In Loving Memory of the Honorable Florence-Marie Cooper
Whittier Law School mourns the passing of esteemed alumna and friend the Honorable Florence-Marie Cooper.
A woman of valor, we admire her passion for justice and honor her life of service.
(1940-2010)
Biography:
Whittier Law School alumna and United States District Judge, the Honorable Florence-Marie Cooper, was a distinguished lawyer and jurist, and a dedicated public servant. Judge Cooper graduated from Whittier Law School magna cum laude in 1975. Judge Cooper balanced her time and excelled at her academics, graduating first in her class, while raising two small children. After graduation Judge Cooper focused her career in the government sector as research attorney for the Appellate Department of the Los Angeles Superior Court, research attorney for the Second Appellate District (Los Angeles) Court of Appeal, deputy city attorney for Los Angeles, commissioner for the L.A. County Superior Court, and L.A. municipal court judge before her tenure as a Superior Court Judge. Judge Cooper served as a Superior Court Judge from 1991 to 1999 until President Bill Clinton appointed her to the United States District Court for the Central District of California on November 15, 1999.
Judge Cooper’s commitment and dedication to Whittier Law School lasted long after she graduated. She took pride in both her law school and in her education. Judge Cooper often volunteered her time to mentor students and graduates on how to balance their professional and personal lives. She also served on several Whittier Law School committees and was a dynamic participant at alumni luncheons. Judge Cooper was committed to her role as an effective lawyer and a positive inspiration in the community.
Judge Cooper received several awards from the legal community, including the Outstanding Jurist Award from the L.A. County Bar Association in 1999. Over the years, the Criminal Courts Bar Association, the Century City Bar Association, the L.A. Women Lawyers and the
Criminal Justice Section of the L.A. County Bar all named her Judge of the Year. In 2000, the Radio and Television News Broadcasters Association awarded her with the Golden Mike Award. In 2005, 2007 and 2008, the Daily Journal named her one of the 100 most influential people in California. The Whittier Law School Alumni Association honored her for her passion and professionalism with a Judicial Advocate of the Year award at the 2008 Whittier Law School Alumni Association Annual Honors Banquet.
| | Judge Cooper makes her valedictorian speech in 1975. |
On behalf of the Judicial Council, Judge Cooper served on the Jury Instruction Task Force, the Criminal Advisory Committee, the Cameras in the Court Task Force, and was Chair of the Three Strikes Study Committee. She was an active member of the L.A. County Bar Association Executive Committee, Litigation Section and had been the Chair of the Media Committee for the L.A. Superior Court. Judge
Cooper was a former member of the Caljic Committee and the California Judges Association Executive Board. She served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers, and the Federal Bar Association, and served on the Advisory Board of the L.A. Commission on Assaults Against Women.
Judge Cooper had an extensive teaching background and served for many years on the faculty of the California Judicial College, Berkeley; the California Continuing Judicial Studies Program, National Judicial College, and the University of LaVerne College of Law.
Memories of Judge Cooper:
Kathryn Lohmeyer Pounders, Law Clerk to the Hon. Florence-Marie Cooper U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Class of 2005:
| | Judge Cooper with a few close friends |
“Judge Cooper was more than just my greatest mentor; she was an inspiration. She took such pleasure in her work and did it with perfect brilliance, dignity, and grace. In fact, she was the epitome of what the best of truly successful women are: dedicated and gifted, yet firmly grounded in who she was and what was important in all aspects of life. She listened in a way that made everyone who spoke to her feel truly heard and appreciated, and she consistently taught and encouraged her staff in a way that built self-confidence and self-esteem. I miss her terribly and will do my best to honor her expectations of and for me in my personal and professional endeavors.”
Price Kent, Esq., Whittier Law School Alumni Association, Board President, Class of 2006:
“Today we honor a treasure of our Federal Judiciary, the Honorable Florence Marie Cooper. Judge Cooper was a celebrated Federal District Court Judge, Attorney, fellow Whittier Law School Alumni, esteemed member of the California State Bar, wife, mother, mentor and friend. These are just a few of the many ways we've all come to know the ever inspiring Judge Cooper.
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| | Steve Manning, Class of 1978, presents Judge Cooper with the Judicial Advocate of the Year Award at the 2008 Alumni Association Awards Banquet. |
It is with great sadness that we look forward to a world without her daily wisdom and generosity of spirit. We shall never forget the grace with which she navigated her unwavering path to seeking equal justice under the law, and the great legacy and inspiration she leaves behind both minds of those who knew her.
Judge Cooper was a mentor to me in my law school years. She was a true source of inspiration and I cherish the time that she took to shepherd me through the law school experience at Whittier and the many creative ways she shared with me on how to find a balance between my life as a wife and mother and that of an aspiring attorney.
There was never a time that Judge Cooper did not pause to take my call in her busy work day. If she was on the bench, she would return my calls during her very next break, without fail. Her dedication to inspiring our students and graduates was never-ending.
| | Steve Manning, Class of 1978, and the Honorable Florence-Marie Cooper, Class of 1975. |
Please join me and my fellow members of the Whittier Law School Alumni Association Board in celebrating Judge Cooper's memory and legacy of generosity, diligence and brave excellence both in her personal and professional life. Together, we honor her memory by taking time to inspire the newest members to the Whittier Law School community and supporting our fellow alumni, past, present and future, in achieving our individual and collective goals.
We also wish to extend the Alumni Board's sincerest condolences to Judge Cooper's family for their great loss, and to extend a promise that we will honor Judge Cooper's memory in all that we do.”
Gloria S. Donovan, Immediate Past President, Whittier Law School Alumni Association, Class of 2003:
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| Judge Florence-Marie Cooper with her family |
“It was with much sadness that I learned of the loss of Judge Cooper. Not only is her passing a great loss to the legal community, but to the Whittier Law School community as well. Judge Cooper was a loyal alum of the law school – and my experience with her, was that she was always willing to help in any way she could. Whether it was hiring alum as law clerks, speaking at our networking lunches, or serving on school committees - she and her law clerk, also a Whittier alum, Kathryn Pounders, were always helpful, and receptive to our requests. It was with great honor and my pleasure that we were able to honor her as Judicial Advocate of the Year, at last year’s Alumni Banquet. Judge Cooper’s speech, although bittersweet (as she had just announced her retirement), was extremely inspirational to all of us who attended. She made it clear how much her law degree meant to her, and the joy that she had in her work. Judge Cooper’s story resonated with me, because I also attended law school part time while my children were young. I was grateful to her for sharing that her success was due as much to her determination and ambition, as it was to her brilliance – and I will keep that “secret” of her success with me always. I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to Judge Cooper’s family and Kathryn.”
Neil H. Cogan, Past Dean of Whittier Law School, 2001-2009:
“Judge Florence-Marie Cooper epitomized the spirit and drive that animated Beverly Law School and profoundly influenced Whittier Law School. She was devoted to the law as service, particularly to those without power, and she was committed to a legal profession inclusive of those who did not come from advantaged circumstances. Her generation of alums from Beverly and the early years of Whittier bears testimony to the Law School’s proud founding values.
Judge Cooper epitomized, too, the lawyer at her best, doing what was just and doing it without fear of critique. She was fearless as a lawyer, as a State judge, and as a Federal judge, in doing what was right. In this, too, she epitomized her generation of alums.
Judge Cooper epitomized for me the role of alum as friend and counselor. I have no doubt that she was a good friend and counselor to many. But during times when it was most needed, I treasured her friendship and support. Kind words from her and a hug and kiss (my only kiss from a Federal judge) enabled me.
It is my hope and prayer that in Judge Cooper’s memory, her sister and fellow alums and later generations of alums honor her by linking their service with hers.”
If you would like us to post your memories of Judge Cooper please email your thoughts to Nidhi at
nparikh@law.whittier.edu.
View Articles from Local Newspapers:
Judge Blazed Trail to Federal Bench by the Daily Journal
Letters to the Editor Column of the Daily Journal
Florence-Marie Cooper dies at 69; U.S. District judge by the LA Times
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