Her law firm, Karen Cooper & Associates, was established in New Orleans in 1999. She is also the owner of Precise Title, a title company with three locations in the area. A New Orleans native who was raised in California, she attended the University of California at Los Angeles and California State University at Sacramento, where she obtained a bachelor of arts degree in both political science and criminal justice. Cooper is a 1997 graduate of Loyola University New Orleans School of Law.