Lisa Ramsay Cole is President and Managing Shareholder of Lewis Thomason, where she provides firmwide leadership focused on strategic growth, governance, and long-term sustainability. She works closely with the Board of Directors to guide business planning, talent development, and operational excellence across the firm’s offices and practice groups. She also serves as Managing Shareholder of the firm’s Nashville office. Ms. Cole serves as the firm’s General Counsel, overseeing ethical and professional responsibility matters and advising on risk management and governance. She is an ex officio member of the Board of Directors and the shareholder compensation committee.
Her leadership is informed by years of experience as a trial lawyer representing employers, healthcare providers, and insurers in complex civil litigation matters, including employment law, professional liability, workers’ compensation, and general casualty defense. She is also a Supreme Court Rule 31 Mediator and supports the use of alternative dispute resolution to achieve efficient, client-focused outcomes.
PROFESSIONAL HONORS AND ACTIVITIES
•Named to The Best Lawyers in America , Employment Law - Management Litigation - Labor and Employment; Personal Injury Litigation-Defendants; and Workers’ Compensation Law - Employers
•Best Lawyers 2014, 2019, 2021, 2022 & 2023 Workers’ Compensation Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Nashville
•Featured in 2019 Best Lawyers “Women in the Law” Business Edition
•Named to Mid-South Super Lawyers Top 100 Tennessee Attorneys
•Member, Board of Women’s Fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, 2018-2022
•Named Best of the Bar in Nashville 2018, 2019, 2022 & 2023
•Named on the list of “Mid-South Super Lawyers,” 2010 - 2020
•AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell
•Graduate, Leadership Nashville, 2013
•Recipient, Nashville Business Journal’s 2014 Women of Influence Award, Company Executive
•Member, Tennessee Bar Association Glass Ceiling /Women in Profession Committee, 2023 - present
•Tennessee Bar Association Lawyer Well-Being Committee, 2012 -2015; 2018 -2023
•Elder, Westminster Presbyterian Church
•Advisory Board member, University of Tennessee College of Law Institute for Professional Leadership
•Member, Dean’s Circle, University of Tennessee College of Law
•Member, Board of Trustees, Bethel University
•ALFA International Managing Partner Forum, Vice-Chair
•Member, Dean’s Advisory Board Belmont School of Law
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Ms. Cole is very active in community and professional organizations. Ms. Cole was appointed by ABA President Robert Grey to serve a three-year term on the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service. Ms. Cole was a Member of the Board of Women’s Fund. Ms. Cole has chaired various aspects of fundraisers and volunteered for the Sexual Assault Center, Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, he Nashville Symphony, Belle Meade Historical Site, the Ensworth School, the Harpeth Hall School, Montgomery Bell Academy, the American Heart Association, and the Nashville Public Library.
Distinguished: An excellent rating for a lawyer with some experience. This rating indicates the attorney is widely
respected by their peers for high professional achievement and ethical standards.
Notable: This rating indicates that the lawyer has been recognized by a large number of their peers for strong ethical standards.
