David Lopez

David Lopez joined Rutgers Law School in August 2018 and served as co-dean until July 2021. Prior to joining Rutgers, he was the longest-serving general counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). He most recently worked as a partner at Outten & Golden in Washington, D.C., and is a nationally recognized expert in civil rights and employment law.

He earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School and graduated magna cum laude from Arizona State University with a bachelor's degree in political science. Professor Lopez has a rich and deep background in public interest law and using the legal system to champion the principles of equality and opportunity. He has also taught at Harvard Law School and Georgetown Law Center. As general counsel of the EEOC, Professor Lopez led the litigation program for the nation's primary administrative agency charged with enforcing federal employment antidiscrimination laws and oversaw 15 regional attorneys and a staff of more than 325 people.

Prior to joining the EEOC, Professor Lopez was a senior trial attorney with the Civil Rights Division Employment Litigation Section of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Previously, he was an associate with Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP in Washington, D.C. He is a widely sought-after speaker who has made more than 50 speeches and presentations before the American Bar Association, state and local bar associations, and various advocacy, nongovernmental organizations, and universities. Professor Lopez also serves on the board of the ACLU-DC, the Impact Fund (an Oakland-based nonprofit offering support to public interest lawyers and communities through training, co-counsel, and grants to advance civil rights and social justice), and Toward Justice, a Denver-based nonprofit dedicated to advancing economic justice and advocacy. He is a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Attorneys. In 2014, the National Law Journal named him one of "America's 50 Outstanding General Counsels."

Among the organizations that have recognized him for his work on social justice issues are: the International Religious Liberty Association, which gave him its National Religious Freedom Award; Liberty Magazine; the North American Religious Liberty Association, which cited his work on civil, religious, and employment rights; the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, which gave him its Friend in Government Award in 2012. Professor Lopez has been called a "Latino Luminary" by the magazine Diversity and the Bar and in 2011 Hispanic Business named him to its list of 100 "Influentials" in the Hispanic community.