Bearing Success: Transactional Alumni Spotlights
Jono Cooper (J.D. '22)
Associate at FizerBeck
Office(s): Houston, TX
Practice Area: Estate Planning, Estate Administration
Get to know Jono Cooper...
This winter, we visited with Jono Cooper, a proud 2022 Baylor Law graduate, and Associate at FizerBeck, a boutique law firm in Houston, TX, focused on estate planning and estate administration. Jono shared how his undergraduate experience at Baylor formed the desires that would eventually lead him to attend Baylor Law, and how his time at Baylor Law prepared him to build a client-focused estate planning and administration practice.
Jono moved to Waco to attend Baylor University, initially planning to pursue a career in education. After deciding that education was not the right field for him, he set his sights on the law, which would allow him “to continue [his] passion for helping others” by allowing him to “be a real representative to people and be of assistance to them.”
As a first-year law student, Jono wanted to practice family law. He had previously served as a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and regularly interacted with family law attorneys in that role, but he worried that his non-confrontational personality might result in burnout. He fell in love with transactional practice in his fourth quarter—the so-called “transactional quarter”—during which Baylor Law students take Business Organizations 1 with Professor Beth Miller, Trusts & Estates with Professor Tom Featherston, and Tax and Accounting Principles for Lawyers with Professor Christine Robinson. Jono discovered that transactional practice allowed him to “still work with individuals in a less confrontational manner.” After spending the summer between his second and third year as a Summer Associate for FizerBeck, “the real-world experience … and working with clients cemented [his] desire to pursue a transactional practice.”
Though he initially felt a bit awkward as a transactional-focused student in Baylor Law’s well-established litigation program, Jono eventually came to appreciate his experience in Baylor Law’s Practice Court Program and the impact it had on his transactional practice, particularly in being familiar with what happens if you aren’t careful while drafting. He noted that “the preparation it takes to get through Practice Court translates to any area of practice.” Additionally, “the rigor that Practice Court puts you through gives any Baylor Lawyer a step up in the real world,” preparing students to “hunker down” and “work on getting a project done”—skills that are invaluable for him, even today.
Jono encouraged Baylor Law students to take the tax courses offered by Professor Robinson because, as we all know, “two certainties in life are death and taxes.” On a more serious note, Jono noted that tax implications are a significant consideration in any transaction and that having a foundation of understanding of tax enables lawyers to advise their clients more fully. He also highlighted his experience with Baylor Law’s Capstone programs as part of his Estate Planning Special Distinction. Jono explained that the Capstones are particularly valuable because they “help give you a real-world perspective and take you outside of the typical classroom experience of law school by putting you in a real-world situation where you have to deal with a problem rather than reading a case out of a law textbook.” He appreciated that his time in Professor Featherston’s Capstone “may not be what [he sees] every day, but it helped [him] get that experience before [he] had to work with clients in the real world.”
Since graduating and passing the Bar Exam in 2022, Jono has a practice focused on estate planning and administration at FizerBeck in Houston. He loves that “no two people who walk through the door are the same,” which keeps him on his toes. “Nothing makes [him] happier than seeing a client relieved that they have finally gotten around to signing their Will or that their plan will do what they need.” Outside of work, Jono is pursuing his “true career” as a Rugby Match Official. He often spends his weekends refereeing a rugby match on the pitch. He referees at all levels of the sport, from middle and high school all the way to Major League Rugby. World Rugby recently certified Jono as a Citing Commissioner, allowing Jono to work on the disciplinary side of rugby in competitions such as Major League Rugby. Jono had his first World Rugby appointment as a Citing Commissioner at the Los Angeles Rugby SVNS the first weekend of March.
To learn more about Baylor Law’s Business & Transactional Law Program, or to suggest another Baylor Lawyer to be featured, contact Professor Elizabeth Miller at Elizabeth_Miller@baylor.edu or Professor Leah Teague at Leah_Teague@baylor.edu.
