Hon. Candace Cooper (Ret.)

Hon. Candace Cooper (Ret.) has nearly three decades of judicial experience and has earned a reputation as a highly accomplished judge with a common sense approach to resolving disputes. Justice Cooper brings an ideal temperament and a wealth of legal expertise in handling complex, often highly publicized cases. She served for nine years on the California Court of Appeal, Second District, most recently as Presiding Justice of Division Eight from 2001-2008, and as a Superior and Municipal Court judge prior to that. Justice Cooper has also served on the Los Angeles Superior Court for 12 years, handling a variety of assignments, ranging from court management, civil master calendar and civil trials to felony criminal and death penalty trials to juvenile dependency and delinquency.

During her noteworthy career, Justice Cooper has also made tremendous contributions to the legal community through her dedicated involvement in educational and professional associations. She served as president of the California Judges Association from 1988-1989. She was the second African-American, as well as the second woman, to head the nearly 2,000-member voluntary professional association representing all judicial officers throughout the state from the California Supreme Court to the remaining Justice Courts. Justice Cooper also served as a faculty member for the Continuing Judicial Studies Program, the Judicial College and the New Judges Orientation, teaching courses in evidence, jury selection, fairness and elimination of bias.

Comments from Counsel
Read about "What Counsel Say About Justice Cooper's ADR Style and Skills"

Representative Matters

• Unconscionability
• Required disclosures for binding arbitration agreements
• Scope of arbitrator power
• Action to enforce arbitration award

• Award of experts witness fees against municipality
• Award of attorney fees against board of homeowners association
• Attorney fees under Intervenor Compensation Provisions
• Determination of prevailing party

• Companion malicious prosecution case

• Construction Services Licensing Law
• Construction defect

• Contract interpretation
  • Course of performance
  • Implied-in-fact contracts
    • Ownership of employee inventions
• Contract performance
  • Exclusive distribution rights
• Misappropriation
  
• Intellectual Property

• Class certification

• Scope
  • Privacy
  • Trade secrets
  • Attorney-client privilege
  • Clergy-penitent privilege
• Sealing and protective orders

• Compliance with Election Code
  • Ballot requirements
• Initiative requirements
  • Revision vs. amendment of State Constitution
  • “Single Issue” limitation

• FEHA
  • Wrongful termination/employment discrimination
  • Attorney fee awards
  • Expert fee awards
• B&P 1700
• Workers compensation
  • Unreasonable delay

• Professional goodwill as community asset
• “In Kind” property division

• Uniform Foreign Money Judgments Recognition Act
  • Finality of foreign judgment
  • Public policy

• Coverage
  • “Duty to defend”
  • Excess policy coverage
  • Subrogation
• Liability

• Unauthorized commercial appropriation of name, photo or likeness
• Right of publicity/right of privacy
• Copyright Act
• Uniform Trade Secrets Act
• Misappropriation of patents/trademarks
• Licensing
• Infringement
• Agreement to disclose abstract idea
• Good will

• Standard of care
• Statute of limitations

• Existence of duty
• Assumption of risk

• Creditor claim vs. will challenge

• Design defect/manufacturing defect
• Failure to warn

• Premises liability
  • Dangerous condition
• Condominium association
  • Interpretation of CC&Rs
  • Liability of homeowners association board
• Escrow
  • Misappropriation of trust assets by escrow agent officers and employees
• Subdivision and Map Acts
• Landlord-tenant

• Delayed discovery

• Allocation of storage space in Central Basin water resource

• Responsibility of amusement park as “common carrier”

Comments from Counsel
What Counsel Say About Justice Cooper’s ADR Style and Skills

• "She is very smart and grasps complex issues quickly. She also has an impressive memory and ability to recall which results in very efficient and timely rulings. She requires that the attorneys know their case, their theories and how the discovery/evidence sought and adduced fits within those theories from very early in the case. She also focuses on the practical — particularly when dealing with production of voluminous evidence — which requires independent and creative problem solving in the context of discovery production."
• “Justice Cooper is excellent. She was very instrumental in getting this case settled after the mediation…I will definitely use her again.”
• "What most impressed me was that she followed up a couple times on her own and acted as a telephone mediator… that's something no other mediator has done, and I've been doing this for a while."
• "She's a good listener and works hard to understand the positions that various sides have…"
• “I just have the highest regards for Justice Cooper and I know that she was recommended by our lead attorney to be used on an upcoming case…”
• "She does not tend to cut people off, she does not pre-judge. By nature, she's a collaborator, as opposed to an advocate."
• “She was able to express difficult and sensitive issues in a delicate and compassionate way, but she also has steel in her spine. She has a very good sense for when she needs to be blunt."
• “Cooper flawlessly walks the line between tactful and tenacious…”