News

Chief Justice appoints Michael R. Cooper to Ethics Commission

October 26, 2007

Attorney Michael R. Cooper of Madison has been appointed to the Mississippi Ethics Commission.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice James W. Smith Jr. appointed Cooper for a term that will begin Nov. 15. The four-year term will end Nov. 14, 2011.

Chief Justice Smith said he has confidence in Cooper’s personal ethics and impartiality. “We need competent, ethical individuals who will take an active role on one of the state’s most critical commissions. I am confident that Michael Cooper fits that mold,” Chief Justice Smith said.

Cooper said, “I am very honored by the faith Chief Justice Smith has placed in me. I look forward to serving the people of Mississippi on the Ethics Commission, which has an important role in our government on a city, county and state level.”

Cooper, 38, is general counsel for The Molpus Woodlands Group, LLC and Molpus Timberlands Management, LLC. He is responsible for the management of the legal matters of both companies. He recently moved his primary office from the Timberlands Management headquarters in Hattiesburg to the Woodlands Group office in Jackson. He is president of the Mississippi Corporate Counsel Association and is a member of the American Bar Association, the Mississippi Bar and the Mississippi Forestry Association.

He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in banking and finance from Mississippi State University in 1992 and a law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1995.

Cooper will take the position on the Ethics Commission held by Gene Warr of Gulfport, whose term expires Nov. 14.

Chief Justice Smith noted that he selected Cooper from 54 applicants.

The Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court appoints two of the eight members of the Ethics Commission. Chief Justice Smith appointed former Commissioner of Public Safety Jim Ingram of Madison to the Ethics Commission in November 2004.

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