Helen Cooper

Helen Cooper is a Partner at Dentons, practicing in the Tax Law group. She focuses on tax controversy and litigation, representing businesses and high‑net‑worth individuals before the U.S. Tax Court and other courts, as well as administratively in IRS examinations.

Helen uses her unique background in both law and accounting to proactively anticipate and resolve potential conflicts with tax authorities, providing advice, memoranda, and opinions designed to mitigate risk and minimize liability. She has successfully obtained a $2.76 million concession in settlement with IRS Appeals for a high‑net‑worth individual, resulting in the complete removal of all penalties including the civil fraud penalty; convinced a state tax department to cancel over $350,000 in assessments and issue a refund of over $50,000; and obtained a refund of approximately $140,000 for a decedent's estate using a novel reasonable cause argument. She also advises on tax considerations in M&A transactions, including the carve‑out sale of Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises' Diamond Power division to Andritz AG for US$177 million and the acquisition of INdigital by Novacap.

Helen holds a J.D. from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law (2016), an M.A. in Irish Writing from Trinity College Dublin (2013), and a B.A. in English and Psychology from Bellarmine University (2012). She is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Kentucky and Louisville Bar Associations. She has been recognized as a Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” in Louisville for Tax Law (2025) and selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in Tax Law (2024‑2026).