EEOC General Counsel Lopez Keynote Speaker at Law School Symposium

Courtesy Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

David Lopez, general council for the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas Law Notes, a continually published online journal of the University of Arkansas School of Law, will host "50 years of Advancing Equal Opportunity: Reflecting on the Past and Contemplating the Future," a symposium on equal employment law, at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, in the E.J. Ball Courtroom.

David Lopez, general council for the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, will open the event with remarks on three Supreme Court equal employment opportunity cases: Mach Mining v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc. and Young v. United Parcel Service. His talk will be followed by a question and answer session.

After a short break, Lopez will join members of the legal community for two panel discussions on emergent issues in equal employment opportunity law. The symposium is open to the public. Three hours of continuing legal education credit is available to attorney attendees. Each session will be held in Waterman Hall's E.J. Ball Courtroom.

David Lopez

Lopez is the first EEOC field trial attorney to be appointed as the agency's general counsel, a title he has held since 2010. He has served at the commission in various capacities for 20 years.

The general counsel is responsible for the commission's litigation program and oversees the agency's 15 regional attorneys and a staff of more than 325 lawyers and legal professionals who conduct or support commission litigation in district and appellate courts across the country.

Lopez served as co-chair of the committee that developed the commission's strategic enforcement plan for 2013-16. He is the chair of the commission's immigrant worker team, a group tasked with strengthening and coordinating EEOC's enforcement and outreach on employment discrimination issues affecting immigrant and other vulnerable workers.

In 2014, the National Law Journal named Lopez one of "America's 50 Outstanding General Counsels," and the magazine Diversity and the Bar recognized him as a "Latino Luminary" for his work as a civil rights attorney and as general counsel. In 2011, Hispanic Business named Lopez to its list of "Top 100 Influentials" in the Hispanic community.

Before joining the commission, Lopez was a senior trial attorney with the Civil Rights Division, Employment Litigation Section, of the U.S. Department of Justice and an associate with Spiegel and McDiarmid in Washington, D.C.

Lopez holds a bachelor of science in political science, magna cum laude, from Arizona State University and a juris doctor from Harvard Law School.

Additional Sessions and Participants

2:30 p.m. – Panel Discussion: "Reflections on the Evolution of EEO Law" 

• Denise Hoggard, president-elect, Arkansas Bar Association; attorney, Rainwater Holt and Sexton
• Leon Jones, director, Arkansas Department of Labor
• Jane Kim, partner, Wright Lindsey Jennings,
• Eva Madison, shareholder, Littler Mendelson
• Annie Smith, assistant professor, University of Arkansas Law

3:30 p.m. – Panel Discussion: "Contemplating the Future of EEO Law"

• Abtin Mehdizadegan, associate, Cross Gunter Witherspoon and Galchus
• Michael Moore, partner, Friday Eldredge and Clark
• Danielle Weatherby, assistant professor, University of Arkansas Law
• Jessica Yarbrough, associate, Gene McKissic and Associates

Arkansas Law Notes features articles and current research from School of Law faculty and members of the Arkansas Bar. The service continues the law school's tradition of dedication to providing timely and insightful research on a variety of subjects to members of the bar.

About University of Arkansas School of Law: The University of Arkansas School of Law prepares students for success through a challenging curriculum taught by nationally recognized faculty, unique service opportunities and a close-knit community that puts students first. It has been ranked among the top 10 "Values in Legal Education" by the National Jurist magazine for three consecutive years and is among the top 41 public law schools, according to U.S. News and World Report.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.