Kate Cook
Partner
kate@cook-lawgroup.com
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Phone: 678-928-3899
Fax: 888-612-0589
The daughter of an Air Force Colonel, Kate was born in K.I. Sawyer AFB in 1977. Living several places as a child, including Alaska and Germany, she graduated from Liberty High School in Colorado Springs in 1995, and then attended The University of the South, in Sewanee, Tennessee, largely because she had not yet lived in the southeastern region of the United States. Kate graduated magna cum laude from Sewanee in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts in Russian language and literature and in 1997 studied urban housing privatization in Russia as a Biehl Grant Recipient. She was then invited to study at the Walter F. George School of Law in Macon, Georgia as a Woodruff Scholar, and completed her J.D. magna cum laude in 2002, at which time she was inducted into the Brainerd F. Currie Honors Society.
Upon graduating law school, Kate served as the first law clerk for the Honorable Clay D. Land, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, Columbus Division. She then practiced law for nine years with the national trial firm of Butler, Wooten & Fryhofer, LLP in their Columbus, Georgia office before forming Cook Law Group, LLC in 2013 with her husband, Matthew E. Cook, an acclaimed trial lawyer. During her career, Kate has authored or co-authored numerous legal articles, and has argued cases in state and federal trial courts, as well as the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Kate is also an adjunct professor of Mercer Law School.
Kate has served and continues to serve with several professional, charitable and lineage organizations listed below.
Kate resides on a working farm in Clermont, Georgia with her husband Matt and children Madeleine (20), Carol (17) and Ethan (12). Madeleine attends UGA while Carol and Ethan are students at Lakeview Academy in Gainesville, Georgia.
Education
J.D., Walter F. George School of Law, Macon, GA, 2002
magna cum laude
Woodruff Scholar
Brainerd F. Currie Honors Society
Law Review: Eleventh Circuit Survey Editor
CALI/Book Awards: Civil Procedure, Legal Writing II, Property, Contracts, Commercial Payment Systems
Research Assistant to Professor Linda Edwards (Legal Writing)
B.A., University of the South, Sewanee, TN, 1998
magna cum laude
Russian, minor in Political Science
Order of the Gown
Biehl Grant for International Research
Pi Sigma Alpha, Political Science Honors Fraternity
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
Georgia
Experience
Cook Law Group, LLC, Clermont, GA
Member 2013 – present
Research and writing of trial and appellate briefs for complex litigation
Oral Argument in trial and appellate courts
Butler Wooten & Fryhofer, LLP, Columbus, GA
Of Counsel 2011 – 2013
Research and writing of trial and appellate briefs for complex litigation
Oral Argument in trial and appellate courts
Management of filed cases, including business and class action litigation
Butler Wooten & Fryhofer, LLP, Columbus, GA
Associate 2004 – 2011
Research and writing of trial and appellate briefs for complex litigation
Oral Argument in trial and appellate courts
Management of filed cases, including business and class action litigation
Hon. Clay D. Land, U.S. District Judge, Middle District of Georgia, Columbus Division
Law Clerk 2002 – 2004
Research and writing of internal memoranda and orders
Preparation and assistance with trials, hearings and other court functions
Teaching Experience
Walter F. George School of Law, Macon, GA
Adjunct Professor: Advanced Contracts Drafting 2013-2016
Publications and Papers
- Trial Practice & Procedure (Co-Author), 64 Mercer L. Rev. 305 (2012);
- Trial Practice & Procedure (Co-Author), 63 Mercer L. Rev. 359 (2011);
- Trial Practice & Procedure (Co-Author), 62 Mercer L. Rev. 339 (2010);
- Trial Practice & Procedure (Co-Author), 61 Mercer L. Rev. 363 (2009);
- Trial Practice & Procedure (Co-Author), 60 Mercer L. Rev. 397 (2008);
- Trial Practice & Procedure (Co-Author), 59 Mercer L. Rev. 423 (2007);
- Trial Practice & Procedure (Co-Author), 57 Mercer L. Rev. 381 (2005);
- Trial Practice & Procedure (Co-Author), 56 Mercer L. Rev. 433 (2004); and
- Case Note: Albany Urology Clinic, P.C. v. Cleveland, 52 Mercer L. Rev. 1159 (2001).
Professional Activities
Hall County Chamber of Commerce (Associate Director, 2016-present; Member, 2014-present); E. Wycliffe Orr Inn of Court (Membership Chair, 2015-present; Member, 2012-present); Columbus Inn of Court (Founding Member and Administrator, 2010-11); State Bar of Georgia (Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee, 2016-present; Bench & Bar Committee, 2010-12)); Walter F. George School of Law Board of Alumni (President, 2011-2013; Vice-President, 2010-11; Secretary, 2009-10); Walter F. George School of Law Board of Visitors (2015-present); Georgia Association of Women Lawyers, Columbus Chapter (President, 2006-07; Vice-President, 2005-06; Secretary, 2004-05); Columbus Trial Lawyers Association (Secretary, 2005-08; Secretary/Treasurer, 2008-11); Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (Amicus Committee, 2005-08); Columbus Bar Association (Law Day Essay Committee, 2009); Middle District of Georgia Attorney Discipline and Grievance Committee (Member, 2010); Middle District of Georgia Magistrate Judge Review and Selection Panel (Member, 2004); Mercer University National Board of Alumni (2011-2013); GTLA Annual Conference and CLEs (Speaker and Writer); American Inns of Court (Eleventh Circuit Liaison, 2014-15);
Civic Activities
Daughters of the American Revolution (State Officer, 2014-present; Chapter Regent 2012-2016; National Vice-Chairman, 2013-16; Member, 2005-present); Board of Directors of the Concharty Council (former), Girl Scouts of America (Member, 2004-08); Junior League of Columbus (Member, 2005-2011); Junior League of Hall County (2011-2012); Rotary Club of Gainesville (Membership Committee, 2015-2018; Member 2014-present); American Cancer Society in Columbus, Georgia (Corporate Sponsor Chair); Colonial Dames XVIIth Century; Daughters of American Colonists; The Mayflower Society.
Honors
Georgia Rising Stars List for lawyers under 40 (2014-2016); Super Lawyer Lists by Georgia Super Lawyers magazine (2017-2020); Recognition for Exceptional Contribution to the Columbus Inn of Court (2011); Certificate of Commendation from Committee on Professionalism, Supreme Court of Georgia; Outstanding Junior Member for the State of Georgia, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (2011); Leadership Hall County Class of 2016.