John Cooper
Founding Partner | Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers
John Cooper is a car accidents, truck accidents and railroad accidents trial lawyer and founding partner at Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers in Norfolk, Virginia. Admitted in Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia; J.D., University of Virginia School of Law (1988).
Meet John
John M. Cooper is a founding partner of Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers in Norfolk, Virginia, and a personal injury trial lawyer with more than 35 years of experience representing injured people across Hampton Roads. His practice covers auto, truck and railroad accidents, catastrophic injuries and wrongful death claims.
In 2020, Cooper and his team obtained a $6.5 million recovery for a car crash victim left quadriplegic, which the firm reports as the largest recovery in Virginia that year. Other results include a $5.8 million settlement for a traumatic brain injury victim and a $4.725 million settlement for a child passenger who suffered vision impairment and multiple fractures. He served for a decade on the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association Board of Governors and chaired the American Association for Justice’s FELA Litigation Group and Railroad Law Section.
Raised in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Cooper graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California at Berkeley and earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1988. He then clerked for a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Norfolk. He is admitted in Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia, regularly teaches continuing legal education programs, and has served as president of Ohef Sholom Temple in Norfolk.
Experience and Expertise
Qualifications
Timeline
- J.D., University of Virginia School of Law, 1988
- B.A., University of California at Berkeley, 1985 (Phi Beta Kappa)
- Admitted to practice in Virginia, 1988
- Admitted to practice in North Carolina, 2001
- Admitted to practice in West Virginia, 2002
- Law Clerk, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Norfolk Division
Practice Areas
- Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (Board of Governors, a decade)
- American Association for Justice (Chair, FELA Litigation Group and Railroad Law Section)
- Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys
- Association of Rail Labor Attorneys
- Virginia Beach Bar Association
- Norfolk & Portsmouth Bar Association
- Brain Injury Association of Virginia
- Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference (Permanent Member)
- Best Lawyers (2024-2026)
- Super Lawyers
- Virginia Business Legal Elite (2025)
- Lawyers of Distinction
- Coastal Virginia Magazine Top Lawyer
- Virginia Lawyers Weekly Leaders in the Law and Hall of Fame
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Rating
- $6.5 Million Recovery: Recovery in 2020 for a single car accident plaintiff left quadriplegic by the crash, described on his bio as the largest reported recovery in Virginia that year.
- $5.8 Million Settlement: Settlement for a traumatic brain injury victim.
- $4.725 Million Settlement: Settlement for a child passenger who suffered vision impairment and multiple fractures in a car crash.
Print is Alive
Trial Lawyer's Journal sets a new standard for law journal publications. With limited ads and one-of-a-kind content, it was created to celebrate wins both in and outside the courtroom.