Tennessee - "Professionalism, Civility, and Courtesy"

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

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).