Robert Elbert Cooper Jr. (born January 19, 1957) is an American lawyer who served as Attorney General of the state of Tennessee.
in economics from Princeton University in 1979 after completing a 75-page long senior thesis titled "Wealth Neutrality and the Funding of Education in New Jersey".
Before being nominated to the position of Attorney General, Cooper was Legal Counsel to Governor Phil Bredesen from 2003 to 2006.
Prior to his appointment as Legal Counsel to Governor Bredesen, Cooper was an attorney and partner of the law firm, Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC based in Nashville where he dealt in corporate, constitutional and regulatory litigation.
Before being a partner at the law firm, he worked as a clerk for U.S. District Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer in Washington, D.C.