Return to Home PageRonald Cooper was sworn in Aug. 11, 2006, to a four-year term as General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He was nominated by the President on March 27, 2006, and unanimously confirmed by the Senate on July 26.
Mr. Cooper most recently was employed as a partner in the Washington D.C. office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP., where he had specialized in employment litigation for over 34 years. He primarily represented employers at the trial and appellate level in litigation throughout the country including case brought under Title VII , The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, The Equal Pay Act, The Americans with Disabilities Act and The Fair Labor Standards Act. These cases included large class actions and government enforcement matters. In addition to actions brought under federal law, he represented employers with respect to claims brought under state and local laws. Mr. Cooper also represented both employees and employers in restrictive covenant and executive compensation cases.
Mr. Cooper has been a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers since 1997. He is a member of the ABA’s Section of Labor and Employment Law and has held a number of leadership positions in that group including service as Management Chair of its Continuing Legal Education Committee. He most recently served as Management Chair of its International Labor Law Committee.
For 13 years Mr. Cooper has served on the Metropolitan Board of Directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington. He has also served on that organization’s Executive Committee, and most recently as its General Counsel.
Mr. Cooper was born and raised in Athens, Georgia. He received his AB degree in the honors program of the University of Georgia, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his JD degree from the University of Georgia School of Law. He served as law clerk to Judge Walter P. Gewin, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 1969-70, and as a Staff Attorney in the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, Appeals Section, 1970-72.
Mr. Cooper has lived in Alexandria, Virginia for 36 years. He has been married to the former Carolyn Vardine for 39 years and has two adult daughters, Stephanie J. Massey and Jessica K. Cooper.
This page was last modified on September 20, 2006.