Jim E. Cowles is a shareholder in the Commercial Litigation, Health Care, and Negligence & Torts Practice Groups of Cowles & Thompson. His experience has rendered him a senior trial attorney in the firm, and his practice consists primarily of representation of a wide variety of clients in the areas of commercial litigation, medical malpractice, aviation, professional liability and products liability.
Mr. Cowles is a member of the State Bar of Texas, American Bar Association, Dallas Bar Association, Texas Association of Defense Counsel, Dallas Association of Defense Counsel, International Association of Defense Counsel, Defense Research Institute, American Board of Trial Advocates, College of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Bar Foundation and a Master of The Patrick E. Higginbotham American Inn of Court.
In September 2000, Mr. Cowles was speaker at the Legends of The Law Seminar held at the Ballpark in Arlington. He is the author of "The Biggest Developments in Insurance Law," TEXAS LAWYER, December 16, 1996 and "Developments in Insurance," TEXAS LAWYER, December 18, 1995. He is a frequent lecturer on the topics of health care, medical malpractice, risk management, and professional liability. His lectures and seminars include, but are not limited to: "30 Minute Voir Dire," (Collin County Bench and Bar Conference, June 1999); "Putting it All Together," (Defense Research Institute, March 1998); "Closing Argument," (Texas Association of Defense Counsel Young Lawyers Seminar, June 1997); "Winning in the Beginning - Defense Techniques for Voir Dire and Opening Statement," (Defense Research Institute, April 1997); "Checklist for Avoiding Legal Malpractice," (Southern Methodist University School of Law, February 1997); "Alternative Fee Proposals," (Texas Association of Defense Counsel Seminar, August 1996); "Child Molestation Damage Claims," (Texas Association of Defense Counsel, Spring Seminar, 1995); "Choosing and Courting a Jury," (State Bar of Texas Seminar, April 1995); "Responsibilities of Senior and Junior Attorneys," (Texas Bar Foundation and The Texas Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism; Texas Wesleyan and SMU Law Schools, 1994); "Jury Verdicts: A Sign of the Times or a Disaster," (Texas Association of Defense Counsel, Fall Seminar, 1993); "Professionalism," (Texas Tech, 1993); "Effective Pretrial Strategy," (Dallas Bar Association, Learning from the Masters Seminar, 1992); "Current Issues in Medical Malpractice Cases," (Tarrant County Civil Trial Lawyer's Association, 1991); and "Cross-Examining Economic Experts," (Texas Association of Defense Counsel, 1991).
Mr. Cowles received his B.B.A. degree in 1958 and his LL.B. degree in 1961 from the University of Texas. He was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 1961 and is admitted to practice in the United States District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Districts of Texas, United States Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Special Honors
In 1993, Jim Cowles received the President's Award from the Texas Association of Defense Counsel. Jim has been named by his peers as one of the Best Lawyers in America for the last 15 years. In 1996, he was honored by D Magazine as one of the Top 12 Lawyers in Dallas. On August 5, 2002, Jim Cowles and Bill Cobb were named by the Texas Lawyer as two of the seven "Go-To" Lawyers in Texas, in legal malpractice cases. In 1997, 2001, and 2003, he was named one of D Magazine's Best Lawyers in Dallas. In 2003 and 2004, in a poll by the publishers of Texas Monthly and Law & Politics Magazine of 65,000 lawyers in the state, Jim Cowles was named as one of the top 100 Super Lawyers in the State of Texas. Year after year, he has been named one of the Best Lawyers in America, one of the Best Lawyers in Dallas by D Magazine, one of the Top 10 "Super Lawyers" in Texas (Civil Litigation) by Texas Monthly magazine, and the Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Dallas Bar Association. He has been named in Marquis Who's Who in America for the last four years and in Who's Who in American Law since 2004.
Education:
- L.L.B., University of Texas at Austin School of Law, 1961
- B.B.A., University of Texas at Austin, 1958
Admissions:
- State Bar of Texas, 1981
- United States Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas
Memberships & Affiliations:
- Member, State Bar of Texas
- Member, Dallas Association of Defense Counsel
- Member, Patrick E. Higginbotham American Inn of Court
- Member, Texas Bar Foundation
- Member, College of the State Bar of Texas
- Member, American Board of Trial Advocates
- Member, Defense Research Institute
- Member, International Association of Defense Counsel
- Member, Texas Association of Defense Counsel
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, Dallas Bar Association
