Mayor John Cooper today announced the appointment of former Tennessee Attorney General Robert E. Cooper, Jr. as Director of the Metro Department of Law effective Monday, November 4, 2019.
As law director, Cooper will supervise Metro Government’s legal work and advise the Office of the Mayor and Metro Council on issues facing the city.
Cooper served as Attorney General from 2006 to 2014. As Tennessee’s chief legal officer, he represented the state in areas such as environmental enforcement, antitrust violations, Medicaid fraud, and consumer protection. He successfully protected the interests of the state’s taxpayers in high-profile litigation and helped negotiate a $25-billion multi-state and federal mortgage servicing settlement in 2012 that brought almost $240 million in relief for struggling Tennessee homeowners.
“I am delighted to join the excellent team that Mayor Cooper has assembled, and I look forward to supporting Metro Government in the many challenges and opportunities that lie ahead,” Cooper said. “This is a pivotal time for our community, and I’m honored to serve.”
Prior to his appointment as Attorney General, Cooper served as legal counsel to Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen from 2002 to 2006. He is a member of the Metropolitan Community Oversight Board and will step down upon taking office as law director.
Cooper currently works in the Compliance & Government Investigations Practice Group at Bass, Berry & Sims in Nashville, applying his expertise in compliance and enforcement issues. Before joining the law firm, he worked as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer in Washington, D.C. Cooper has also taught at Vanderbilt Law School as an adjunct professor of law. He is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, Tennessee Bar Foundation, and Nashville Bar Foundation. Cooper holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was managing editor of the Yale Law Journal.