The Cooper Firm

Attorneys

Lance A. Cooper

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Lance Cooper is a founding partner with the law firm of The Cooper Firm.

The Cooper Firm represents plaintiffs in significant matters involving personal injury, wrongful death, product liability, motor carrier liability, premises liability, medical malpractice and commercial litigation. Automotive product liability claims are one of the firm's primary specialties.

Before opening his solo practice in November 2006, Lance was the senior partner in the firm Cooper, Jones & Cooper. Before forming Cooper, Jones & Cooper in March 1998, Lance was a partner with the law firm of Johnson, Cooper & Jones.

Lance represents plaintiffs in substantial personal injury and wrongful death cases. He has been lead counsel for plaintiffs in a large number of civil jury trials, including trials against General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Walmart, Toyota and Mitsubishi. Lance has successfully prosecuted hundreds of cases and has received numerous multi-million dollar jury verdicts and settlements.

Lance is frequently asked to speak to attorney organizations and has done so on topics such as effective trial strategies and recognizing automobile product liability cases. He has also co-authored articles on maximizing damages in catastrophic injury cases and proving up other similar incidents in product liability trials.

Lance's professional accomplishments have been recognized by his peers. He served as the 2002-2003 President of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association and is a past President of the Cobb County Trial Lawyers Association. He also served on the Board of Trustees of the Cobb County Bar Association.

Lance received his law degree from Emory University in 1989, and while in law school, he was a G. Joseph Tauro Scholar and an editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. He received his bachelor's degree in political economics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1985.

Lance is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and the State Bar of California and is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He is also a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, and Cobb County Trial Lawyers Association.

Lance lives in Powder Springs with his wife, Sonja, and their five children.

Patrick A. Dawson

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Patrick A. Dawson is of counsel to the Cooper Firm.

Pat practices in all areas of civil litigation, including trial and appeals. He has considerable experience in personal injury cases of all types, medical malpractice, products liability, dram (alcohol) shop liability, premises liability, and food borne illnesses. Some of that experience, gained as lead counsel, co-counsel or as associate counsel, includes the Moseley case (exploding GM sidesaddle fuel tanks and $106 million verdict), the Malautea case (default judgment in similar Suzuki Samurai rollover case), the Rodriguez case ($90 million verdict in Suzuki Samurai rollover case), various GM Type III door latch cases, White Water cases (E. coli bacteria), and Sara Lee (Listeria monocytogenes bacteria). Pat was part of the team that defended Consumers Union against product libel and disparagement claims brought by Suzuki and Isuzu.

Pat received his B.A., magna cum laude, in 1985 from the University of South Alabama, where he majored in International Studies and International Business. He received his law degree, cum laude, from Mercer University in 1988. Pat is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi, Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Alpha Theta, and Mortar Board honor societies. While at Mercer, Pat was the Lead Articles I Editor for the Mercer Law Review, and won the Best Brief Award in the 1987 Georgia Intrastate Moot Court Competition. Pat served as well on the Mercer Moot Court Board, and was awarded the James C. Estes Moot Court Award. He was also selected to the Order of Barristers. While at Mercer, Pat played for three years on the Macon Rugby Football Club.

Before college and law school, Pat enlisted in the United States Air Force. He attended the USAF School of Health Care Sciences, where he was an honor graduate in the Medical Laboratory Technology program. After service abroad, Pat was honorably discharged with the rank of SSgt in 1982. During college, Pat put some of his medical training to work at the University of South Alabama Medical School, where he performed enzyme research.

Pat has written extensively on a variety of litigation-related topics. From time to time, he lectures at Mercer University School of Law on issues related to discovery, litigation, protective orders, and sanctions. He is a member of the Georgia and District of Columbia bars. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the Georgia Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States District Court for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia. Pat has appeared by special admission in cases in Alabama, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Oklahoma, and California. He is member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (Vice President from 1996 to 2002) and the Cobb County Trial Lawyers Association (President from 1999 to 2001). Pat is a Master of the Lamar American Inn of Court.

Pat had been heavily involved in his community and local schools. He is the outgoing Chairman of the Board of Georgia Watch and the founder of the Kemp Elementary School Foundation. He and his former firms established several scholarship funds for local students. He was active in the Kennesaw State University Center for Hispanic Studies and many other local school projects. He has served as a Regional Board Member for the March of Dimes.

Pat lives in Marietta with his four children.