Professor Copeland focuses her scholarship on white collar crime and health care fraud and abuse. Prior to joining Penn State she clerked for Judge David H. Coar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and Judge Damon J. Keith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and practiced at Sidley Austin LLP in Washington, D.C. Her practice focused on white collar criminal defense and constitutional litigation. As part of her white collar crime practice, she represented pharmaceutical companies in health care fraud and abuse prosecutions. She also conducted internal investigations of corporations in matters involving alleged violations of the securities laws, OSHA regulations, antitrust laws, and Medicare/Medicaid laws.