Biography

Harmon L. (Monty) Cooper practices in the areas of complex civil litigation, environmental litigation, and products liability defense. Mr. Cooper serves as a member of a national coordinating defense counsel team for major clients in multi-district litigation involving environmental and products liability claims.  His civil litigation practice has included such diverse matters as a London-based arbitration of a contract dispute between international brokerage firms to the pro bono representation of children as a guardian ad litem in D.C. Superior Court.  Mr. Cooper has experience in all phases of litigation and pre-trial preparation. 

Affiliations, Activities and Accomplishments

Mr. Cooper is a member of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, the National Bar Association’s (NBA) Commercial Law Section, and the DC Bar’s Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Section. 

Mr. Cooper has also been active in his community.  He serves as Chairman of the Redevelopment Authority for Prince George's County (MD). 

Mr. Cooper was recently named chairperson of the Air & Water Quality Committee of the District of Columbia (DC) Bar’s Environment, Energy and Natural Resources (EENR) Section.  As chair of this EENR Section standing committee, Monty will work with the EENR Section's steering committee, DC Bar staff and others to organize and promote the Section’s events, in particular those that relate to air and water quality issues. 

After law school, Mr. Cooper served as a judicial clerk to the Hon. Patrick Michael Duffy of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.

Publications 

• Author, "A Look at the Obama Administration’s Upcoming Hydraulic Fracturing Regulations," Sedgwick's Hydraulic Fracturing Digest, April 2013.

• Author, "Product Manufacturers and the Importance of Understanding Personal and Advertising Injury Coverage and Applicable Exclusions," Sedgwick's Product Liability Advisory, December 2012.

• Author, "Passing the smell test: Twombly, lqbal, and a California Federal Court's Requirement of more specificity in complaint against defendants," Australian Product Liability Reporter, August/September 2012.

• Author, "Passing the Smell Test: A California Federal Court Requires More Specificity In Complaint Against Defendants," Sedgwick's Product Liability Advisory, June/July 2012.
• Author, "Ninth Circuit Denies Review of Air Permit," Sedgwick's Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Update, June 2012.
• Author, "A Win for Texas: Fifth Circuit Finds EPA's Disapproval of State Implementation Plan Arbitrary and Capricious," Sedgwick's Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Update, May 2012.
• Author, “AEP v. Connecticut – Global Warming Litigation and Beyond: The Court’s Affirmation of the Clean Air Act and Impact on the Public Nuisance Debates of the Future,” 41 ELR 10973, 10996 ELR News and Analysis (November 2011).
• Author, “Diversity and Thoughts on Building Diversity in the Corporate Legal Team,” 8:2 The Commercial Law Connection (NBA CLS) (Summer 2011).
• Contributor, “Legal Developments Related to Greenhouse Gas Emissions,” 39:26 BNA Environment Reporter 1309-132 (June 27, 2008).
• Author, “Will an Endangerment Finding Lead to Greenhouse Gas New Source Performance Standards for Stationary Sources?” The Environmental Litigator, American Bar Association (Summer 2008)
• Author, “Searching for Certainty in Uncertain Air: NSR and the RMRR Exclusion,”Volume 38, No. 2, Trends, American Bar Association (November/December 2006)