National Association of Legal Assistants: Milwaukee attorney commemorates 40 years as a legal professional

Contact: Joan Stevenson 
Media Relations 
the NALA 
1891 Goodyear Ave, Suite 620 
Ventura, CA 93003 
(805) 650-6121 x320 
Fax: (805) 658-0100

Very few trial lawyers can claim they have tried 150 civil jury trials, and certainly less than that for someone who is still active in the practice. Greg Cook, founder of theGreg Cook Law Offices, S.C., however, is not only celebrating his 40th anniversary as an attorney, but 150th civil jury trial. “I am grateful my health and enthusiasm have not wavered, and still love to represent the interests of my clients,” said Cook, who focuses on civil litigation in the area of personal injury, business torts, and large property losses.
 
Cook received his Juris Doctor from Marquette University Law School in 1976. He worked for over thirty years and was a senior partner at a well-respected civil defense firm concentrating on representing insurance companies. Over the years, he developed a wider practice, handling serious personal injury claims for injured parties, trying difficult cases other partners would not handle. He also became involved in complex stray voltage claims brought by Wisconsin dairy farmers against large and small utility companies.
 
Of the eight cases he handled that reached the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, all of them created legal precedent. The stray voltage case of Gumz v. NSP (case no. 2005AP1424, Court of Appeals of Wisconsin) changed the way juries are instructed. In another case, the Supreme Court dealt with fraudulent inducement claims in business transactions. In short, his experience went far beyond representation of insurance companies. “I began to realize that representing individual persons and businesses with meritorious claims was much more rewarding,” said Cook.
 
Cook’s enthusiasm for representing the “little guy” was spawned through doing pro-bono litigation for community organizations in Milwaukee neighborhoods troubled by crime. He took on landlords who refused to clean up drug houses. Cook was a recipient of the Donald O’Melia Award for Local Service from the Wisconsin Law Foundation in 1994, recognizing his public service in the local community.
 
For Cook, who has been litigating cases in Wisconsin for four decades, the courtroom is like home. He has tried cases in state and federal courts, and has successfully appeared and argued before the Wisconsin State Supreme Court and Wisconsin Appellate Courts. Cook is recognized for the significant verdicts and settlements he has obtained in catastrophic personal injury, property damage and dairy farm claims.
 
“Our firm plans to continue working to help those clients who need our services. One of my colleagues, Mark Treter, routinely works as a volunteer lawyer on cases where the indigent client could never get the assistance they need, and I am proud of his work,” concluded Cook. “I doubt I will ever be able to claim I have tried 200 cases by the time I retire, but you never know. As long as there is a fire in my belly, I am willing to take on new challenges.”
 
About Greg Cook, Greg Cook Law Offices, S.C.
 
Attorney Greg Cook specializes in personal injury, farm litigation, crop and herd loss, product liability, agriculture law, housing and construction defects, fire loss, property damage, construction design defects, homeowner liability, wrongful death, bad faith insurance, brain injury, and trucking accidents. Ninety percent of his practice is devoted to litigation. For more information, call (414) 224-5100, or visit http://www.gregcooklaw.com. The law office is located at 309 North Water Street, Suite 160, Renaissance on Water, Milwaukee, WI 53202.