Jude Cooper
Education:
- J.D., summa cum laude, Nova Southeastern University, 2000
Jude Cooper began his career in a boutique law firm in Miami, focusing on franchise litigation involving 200 franchise systems around the country, and later became an attorney with a prominent international firm. He further developed his practice in complex commercial litigation in the firm he co-founded, Polenberg Cooper
Mr. Cooper has handled litigation involving real estate, probate, business torts, intellectual property, shareholder disputes, LLC/partnership disputes, class actions, employment, insurance coverage, and contracts.
Mr. Cooper also has extensive experience in guiding clients through the process of arbitration. He has participated in hundreds of arbitrations in his career, and has an active arbitration practice in Florida, California, and elsewhere.
Mr. Cooper has been an Adjunct Professor at the Shepard Broad Law Center of Nova Southeastern University since 2013.
Mr. Cooper is active in pro bono matters in the area, emphasizing the protection of the rights of children. He served as a Guardian ad Litem for several children in a high-profile case in which the children’s parents were tried for manslaughter of one of the children’s siblings. Mr. Cooper worked with others in creating and implementing a plan whereby the parents were reunited with their children. Mr. Cooper’s efforts in representing children played a significant role in the firm he worked in being designated the “Law Firm of the Year” for pro bono work by Lawyers for Children America.
Before enrolling in law school, Mr. Cooper worked for AmeriCorps for two years as a reading teacher in a “failing” elementary school that was in danger of being taken over by the State of Florida. When AmeriCorps finished its work at the school, the State removed the school from the “failing” list.
EXPERIENCE
- Representing a California private equity firm in a breach of a multi-million- dollar contract to purchase a well-known aviation company out of bankruptcy, resulting in a favorable settlement;
- Successfully defending a Miami condominium association and its board members against a class action lawsuit by hundreds of condo unit owners, who claimed the board had signed unfavorable contracts with third-party vendors in exchange for under-the-table compensation;
- Winning more than 50 arbitration awards in 7 states in the past three years for a business client;
- Contesting, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in West Palm Beach, the sale of a child care franchise business on behalf of a group of 45 franchisees who sought to separate their operations from the franchisor, which had tarnished the franchise brand name through mismanagement of the corporate-owned care centers, which resulted in a favorable settlement;
- Obtaining, in a decision from the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal, both a reversal of the trial court’s granting of summary judgment and direction from the appellate court to enter summary judgment for the appellant, in a case involving amendments to a cooperative’s bylaws; and;
- Successfully defending a law firm and its managing member from a qui tam action in which the plaintiff claimed the defendants were liable under the False Claims Act to the State of Florida for millions of dollars relating to unpaid court filing fees, resulting in a voluntary dismissal with prejudice by the Attorney General’s Office.
RECOGNITION
- The Best Lawyers in America©, Commercial Litigation, 2019 – present
- “Top Lawyer” by South Florida Business Journal (2015-2018)
PROFESSIONAL / COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Mr. Cooper is active in the Business Law Section of the Florida Bar Association. He is a member of the Executive Council and a past Chair of both the Business Litigation Committee and of the Antitrust, Franchise & Trade Regulation Committee. He is currently the Vice Chair of a task force working on proposed state legislation involving the regulation of providers of digital currency.