Mr. Cole focuses his practice on civil trial work, representing clients on all levels of state and federal court, administrative procedures, and in mediation/arbitration. He is listed by the Tennessee Supreme Court as a Rule 31 mediator. Mr. Cole has significant experience representing national financial institutions and businesses in a wide variety of cases, including, lender liability/consumer financial litigation, contract dispute, bad faith/fraud and creditors' rights. He routinely represents broker-dealers and investment advisers in securities claims, FINRA arbitrations and in state and federal court proceedings, and defends them against regulatory compliance allegations from state, FINRA and SEC officials. He also handles enforcement proceedings and investigations by the SEC. In addition, Mr. Cole has extensive experience in environmental law, safety and health, products liability and personal injury/wrongful death.
To complement his practice, Mr. Cole is committed to the legal profession and his community. Among his current activities, he serves as chair of the American Bar Association House of Delegates, the 597-member policymaking body for the ABA, for a two-year term that began in August 2024. The chair of the House of Delegates is the second ranking officer position in the ABA. Mr. Cole founded and currently serves as the chair of Baker Donelson's award winning Pro Bono program, served as president of the Nashville Bar Association, served as president of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, served as a director of the American Bar Endowment, was awarded the Young Leader of the Year Award by the Young Leaders Council and the 2008 NELA (Nashville Emerging Leader Award), and was selected to Leadership Nashville's Class of 2010.