SUNY Fredonia alumnus and attorney is 2012 Commencement keynote speaker
 Dale A. Cooter, '70, of Cooter, Mangold, Deckelbaum & Karas, L.L.P. |
SUNY Fredonia’s Commencement keynote speaker will be alumnus and attorney Dale A. Cooter of Washington, D.C. Ceremonies are slated for Saturday, May 12, at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. in the Steele Hall Arena on campus.
Fredonia President Dennis Hefner noted, "Dale Cooter is one of SUNY Fredonia's most accomplished and loyal alumni. His distinguished law career has made him one of the most respected litigators in Washington, D.C. Also, he has shown support by regularly attending alumni gatherings held in our nation's capital and creating an endowment to support students. We are very excited to have him join us at Commencement and look forward to hearing the message he will share with our graduates."
A New York State Regents Scholarship recipient and a native of Syracuse, Mr. Cooter earned his bachelor’s degree in Political Science, cum laude, from SUNY Fredonia in 1970. He moved to Washington, D.C., to attend Georgetown University Law Center, and served as an editor on the Georgetown University Law Journal. He graduated from Georgetown in 1975 and, desiring “hands-on” courtroom experience, opened his first law firm in Washington. After the firm grew to over 30 lawyers and Mr. Cooter decided his preference was to practice law with a small group dedicated to litigation, the larger firm was disbanded, and Mr. Cooter with a core group of lawyers formed Cooter, Mangold, Deckelbaum & Karas, L.L.P.
Mr. Cooter is an experienced trial lawyer, specializing in complex litigation, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. On behalf of plaintiff clients, he has achieved numerous multi-million dollar recoveries against major national and international corporations. He is licensed in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, and is admitted to the bars of the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, Eleventh, District of Columbia and Federal Circuits, as well as the U.S. Court of Claims and the federal district courts in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
He also served as an adjunct Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center from 1985 through 1993, teaching courses in Commercial Law and Evidence, and served as a master of the Charles Fahey American Inns of Court in Washington, D.C., for several years in the early 1990s.
Mr. Cooter’s Fredonia special memories include an American Government class his freshman year with the late Dr. Murdoch Dawley, political science classes with the late Dr. Jack Everett, and watching the 1968 presidential elections with Professor Emeritus William Muller.
Mr. Cooter and his wife, Mary, who live in Washington, have two grown children: Jack, an IT systems administrator at Cooter Mangold, and Jessica, a junior at American University in Washington.
For more information about Commencement, interested persons should visit the event website at www.fredonia.edu/commencement.
