Karen J. Cooper
B.soc. sci., ll.b., ll.l, tep
Ms. Cooper joined Carters in 2005 and became a partner in 2008, having left her position as Senior Rulings Officer with the Income Tax Rulings Directorate of Canada Revenue Agency, to practice charity and not-for-profit law with an emphasis on tax issues. After two years clerking at the Federal Court of Canada, Ms. Cooper was called to the Ontario Bar in 1995 and became counsel for the Department of Justice in tax litigation. She then went to Lang Michener to practice tax planning and litigation, commercial litigation, bankruptcy and insolvency law, and general business law, before moving on to the Canada Revenue Agency.
In addition to her considerable legal experience, Ms. Cooper also has extensive teaching experience, including the Estates (Tax) section of the Ontario Bar Admission Course, presenting workshops for The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, as sessional lecturer at Carleton University School of Business teaching Business Law, and part-time professor at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Common Law teaching first year Property Law and an advanced seminar (Introduction to the Law of Charities and Non-Profit Organizations). Ms. Cooper has also worked as a consultant providing advice to the Department of Justice, Environment Canada, and the former Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women with respect to tax policy issues and is currently serving on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Land Trust Alliance and Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa, as well as a member of the Canadian Tax Foundation, Canadian Association of Gift Planners, Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, and on the Executive of the Charity and Not-for-Profit Law Sections of the Ontario Bar Association and the Canadian Bar Association. Ms. Cooper is a frequent author and speaker, as well as a contributing author to The Management of Charitable and Not-for-Profit Organizations in Canada (LexisNexis Butterworths).