About M. Dawes Cooke
M. Dawes Cooke Jr. is a attorney based in Charleston, South Carolina, with over four decades of experience in complex civil litigation. He specializes in medical malpractice defense, appeals, arbitration, mediation, government and administrative law, insurance defense, and legal malpractice. Admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1979, Cooke has been a member of Barnwell Whaley Patterson & Helms, LLC since completing his clerkship with the Honorable Sol Blatt Jr. in 1980.
Cooke earned his Juris Doctor cum laude from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1979. 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. He holds a Bachelor of Arts with high distinction from the University of Virginia, obtained in 1976. Throughout his career, Cooke has held numerous leadership positions within the legal community. He served as the President of the South Carolina Bar from 2018 to 2019 and has been a member of its Board of Governors since 2003. He is also a past president of the Charleston County Bar Association and the Charleston Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
Additionally, Cooke has been recognized by his peers, being named the number one attorney in South Carolina by Super Lawyers in 2014, 2015, and 2016. In addition to his litigation practice, Cooke is a certified mediator and arbitrator, frequently serving in these roles and lecturing on alternative dispute resolution. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America in various categories, including bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, health care litigation, medical malpractice law for defendants, personal injury litigation for defendants and plaintiffs, arbitration. Mediation. Best Lawyers has named him the Mediation Lawyer of the Year, the Arbitration Lawyer of the Year, the Bet-the-Company Litigator of the Year, and the Personal Injury Litigation Litigator of the Year. Cooke is also active in community service.
He is a founding member and 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, Cooke 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. Cooke's experience and leadership in the legal field, combined with his commitment to community service, make him a distinguished figure in Charleston's legal community.
