CHICAGO, Aug. 6, 2024 — Jonathan Cole, a lawyer with Baker Donelson in Nashville, Tennessee, today became chair of the American Bar Association House of Delegates at the conclusion of the 2024 ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago.
Cole has practiced law for nearly 30 years. His practice focuses on civil trial work, representing clients on all levels of state and federal court and administrative procedures and in mediation/arbitration. He is the founder and chair of Baker Donelson’s Firmwide Pro Bono Program, which has been recognized and awarded by various state and local entities as a leader in providing access to justice.
As chair of the House of Delegates, the ABA’s policymaking body, Cole will serve for two years in the second-highest office in the association. There are approximately 590 delegates in the House, including representatives of state and local bar associations, substantive legal sections and divisions of the ABA, and affiliated organizations and conferences of the Judicial Division, as well as former ABA officers, members of the Board of Governors, at-large delegates and state delegates. Action taken by the House of Delegates on specific issues becomes official policy of the ABA.
Cole has been a member of the ABA House of Delegates since 2009 and currently serves as one of the Tennessee state delegates. He served as chair of the State Bar Caucus, co-founder of the Metro Bar Leaders Caucus, a member of four committees of the HOD and chaired the Young Lawyers Division from 2003-2004. Additionally, Cole served as chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Bar Activities and Services.
Beyond the ABA, Cole has served as president of the National Conference of Bar Presidents (2016-2017) and the Nashville Bar Association (2010). He was also director of the American Bar Endowment (2012-2022) and the American Bar Foundation (2005-2010). He currently serves as chair-elect of the board of directors of the YMCA of Middle Tennessee.
Cole received a J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1994 and an A.B. from Georgetown University in 1991.
A biography of Cole can be found here, and a photo can be found here.
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