Cllr. Idella Cooper is a Counsellor-at-law, and has been admitted to practice in the Republic of Liberia and in the state of New York, United States of America for the past ten years. Ms. Cooper received her BA in political science from Columbia University and her Juris Doctor from the Fordham School of Law.
Cllr. Cooper has previously served in the capacity of Legal Advisor to the CEO of the National Oil Company OF Liberia (NOCAL), as the Deputy Minister of Justice for Economic Affairs, as the Assistant Minister of Justice for Economic Affairs, as a Member of the Board of Directors of both NOCAL and LPRC, as a Commissioner of PPCC, as a Member of the IMCC Technical Committee, as a Member of the NOCAL Technical Committee, and as as the Proxy for the Minister of Justice on the Board of LEC.
During her time with the Ministry of Justice, Ms. Cooper was, among other things, involved in and responsible for providing legal opinions and advice to government ministries and agencies, for the review and drafting of significant pieces of legislation, as well as the negotiation of a number of large-scale concession agreements involving infrastructure, extractive resources and agriculture. Prior to her appointments, Ms. Cooper worked in New York as an Attorney for Cox, Padmore, Skolnik & Shakarchy LLP.