Robert Elbert Cooper Jr. (born January 19, 1957) is an American lawyer who served as Attorney General of the state of

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, Cooper Jr. was appointed by the state supreme court to that position and was sworn in as the 26th Attorney General and Reporter of Tennessee by Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice William M. Barker, taking office on November 1, 2006. The Court declined to reappoint him on September 15, 2014, naming

Herbert Slatery Herbert H. Slatery III (born March 8, 1952) is an American attorney from the state of Tennessee. A Republican, he served as the Attorney General of Tennessee from 2014 to 2022. Early life Herbert Slatery received his bachelor's degree from the ...

as his successor. His tenure ended on October 1, 2014. His father, Robert E. Cooper Sr., served on the Tennessee Supreme Court from 1974 until 1990.

Background and education

Cooper is a native of

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

. He graduated from the

Baylor School Baylor School, commonly called Baylor, is a private school, private, coeducational college-preparatory school in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1893, the school's current campus comprises 690 acres and enrolls students in grad ...

in 1975. Cooper graduated magna cum laude with an A.B. in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1979 after completing a 75-page long senior thesis titled "Wealth Neutrality and the Funding of Education in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

". While a student at Princeton, Cooper was the chairman of

The Daily Princetonian ''The Daily Princetonian'', originally known as ''The Princetonian'' and nicknamed the Prince, is the independent daily student newspaper of Princeton University. The newspaper is owned by The Daily Princetonian Publishing Co. and boasts a cir ...

. He then received a J.D. from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

, where he was managing editor of the

Yale Law Journal ''The Yale Law Journal'' (YLJ) is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students at Yale Law School. The journal is one ...

. Between college and law school, he worked as a reporter for The Raleigh (NC) Times.

Career

Before being nominated to the position of Attorney General, Cooper was Legal Counsel to Governor

Phil Bredesen Philip Norman Bredesen Jr. (; born November 21, 1943) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 48th governor of Tennessee from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was elected in ...

from 2003 to 2006. In addition to providing legal advice to the Governor, he coordinated the legal affairs of the executive branch for the Governor, assisted in the development and implementation of legislation, advised on judicial appointments, and reviewed requests for executive clemency and extradition. Prior to his appointment as Legal Counsel to Governor Bredesen, Cooper was an attorney and partner of the law firm, Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC based in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

where he dealt in corporate, constitutional and regulatory litigation. Before being a partner at the law firm, he worked as a clerk for

U.S. District Judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district. Each district cov ...

Louis F. Oberdorfer in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He also worked as an adjunct professor at

Vanderbilt University Law School Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as VLS) is the law school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law enrolls approximately 640 students, with each ...

References

;Notes ;Sources
Tennessee Attorney General website

External links

1957 births Living people People from Chattanooga, Tennessee Princeton University alumni Yale Law School alumni Tennessee attorneys general {{US-law-bio-stub