Each month, the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEIC) will be highlighting diverse attorneys from within our community on the DEI webpage to recognize their achievements and contributions. This month, during the observance of Hanukkah, the DEIC is proud to shine a light on veteran trial lawyer Howard Cooper, who is Jewish and a founding partner of Todd & Weld LLP in Boston.
Howard Cooper has nearly four decades of experience litigating complex civil and criminal disputes as well as significant civil rights and First Amendment cases for clients across New England and around the country. His record of success in the courtroom and in alternative dispute resolution forums has earned him the reputation as a “go to” attorney for high-stakes, high-profile matters, where he is a tireless advocate for his clients.
As head of Todd & Weld’s pro bono program, Cooper has advanced the firm’s long-standing commitment to helping those in need obtain top-flight representation. In 2021, Todd & Weld received the MBA’s Access to Justice Pro Bono Award for Law Firms, which reflected Cooper’s influence of the firm’s pro bono work.
Since helping to form Todd & Weld in 1992, Cooper has represented a diverse cross-section of businesses, organizations and individuals ranging from health care, religious, retail, education and tribal entities to judges, politicians, physicians, executives and public figures. He regularly represents plaintiffs and defendants in federal and state trial and appeal courts, in arbitration proceedings and before licensure boards.
Many of Cooper’s wins have attracted widespread regional and national attention. Most recently, as lead trial counsel, he secured a $16.4 million state Superior Court jury verdict following a 15-day trial on behalf of a major health care provider in a business dispute against a medical practice. His successful defense of a doctor in an eight-week trial in federal court prompted an editorial in The Wall Street Journal decrying governmental overreach in using vague federal drug laws to prosecute physicians. Cooper also prevailed for a prominent Massachusetts judge in a landmark public figure defamation case that underscored the independence of the judiciary.
For more information about Cooper, see https://www.toddweld.com/attorneys/howard-m-cooper.