California Western -- James M. Cooper
James CooperJames M. Cooper

Assistant Dean for Mission Development,
Center for Creative Problem Solving
Director, International Legal Studies Program
Institute Professor
Director, Proyecto ACCESO
Director, Chile Summer Program

LL.M. University of Cambridge 
[international law]
LL.B. University of Toronto
B.A. University of Toronto
[high distinction, political science]

Courses Taught: Comparative Law, Laws 101: UCSD, Introduction to NAFTA & Other Hemispheric Trade Agreements, Law of Armed Conflict & Peacekeeping, NAFTA & Business Law Issues, Topics in Law Reform, Introduction to Latin American Legal Culture, Border Law, Free and Fair Trade in Americas.

As Assistant Dean for Mission Development at California Western School of Law, Professor James Cooper is a co-director of the Center for Creative Problem Solving. He designs and develops multimedia educational tools to educate law students, lawyers, judges and law enforcement officers on problem-solving, cross-cultural negotiation, and judicial innovation. He directs Proyecto ACCESO, a legal skills training and rule of law public education program which has been funded by and has partnered with the U.S. Government, German Government, Organization of American States, United Nations Development Programme, private philanthropic foundations, and national ministries of justice around Latin America. He also directs the Chile Summer Program for the Consortium for Innovative Legal Education. In Fall 2008, he was a visiting professor at UCSD's Earl Warren College and in the 2009-2010 academic year, he was a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies at UCSD.

Cooper is a co-director of the International Post Graduate Program with University of Heidelberg, University of Chile, and CEDEP in Asuncion, Paraguay and a member of academic staff of Heidelberg Center for Latin America. He also directs public education campaigns for governments in Latin America. A Barrister and Solicitor, Cooper worked at Baker & McKenzie, the world's largest law firm, facilitating international commercial transactions and has taught at the University of Strathclyde Law School in Glasgow and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.

A frequent speaker, Cooper has given presentations at the Directors Guild of America, Hague Appeal for Peace, Mondaneum, United Nations Congress on Public International Law, Commonwealth Club of California, COMICON, Auditoria Democratica Andina, National Council for Juvenile and Family Court Judges, Rotary Club, World Bank, the World Affairs Council.  Cooper has written on foreign affairs and legal issues for The Globe and Mail, Canada's national newspaper, The Miami Herald, The Los Angeles Daily Journal, The San Diego Union Tribune, The National Law Journal and The American Bar Association Journal, El Mercurio (Chile), and El Alteno (Bolivia), and his written work has been syndicated by the Scripps Howard News Service. His work has also appeared in other newspapers and periodicals in North America, South America and Europe. Cooper has been a television writer, producer and director with his media work commissioned by Channel Four (UK), the BBC, and the History Channel (US). He was profiled on the front page of The Wall Street Journal in May 2008 and in The Washington Post in October 2006. He has been a consultant for the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice and State.

blog:  http://blogs.cwsl.edu/blog/confrontingborders/

  Selected Publications

  • The North American Free Trade Agreement and Its Legacy on the Resolution of Intellectual Property Disputes, CAL. WEST. INT'L L. J. (forthcoming, December 2012).

  • Trends in Alternative Dispute Resolution concerning Intellectual Property Rights Litigation, (sponsored by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) (forthcoming, 2012) (with Thomas D. Barton).

  • The Yasuni Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini Initiative:  Creative Problem Solving in Amazonia, in AMAZONIA: NATIONAL POLICTICS AND INTERESTS: ENVIRONMENT AND LAW (James M. Cooper and Christine Hunefeldt, editors) (Sussex Academic Press (U.K.) (forthcoming Spring 2013).

  • ENVIRONMENT AND THE LAW IN AMAZONIA: A PLURILATERAL ENCOUNTER (Sussex Academic Press (U.K.), forthcoming Spring 2013) (Co-editor with Christine Hunefeldt).
    El dabate actual sobre la Reforma Migratoria en EE.UU., 4 EXTENSION (CHILE) 23 (NOV. 2011).

  • The Emergency of U.S. Immigration Law and Policy, Kontact Amerika, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Washington Office, July 2011 (with Y. Lopez), available at http://www.fes.de/cgi-bin/gbv.cgi?id=08217&ty=pdf.

  • The Bolivarian Challenge to Modernity:  Legal Pluralism and Human Rights in the New Bolivia (work in progress, 2010).

  • The Complicated Relationship: A Snapshot of the U.S. Mexico Border (2010). [reprint]

  • (with William Aceves, Alejandro Gonzalez, and Pedro Egana Marshall), The Life Cycle of Immigration: A Tale of Two Migrants, 6 RUTGERS J.L. & PUB. POL. 259 (2009)

  • Competing Legal Culture and Legal Reform:  The Battle of Chile, 29 Mich. J. Int’l Law 501 (2008).

  • Proyecto ACCESO: Using Popular Culture to Build the Rule of Law in Latin America, 5 RUTGERS J.L. & PUB POL'Y 378 (2008)

  • Introducción a la Reforma Procesal Civil Lecciones acerca de la Reforma Jurídica, Revista de la Facultad de Derecho, Universidad Mayor, Chile, Año VII, Número 7, 161 (Abril 2008). 

  • Tribunales de rehabilitación de drogodependientes: Un mecanismo para abordar el aspecto de la demanda, en la guerra a las drogas, in Justicia Penal y Adicciones:  Tribunales de tratamiento como alternativa a la sanción (Lexis Nexis Chile, 2007). 

  • William Aceves, James Cooper, Alejandro Gonzalez, and Pedro Egaña Marshall, The Orthodoxy of Format: Some Sketches on Legal Scholarship, 56 J. Legal Educ. 656 (2006).

  • “'Seen and Not Seen:' System Friction and the Battle Over Corporate Governance," in Trends in World Trade Policy: Essays in Honor of Sylvia Ostry (Alan Alexandroff ed., forthcoming 2006).

  • ESTADO DE DERECHO Y REFORMAS A LA JUSTICIA, with Rainer Grote, Maria Inés Horvitz & Jörg Stippel (Editoria Universidad de Chile, 2005).
  • "Piracy 101," 36 California Western International Law Journal 89 (2005).
  • "Creative Problem Solving and Human Rights," in The Essential Guide to Human Rights (Christine van den Anker and Rhona Smith, eds., 2005).
  • "Naciones y Nociones Indigenas: Soberania Cultural y Justicia Horizontal en Tiempos de Reforma Judicial", in Resolucion de Conflictos en el Derecho Mapuche: Un Estudio desde la Perspectiva del Pluralismo 15 (2003).
  • "Se abre una nueva oportunidad: Importando sistemas horizontales de justicia durante una epocha de reforma judicial," 2 Revista CREA 96 (2001).

Selected Presentations

  • "Los Derechos Intelectuales y sus desafios en el Estado de Derecho", Centro de Estudios de Derecho, Economia y Politica, Asuncion, Paraguay, August 29, 2012.
  • "La pirateria como barrera para el desarrollo", Joint Session of the Congress of Paraguay, Asuncion, Paraguay, co-sponsored by Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo de las Telecommunicaciones y el Acceso a la Sociedad de la Informacion de America Latino (CERTAL), August 29, 2012.
  • "Gonzo Lawyering:  Fear and Loathing in Latin America", Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, University of California, San Diego, Aug. 8, 2012.
  • "Innocence Projects in Latin America:  Toward Second Generation Legal Reforms", Red Inocente Inaugural Conference, Heidelberg Center for Latin America, Santiago de Chile, July 6, 2012.
  • "Cost-Efficient Ways to Protect IP Portfolios Abroad", International, Business/Corporate and Intellectual Property Section of the San Diego County Bar Association, San Diego, May 8, 2012.
  • "The North American Free Trade Agreement and Other Trade Agreement Mechanisms to Resolve Intellectual Property Disputes", U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Symposium on Trends in ADR concerning IP Rights Litigation, California Western School of Law, San Diego, March 9, 2012.
  • "The Use of Alternative Dispute Resolution in Intellectual Property Litigation", Seminar on Specialized Intellectual Property Rights Courts, International Intellectual Property Institute/U.S. Paten and Trademark Office, Washington D.C., January 18, 2012.
  • "Memorializing Human rights Atrocities:  The Lessons for Chile", Third Annual Human Rights Symposium, Institute for International, Comparative, and Area Studies, University of California, San Diego, October 12, 2011.
  • "This Year's Model:  Legal Transplants in teh Aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis", Institute for International, Comparative, and Area Studies, University of California, San Diego, December 1, 2010.
  • "Globalization and Intellectual Property Rights Protection:  New Challenges and New Opportunities", Fu-Jen Catholic University College of Law, Taipei, Taiwan, November 23, 2010.
  • "Globalization and intellectual Property Rights Protection:  Piracy 101", Ta-Tong University Law School, Taipei, Taiwan, November 22, 2010.
  • "Globalization and Intellectual Property Rights Protection:  New Challenges and New Opportunities", National Taichung Institute of Technology, Taichung City, Taiwan, November 20, 2010.
  • "Globalization and Intellectual Property Rights Protection: Piracy 101", Tong-Hai University School of Law, Taichung City, Taiwan, November 19, 2010.
  • "Globalization and Intellectual Property Rights Protection:  Piracy 101", Asia University, Department of Financial Law, Taichung City, Taiwan, November 19, 2010.
  • "Human Rights Protection in the Era of Globalization", National Taipei University Department of Public Administration and Policy Taipei, Taiwan, November 18, 2010.
  • "The Complicated Relationship:  A Snapshot of the U.S.-Mexico Border", Justus I. Liebig Universitat Giessen, Germany, October 26, 2010.
  • "How the United States is Losing Influence in Latin America", A Briefing to the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs (coordinated by the Foundation for the Defense of Democratcies), Samuel Rayburn Building, Washington D.C., October 22, 2010.
  • "El debate de inmigracion en los Estados Unidos", Justicia Penal y Migrantes conference, Santiago, Chile, September 29, 2010.
  • "El estado de derecho como elemento esencial para la democracia", 200 Anos de Independencia 1810-2010, Institute of the Americas, University of California, San Diego, September 28, 2010.
  • Co-Chair, "Amazonia:  National Politic and Interests:  Environmenet and Law" conference, University of California, San Diego, May 6-7, (co-sponsored by the Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies UCSD).
  • "Creative  Problem Solving and Amazonia:  The Yasuni   Initiative and new Ways to Create Financial Value from Carbon Store in Forests", "Amazonia:  National Politics and Interests:  Environment and Law" cpmferemce. Imoversotu pf Ca;ofprmoa. San Diego, May 6, 2010.
  • "Intellectual Property Piracy and links to Organized Crime and Terrorism", Expanding into Global Markets Through Transborder licensing, California Western School of Law, March 27, 2010
  • "Comparative Law Reform in Latin America:  Different Strategies for Different Countries", Academia Mexicana de Derecho Internacional Privado y Comparado, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California XXXII Annual Seminar, San Diego, November 13, 2009.
  • "Illicit Trade:  Pirated Goods and the Global Economy", Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, September 28, 2009.
  • Presented lecture "The End of the Washington Consensus" at the instituto Brasileiro de Advocacia Publica, Sao Paulo, Brasil on March 25, 2009.
  • Presented lecture "Latin American Matters:  Using Moving images to Promote Legal Reform", part of Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies at UCSD's "Globalization from Below" Film/Lecture Series on January 14, 2009.
  • Presented lecture "From the Washington Consensus to the Ottawa Consensus?" at Centro de Estudios de Derecho, Economia y Politica (CEDEP), Asuncion, Paraguay as part of "New Challenges for the Rule of Law" Post-Graduate Program co-sponsored by University of Heidelberg and Universidad de Chile on October 24, 2008.
  • Presented lecture "A Funny Thing happened on the Way to t he Hemispheric Trade Talks" to World Affairs Club, Rancho San Diego, on May 5, 2008.
  • Panelist, "Is there Law in China?  Is there Justice?" Lecture by Prof. Jerome Cohen, 2008 DeWitt Higgs Memorial Lecture, Center for Pacific Economies, Earl Warren College, University of California, San Diego on March 5, 2008.
  • Presented to officials from the China State Intellectual Property Administration on "Intellectual Property Rights and the Legal Culture of China and the United States" at the Global Leadership Institute, University of California, San Diego on November 28, 2007.
  • Presented concluding lecture "Latin American justice Reforms" at Centro de Estudios de Dercho, Economia y Politica (CEDEP), Asuncion, Paraguay as part of "New Challenges for the Rule of Law" Post-Graduate Program co-sponsored by University of Heidelberg and Universidad de Chile on October 19, 2007.
  • Presented brown bag lunch talk on "ACCESS to Justice:  Technologies, Popular Culture and Interconnectivity" to the Justice Reform Practice Group, Legal Vice Presidency, World Bank on August 2, 2007.
  • Presented opening remarks at the International Seminar "Reforma Procesal Civil:  Una Mirada comparativa EE.UU.-Chile" sponsored by Universidad Mayor, Santiago de Chile on May 24, 2007.
  • Presented lecture on “Criminal Justice Reform in Chile and Its Significance for Mexico” at Trans-Border Institute Justice in Mexico Project Roundtable, University of San Diego on May 11, 2007.
  •  Presented lecture on “Lessons from NAFTA” at “Bases de Comercio Justo para Tratados entres los Pueblos” conference, co-sponsored by Friedrich Erbert Foundation and LABOR, La Paz, Bolivia on September 26, 2006.
  • Presented lecture on “How Governments should Modernize their Legal Systems to Deal with Issues of Regulation, Competition and Labor” at “Growth, Equity and Free Trade” conference at Institute of the Americas, University of California, San Diego on August 17, 2006. 
  • Presented lecture on “U.S. Legal System, the Convergence of Law, and the Global Economy”, at Pacific Rim Summer Seminar in U.S. Studies, Center for U.S.-Mexico Studies, University of California, San Diego on July 20, 2006.
  • Presented lecture on “International Trade Law and Popular Protests against the Financial Architecture of Globalization” at “Culture and Violence” conference at Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies, University of California, San Diego on June 3, 2006.
  • Presented lecture on Chilean elections at “Politics in Capital Letters”, Interdisciplinary Dialogues on Latin America, Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies, University of California, San Diego on May 4, 2006.
  • Presented lecture on “International Legal Careers” to United Nations Association San Diego, International Career Day, UCSD International House, San Diego on April 15, 2006.
  • Presented lecture on “The Challenges for Continued U.S. Influence in Latin America” to World Affairs Council North County Chapter, Rancho Bernardo, CA on April 13, 2006.
  • Presented paper “From the Washington Consensus to the Caracas Consensus” at the 2006 Western Law Professors of Color Conference “Pale Promises: Confronting the Rights Deficit”, held in San Diego April 1, 2006.
  • Latin America Matters Lecture and Event Series 2007, co-sponsored by Proyecto ACCESO, Fair Trade Academy, International Legal Studies Program at California Western School of Law.  The first event will be a debut screening of "New Installments of Globalization: The Reality Show (Full Metal Justice, That’s What Justice Requires)" on Tuesday, January 30, 2006, 5.30 pm., Room LH1.  Click for a list of series events.
  • "The Lessons of NAFTA," as part of a panel with Bolivia's Ambassador at Large, Pablo Salon, negotiating the Free Trade Deal with the U.S. at a conference sponsored by Proyecto ACCESO, LABOR, and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in La Paz.  The conference was called "Bases for Fair Trade: Negotiating Treaties Among Peoples," La Paz, Bolivia, September 26, 2006.

  • “How Governments should Modernize their Legal Systems to Deal with Issues of Regulation, Competition and Labor” at the Growth, Equity and Free Trade Conference, UCSD Institute of the Americas, La Jolla, CA, August 17, 2006.



    Class Web Pages
  • Comparative Law
  • Introduction to Latin American Legal Culture 
  • Introduction to NAFTA [part of the Fair Trade Academy]
  • NAFTA and Business Law Issues
  • Laws 101: UCSD
  • Free and Fair Trade in Americas

Professor Cooper's Media Appearances - 2005, 2006, 2007  2010, 2011

 

jcooper@cwsl.edu     
619-525-1430
225 Cedar Street
San Diego, CA 92101

Publications

Presentations

Class Webpages

Links 
ILSP August 2011 Newsletter

Videos

CV