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The Honorable Heather Z. Cooper, Biography

Heather Z. Cooper, Chief Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Vermont was appointed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on March 14, 2022.  

Judge Cooper received her J.D. from South Texas College of Law, magna cum laude and began her legal career as a briefing attorney to Justice David L. Richards of the Texas Court of Appeals, Second District.  She then entered private practice with the firm of Dunn, Kacal, Adams, Pappas & Law, P.C. in Houston, Texas followed by the firm of Murphy & King, P.C. in Boston, Massachusetts.  In 2004, Judge Cooper moved to Vermont and served as a law clerk for former Bankruptcy Judge Colleen A. Brown. 

In 2006, Judge Cooper joined the firm of Facey Goss & McPhee P.C., in Rutland, Vermont. Judge Cooper’s practice focused on litigation with extensive and diverse bankruptcy law experience, with over twenty years of experience in the financial and restructuring industry, representing individual and corporate debtors and creditors in loan workouts and restructurings, liquidations, foreclosures, litigation seizures and receiverships. 

During her partnership at Facey Goss & McPhee P.C., Judge Cooper served as Managing Partner and became certified in Consumer Bankruptcy by the American Board of Certification.  Judge Cooper also served as the Bankruptcy Law Section Chair of the Vermont Bar Association from 2014 to 2018 and on various task forces for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Vermont since from 2011 to 2021.