Markita Cooper

EMAIL: markita.cooper@famu.edu
PHONE: 407-254-3201
OFFICE: College Of Law - Instruction

College of Law - Dean's Suite Room #365
Monday (in-person and online) - 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Thursday (in-person and online) - 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Admin. Assistant is Juliana Martinez, Phone: (407) 254-3267, juliana.martinez@famu.edu

Markita D. Cooper is the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. This is a role she held previously at FAMU Law.

Professor Cooper joined the faculty of FAMU College of Law after 17 years on the faculty of Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco, California. At Golden Gate, Professor Cooper served as associate dean for J.D. Program Academic Affairs and Faculty Chair. Her primary teaching and scholarship interests include torts, defamation, privacy, and employment law. Her publications have focused on workplace defamation, employment references and referrals, the intersection of defamation law and workplace violence, and historical perspectives on invasion of privacy and technology.

Professor Cooper holds an A.B. degree, with distinction, from Stanford University and a J.D. degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Public media
Defamation law
Miniature schnauzers

J.D. 1982
University of Virginia School of Law, Charlottesville, Virginia
American Jurisprudence Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy
University of South Florida
Graduate and Professional Opportunities Program/Patricia Roberts Harris Fellowship (1979-1982)
Moot Court Board, board member and officer responsible for coordinating William Minor Lile Moot Court competition
Stanford University, Stanford California
A.B. 1979, with Distinction. Double-major in Communication and Psychology.
Certificate in Broadcast Journalism, Mass Media Institute, 1987

Academic Administration

Associate Dean For Academic Affairs - 2020 - present; 2008-2012
Florida A&M University College of Law, Orlando, Florida

Associate Dean For JD Program Academic Affairs - January 2005-June 2006
Golden State University, San Francisco, California

Faculty Chair - 2002 - 2004
Golden State University, San Francisco, California
Teaching

Professor of Law - 2008-Present
Florida A&M University College of Law, Orlando, Florida

Professor of Law - 1998-2008
Golden Gate University School of Law, San Francisco, California

Associate Professor of Law - 1992-1998
Golden Gate University School of Law, San Francisco, California

Visiting Assistant Professor of Law - 1991-1992
Golden Gate University School of Law, San Francisco, California

Visiting Professor of Law - Fall 2000
University of California, Davis, King Hall School of Law, Davis, California

Visiting Professor
DePaul University College of Law, Chicago, Illinois - Fall 2019
Law Practice

Senior Associate - 1987-1991
Alexander, Millner & McGee, San Francisco, California

Associate - 1984-1987
Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, Palo Alto, California

Associate - 1982-1984
Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro, San Francisco, California

Publications

Part-Time Legal Education in the United States: Access and Opportunity – Past, Present and Future (in progress)
Book Chapter, Justice Carter’s Dissent in Gill v. Hearst Publishing Co.: Foreshadowing Privacy Concerns for an Age of Digital Cameras, Video Voyeurism, and Internet Excess, in THE GREAT DISSENTS OF THE “LONE DISSENTER” JUSTICE JESSE W. CARTER’S TWENTY TUMULTUOUS YEARS ON THE CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT (Carolina Academic Press 2010).
Analysis and Commentary, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Co., Inc. v. Superior Court, 27 California CEB Real Property Law Reporter 107 (July 2004)
Job Reference Immunity Statutes: Prevalent but Irrelevant, 11 Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy 1 (2001)
Beyond Name Rank and Serial Number: “No Comment” Reference Policies, Violent Employees, and the Need for Disclosure-Shield Legislation, 5 Virginia Journal of Social Policy and Law 289 (1998)
Between a Rock and a Hard Case: Time for a New Doctrine of Compelled Self-Publication, 72 Notre Dame Law Review 363 (1997)
Reflections from South Africa, The Minority Lawyer (publication of the State Bar of California) (September 1995)
Our Investment Portfolio, The Minority Lawyer (publication of the State Bar of California) (February 1995)
What Do You Do With All of Your Free Time: Reflections on Being a Law Professor, The Minority Lawyer (publication of the State Bar of California) (September 1993)
Presentations

New Associate Deans: Creating Your Toolbox, 2023 ABA Associate Deans Conference, Chicago, Illinois (July 2023)
New Associate Deans: What’s Here and What’s Coming, 2023 ABA Associate Deans Conference, Chicago, Illinois (July 2023)
Keep Your Head to the Sky, “Playlist” Series, Peace United Methodist Church, Orlando, Florida. (July 2018)
Florida United Methodist Foundation 50th Anniversary Celebration: Mad About the Future, Program Co-Host. Walt Disney World Swan Resort, Orlando, Florida. (June 2016)
Passing the Torch Fund. Presentation to Board of Directors and Senior Staff of Florida United Methodist Foundation. (March 2015).
Scheduling to Influence Program, Policy, and Campus Culture, Panelist. American Bar Association Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar Associate Deans’ Conference – Nudge: Leading, Motivating, and Team Building (June 2010).
FAMU College of Law: Historical Perspective and the Law School Today, Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell Attorneys’ Luncheon, Orlando, Florida (April 2010).
Life Begins at 50: The 79ers’ Guide to the Time of Our Lives, Moderator. Stanford University Class of 1979 Panel (October 2009).
Commentary on Defamation Provisions of the Restatement Third of Employment Law, 4th Annual Colloquium on Current Scholarship in Labor and Employment Law, Seton Hall University School of Law (September 2009).
Justice Carter’s Dissent in Gill v. Hearst Publishing Co.: Foreshadowing Privacy Concerns for an Age of Digital Cameras, Video Voyeurism and Internet Excess, Florida A&M University College of Law (April 2008).
Legal Career Options Day Panel, Moderator. Golden Gate University School of Law (April 2006).
Power Players Career Panel, Moderator. Golden Gate University School of Law (October 2005).
Bridging the Gap Between Law School and Legal Practice: Diversity in the Legal Profession, Bar Association of San Francisco (September 2005).
So, You Want to Write a Law Review Note? A Professor’s Hopefully Handy Hints on Scholarly Writing and Research, Law Review Orientation, Golden Gate University School of Law (August 2005 and August 2003).
Do You Want to Teach Law? How to Get There, The State Bar of California Committee on Women in Law and Santa Clara University Center for Social Justice and Public Service (April 2005).
Law Day 2004: Celebrating Brown v. Board of Education, Golden Gate University School of Law (May 2004).
Nuts and Bolts of Scholarship, Faculty Panel, Moderator. Golden Gate University School of Law (March 2004).

Recognitions

Stanford Associates (lifetime membership awarded in recognition of exceptional volunteer service, 2016)
Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance Delegation to Cuba (2010)
Stanford Associates Award of Merit for Outstanding Volunteer Service (2005)
Wiley Manuel Law Foundation Legal Pioneer Award (2005)
Matthew O. Tobriner Public Service Award, Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center (2003)
Kellogg National Leadership Program, Group XIV Fellow (1994-1997)

Torts
LAW 6935 Advanced torts (defamation, privacy, and business torts)
LAW 6545 Employment law

Markita D Cooper