skilled prosecutor - mary jane coopermaryjanecooper.com/.../03/maryjanecooperesq._resume-1.pdf ·...
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(609) 283-2024 [email protected]
Mary Jane Cooper is an attorney with 36 years of unique experience conducting independentfactual investigations into allegations of fraud, discrimination, sexual misconduct,mismanagement, technical issues, and violations of laws and internal and external regulations ina variety of environments.
Her diverse experience across a wide spectrum of businesses have sharpened her skills andprovide her the ability to quickly understand the employer’s particular concerns and theimplications of the allegations; to uncover the relevant factual evidence; and to present theinvestigative results in a format useful to the client while causing the least amount of disruptionto the ongoing business.
Her skills and integrity set her apart and make her a reliable choice to resolve allegations plaguing any entity. When requested, Mary Jane provides a detailed self-proving report of the relevant facts uncovered during these investigations. The entity’s counsel is able to resolve the matter based on her reports without further litigation. Despite her over 50 independent investigations in the private sector, Mary Jane has never been required to testify about them at trial.
SKILLED PROSECUTOR
Mary Jane first developed her skills for conducting independent investigations while serving as a prosecutor in the highly respected Division of Criminal Justice of the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office where for 10 years she was responsible for all phases of some of the State’s most serious crimes, including complicated financial frauds, murders and other violent crimes, and multi- defendant conspiracies. Her success was recognized and in addition to being assigned important and difficult cases, she was appointed to supervise a litigation section and the Waterfront Crimes Unit.
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maryjanecooper.com [email protected](609) 283-2024
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Since the late 20th century, when courtsdetermined that employers mustindependently investigate allegations ofdiscrimination, harassment or retaliationby management against their employees,many of Mary Jane’s investigations wereinto these allegations. More than 30private attorneys have recommended herto their clients to independentlyinvestigate these allegations. Often thesecases depend on interviews. Mary Janebrings her years of interview experienceto this arena and has resolved numerouscases.
DISCRIMINATION & HARASSMENT TECHNICAL INVESTIGATIONS
Mary Jane was asked to join a small law firm thathad been retained by the owner of the nuclearfacility at Three Mile Island after the accident toconduct independent investigations into the manyissues arising from the accident in hopes ofconvincing the regulator that the owner of thefacility was worthy of operating a nuclear facility. The strategy was successful, the utility retained itslicense to operate nuclear power plants.
Following this success, the law firm was retained toconduct independent investigations for othernuclear licensees. During the next several years,Mary Jane’s unique experience includedindependent investigations into allegations ofmismanagement at nuclear plants across thecountry. Mary Jane proved adept at becomingversed in esoteric highly technical issues central tothe allegations, such as welding and electricalengineering, working alongside skilled engineersin order to conduct the in depth interviews ofnuclear engineers in these investigations. She thenwrote reports explaining the problems andresolutions.
Few independent investigators have had MaryJane’s experience in conducting independentinvestigations of this technical nature. Thisexperience sharpened her skills and prepared herfor whatever complicated or difficult issuespresented in the next investigation.
Mary Jane has conducted investigationsinto financial improprieties reporting toBoards of Directors, owners, and topmanagement in a variety of sectors. Shegoes beyond directing the forensic auditteam to determine if there was a loss andhow much. More importantly, shedetermines how many individuals areresponsible for the loss since the clientrealizes that if those responsible are notidentified, the company’s financial healthremains at risk.
Mary Jane’s background includesinvestigating theft and understandingconspiracies. Her internal investigationscan answer the questions: “How did thishappen in my company?” and “How am Isure that I have gotten to the root of theproblem?” and “How can I be sure that itwill not happen again?” She has donethis in a variety of business sectors.
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
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- Member of the Association of Inspectors
General Charter Member of the New York New Jersey
Chapter of Association of Inspectors General serving on
the Board of Directors; as Third, then Second Vice
President; and Chairperson of the Training Committee
- Member of the New Jersey State Bar Association
(member of the Labor and Employment Law Section and
the Women in the Profession Section)
- Member of the Mercer County Bar Association and the
Mercer County Inn of Court
- Mentor to the Seton Hall Law School Carpe Diem
Society Advisor to the Ethics Board of the City of Trenton
- Reviewer of the Center for the Advancement of Public
Integrity publication for State oversight statutes and
regulations
- Invitee to the 2016 US Army National Security Seminar
- Recognized by the Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey and the Waterfront Commission of New York
Harbor to serve as an Independent Private Inspector
General for companies required to retain monitoring
services in order to continue to conduct business with
those government entities.
- Several published articles on the methodology of
independent investigations and the benefits of
conducting independent investigations.
- Seminar at John Jay College on Inspectors General
Offices
- Several lectures on the benefits of independent
investigations and how to conduct them
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Mary Jane is perhaps most proud of the opportunity shehad to serve the public as New Jersey’s StatewideInspector General from 2005 to 2010. In 2005, Mary Jane’sskills and her integrity were recognized when she wasappointed New Jersey’s first and only Statewide InspectorGeneral by Governor Richard J. Codey with the advice andconsent of the State Senate. She served a 5 1/2 year termunder Governors Codey, Jon S. Corzine, and ChrisChristie. Mary Jane established the new Office ofInspector General: adopting policies and procedures,hiring and training investigative staff, overseesing andconducting independent investigations; producingdetailed; self- proving public reports; designing andoverseeing corrective actions, including legislation, entityreorganization, improved policies and procedures; stafftraining programs and management accountability.
Mary Jane established a statewide Citizen ComplaintProgram in the Office with Hotline and e-mailconnections and anonymous capability. It received over700 concerns that were evaluated, investigated, andoutcomes tracked. She assisted other State entitiesestablish Citizen Complaint programs.
Demonstrating Mary Jane’s efficiency as an investigator, inher Inspector General‘s Office’s 5 ½ years of existence,with a budget never exceeding $2.5 million and a staffnever exceeding 18, her office identified well over one-half billion dollars of wasted public funds, prevented theloss of or identified for return to the State Treasuryanother $50,000,000, and identified the misdeeds ofseveral high level State managers who were heldaccountable for their actions. Mary Jane public reports asInspector General can be read on the NJ StateComptroller’s website.
As Inspector General, Mary Jane became a trusted advisorto Governors, Legislators, Commissioners and other highlevel State officers interested in operating open andhonest government. She often met with them about avariety of issues and testified frequently aboutgovernmental issues.
STATEWIDE INSPECTOR GENERAL
maryjanecooper.com
(609) 283-2024
Mary Jane was a member of the Task Force createdby Governor Corzine coincident with the passageof the federal American Recovery andReinvestment Act (ARRA). The Task Forceprovided guidance to recipients of NJ’s $17 billionARRA funds in meeting stringent reportingrequirements, assuring funds were spentappropriately, and otherwise protecting funds.Mary Jane provided ethics, internal controls,oversight, and investigations training to the 1,600representatives of recipients of NJ’s funds. Thetrainings were made available as a reference on aState website.
ARRA TASK FORCE
Attorneys for employers in other sectors recognizethe benefits of the strategy of self- investigationand handing over the results to theregulator/prosecutor/overseer. They haverecommended Mary Jane to their clients toconduct independent investigations intoallegations of misdeeds by employees in a varietyof business sectors.
CONTINUING PRACTICE
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(609) 283-2024
maryjanecooper.comREFERENCES MADE AVAILABLE
EDUCATION
JD, Cum Laude 1979
Admitted to practice law in New Jersey1979, the District Court of New Jersey, andthe Third Circuit Court of AppealsThe College of New Jersey, BA
Rutgers University School of Law, Camden
UPON REQUEST