Ilene S. Cooper

Ilene Sherwyn Cooper is a partner practicing litigation and estate planning in Surrogate’s Courts throughout Metropolitan New York. Before joining Farrell Fritz, she served for ten years as the Chief Law Assistant of the Suffolk County Surrogate’s Court. Her responsibilities there included preparing judicial opinions on complex and novel issues; acting as the Trial Assistant to the Surrogate, preparing pretrial memoranda, jury charges, evidentiary rulings and post-trial decisions; and administering the daily operation of the Law Department, supervising staff attorneys, advising department heads and developing court policy. She is a graduate of Cornell University and Hofstra University School of Law.

Ilene is a Fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estates Council (ACTEC). She is a former Chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Trusts & Estates Law Section and is currently an Executive Committee Member of the section. Ilene was elected as a Tenth Judicial District Delegate by the Suffolk County Bar Association, effective June 1, 2022. Additionally, she is on the Committee on Legal Education & Admission to the Bar, the Committee on Professional Discipline, and the Nominating Committee. Ilene is a Board Member and Fellow of the New York Bar Foundation, and she is a member of the Grants Committee. Ilene belongs to the New York City Bar Association and is on the association’s Estate and Gift Taxation Committee; she is a former member of the Trusts, Estates, and Surrogate’s Court Committee. She is a past President of the Suffolk County Bar Association, where she also served on the Board of Directors and in various roles on multiple committees. Ilene is a former Board Member of the Suffolk County Women’s Bar Association. She was a member of the New York State Grievance Committee for the 10th Judicial District from 2006-2013.

Ilene writes a column, “Trusts and Estates Update,” for the New York Law Journal, is the author of “Case Notes,” a quarterly column published in the New York State Bar Association’s Trusts and Estates Law Section Newsletter and is a columnist for the Suffolk County Bar Association’s publication, the Suffolk Lawyer. In 2002, she published a textbook entitled “Wills, Trusts and Estates—Essential Tools for the New York Paralegal,” which serves as a practice tool and guide for paralegals. This book has been updated over the years, and a digital edition has been published (updated edition issued December 2022). Further, Ilene is the editor of the volume on litigation in New York Surrogate’s Courts, published by Warren’s Heaton, and has written several articles for the The New York Bar Journal.

llene is currently an adjunct professor of law at Touro Law School, where she teaches trusts and estates. She was previously a visiting professor teaching trusts and estates at Hofstra Law School. Ilene also serves on Touro Law School’s Board of Governors.

Ilene was named a Best Lawyer in America in Litigation – Trusts & Estates annually since 2013, and she received Lawyer of the Year on Long Island in her area of practice in 2019 and 2021. Additionally, Ilene has been named a Super Lawyer in Estates & Trust Litigation annually since 2008; in 2020, she was one of the Top 50 Women in the New York Metro Area, and in 2019 and 2020, she was one of the Top 100 in the region. Ilene was recognized by Long Island Business News as “Who’s Who in Women in Professional Services” in both 2010 and 2013. In 2022, Ilene was selected as a member of the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University inaugural Hall of Fame class. These well-respected alumni were selected and recognized in conjunction with Hofstra Law School’s 50th Anniversary.

Ilene is a Board Member of The Safe Center and Suffolk County Child Care Council and a former Board Member of Child Abuse Prevention Services. She is on the Advisory Committee of Friends of Karen and is an appointed member of the Museum of Modern Art’s Friends of Education Committee and a member of Nassau County Museum of Art’s Annual Ball/Journal Committee. In recent years, Ilene has served on the Suffolk County Youth Board and the SYJCC Board.