Gerald P. Lopez

Gerald P. López (born 1948) is Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law and one of the most influential Latino/Chicano professors in the nation. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Southern California in 1970 and his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1974. He has taught at Case Western Law, UCLA School of Law, Stanford Law School and New York University School of Law among others. At UCLA he teaches the following seminars: "Transforming Legal Education", "Problem Solving", "Community Outreach, Education and Organizing", as well as "Meeting the Challenges of Reentry Policy".

He has been the nation’s leading theorist about lawyering as problem-solving. He created the “rebellious vision” of progressive practice. He has been among the country’s on-the-ground practitioners of and advocates for comprehensive and coordinated legal and non-legal problem solving in low-income, of color, and immigrant communities. At Stanford he co-founded the Lawyering for Social Change Program, at UCLA the Program in Public Interest Law and Policy, and the Center for Community Problem Solving at NYU. He is the author of many books and articles but is most known for his book "Rebellious Lawyering," which is the most influential book ever written about progressive law practice and community problem solving.

His work centers on economic initiatives, prisoner programs, reentry programs, policy reforms, civil rights litigation, outreach and education and organizing campaigns, and major empirical research studies. His scholarship focuses on problem-solving practices, race and culture, economic development, reentry, health care, immigration, legal education, and emerging social, economic, and political issues.