Gregory Carl Cook is an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...

from

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

who serves as an associate justice of the

Supreme Court of Alabama The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the state of Alabama. The court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for staggered six-year terms. The Supreme Court is house ...

since 2023.

Education

Cook received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from Duke University, ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

'' in 1984, while attending on an ROTC scholarship, and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, ''

'', in 1991 where he was an editor on the ''

Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy The ''Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy'' is a law review for conservative and libertarian legal scholarship. It was established by Harvard Law School students Spencer Abraham and Stephen Eberhard in 1978, leading to the founding of the Fe ...

''.

Career

After graduating law school, Cook moved back to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

to practice law. He is also a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

veteran, reaching the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. Cook was a partner with the law firm

Balch & Bingham Balch & Bingham LLP is a United States law firm based in Birmingham, Alabama. History The firm was founded in 1922 by William Logan Martin Jr, who served as Alabama's Attorney General between 1915-1917 and as attorney for Alabama Power Compan ...

for 30 years. In 2000, Cook served as a volunteer attorney for the

Bush v. Gore ''Bush v. Gore'', 531 U.S. 98 (2000), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court on December 12, 2000, that settled a recount dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. On December 8, t ...

legal battle in Florida, where he supervised the hand recounting of hanging-chad ballots.

Political involvement

Cook served on the Jefferson County Republican Steering Committee, Executive Committee, and as legal counsel to the Jefferson County GOP. For 15 years, Cook served with the

Alabama Republican Party The Alabama Republican Party is the state affiliate of the Republican Party in Alabama. It is the dominant political party in Alabama. The state party is governed by the Alabama Republican Executive Committee. The committee usually meets twice a ...

, including four years as

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

Alabama Supreme Court

In 2021, Cook announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination to a seat on the

. Cook ran to replace retiring Justice Michael F. Bolin and faced Circuit Judge Debra Jones in the primary. Cook went on to win the primary with 54.3% of the vote. Cook then won the November 8, 2022, general election, receiving 67.4% of the vote. Cook's investiture ceremony, where he took his

oath of office An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before assuming the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. Suc ...

, was held on January 13, 2023. Cook formally took office on January 17, 2023.

Personal life

Cook has been married to his wife Kimberly B. Cook since 1988. They have three children. He has been a member of Dawson Baptist Church since 1991, where he is an ordained deacon.

Election Results

References

External links

Alabama Judicial System biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Greg Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Alabama lawyers Alabama Republicans Baptists from Alabama Duke University alumni Federalist Society members Harvard Law School alumni United States Air Force officers