David T. Lopez & Associates – Owner and Principal

Attorney, Arbitrator, Mediator

Owner and Principal, David T. Lopez & Associates, 1971 – Present; Field Representative, AFL-CIO, 1967 – 1971; Press and Publications Director, Interamerican Organization of Workers, 1965 – 1967; Partner and Director, Panamericana Public Relations Co., 1963 – 1964; Governmental Affairs Reporter, Long News Service, 1964; Education and Political Affairs Reporter, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, 1961 – 1962; News Reporter and Managing Editor, Laredo Times, 1957 – 1958, 1961; News Reporter, South Texas Citizen, 1956 – 1958.

Employment: Represented employees, employers and labor organizations in disputes and litigation at domestic and international levels. Matters handled included international trade, energy, finance, transportation, agriculture and retail, among others. Have served as individual and wing arbitrator in class action cases.

Commercial: Gained detailed exposure of operations of major corporations in the areas listed above through litigation as lead attorney in more than 400 state and federal cases at the trial and appellate levels. Represented parties in partnership, trade secrets, contract, real estate and retail operations.

International: As an international trade union executive, participated in conferences at the ministerial level and liaison with major NGO entities and conducted training on law and dispute resolution in Latin America, including, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Panama. Was a charter member of the American Bar Association International Employment Committee and participated in activities in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Active and committee chair in the International Bar Association, World Association of Lawyers, Interamerican Bar Association and U.S.-Mexico Bar Association.

General: Immediately after graduated from law school, established a personal private practice, which developed into a firm with two branch offices and 13 associates.

Has dealt primarily with employment and labor disputes, including restaurant employees’ assignment and pay, a class action by sales representatives of a communications company, worker’s injury compensation, union contract issues of a multi-state railway, a local union’s dispute with the international union over a strike, allegations of employee theft and misconduct, longshoremen and sea cruise employees issues; college and university administration and faculty tenure and teaching.

Race, sex, national origin, and religion discrimination; overtime compensation; disability; employee benefits, medical leave; on-the-job injuries; union organizing elections; business records, competition and trade secrets; and partnership dissolution.

A mediator must prepare by assuring that the parties in conflict have a definite and clear understanding of their interests and goals in the mediation to enabling their representatives and counsel to work toward a resolution that satisfies both sides as much as reasonably possible. The goal is not solely to reach any agreement, but also to resolve the dispute that can be considered a win by all parties and restore their relationship.

Harvard University Program of Education for Lawyers (1985); South Texas College of Law (JD, summa cum laude-1971); University of Texas (B, Journalism-1962).

St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, and Universidad de Monterrey in Mexico (Joint Venture Program II in civil and common law in the United States and Mexico-1995); Universidad Panamericana, Mexico City (post-graduate courses in economics-1966).

Admitted to the Bar: Texas, 1971; U.S. District Courts: Southern, Northern, Eastern, Western Districts of Texas, Western, Middle and Eastern Districts of Louisiana, District of New Mexico; U.S. Court of Appeals: Fifth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Federal Circuits; U.S. Court of Federal Claims; U.S. Supreme Court, 1975.

World Association of Lawyers (Past Chair, International Labor Committee, Past Chair, Committee on the Disabled); International Association of Lawyers (Union International des Avocats); International Bar Association (Keynote Speaker at Annual Section Conference); Interamerican Bar Association; U.S.-Mexico Bar Association (Past Chair, Labor and Employment Committee); American Bar Association (Alternative Dispute Resolution Section Publications Board, Founding Member of International Employment Law Committee; Chair, International Commercial Dispute Resolution Committee of Litigation Section; Trainer, Rule of Law Initiative); Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit); State Bar of Texas (Past Member, Texas Bar Journal Editorial Board; Liaison With Federal Judiciary); Houston Bar Association (Past President, Alternative Dispute Resolution Section; Co-Chair, Monterrey Exchange Program; Chair, Historical Committee; Editorial Board, The Houston Lawyer; Past Board Member, Harris County Dispute Resolution Center); Mexican-American Bar Association; Hispanic Bar Association; International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (Energy, Oil and Gas Committee); Institute for Transnational Arbitration (Advisory Board); Association of Attorney-Mediators; Frank Evans Institute for Dispute Resolution (Advisory Board).

“Arbitration Intersects With Employment Law,” University of Texas Labor and Employment Conference, 2020 (With Judge Alvin Zimmerman and David Schlottman);“Global Mediation,” Houston Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution Section, 2019;“New Convention Provides for Mediation Enforcement,” State Bar of Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution Section, 2018; “Breaking the Cookie Cutter: Changing and Challenging Traditional Mediation in #MeToo Time,” Association of Attorney Mediators Advanced Training, 2018;“Best Practices in Dispute Resolution,” University of Texas Labor and Employment Conference, 2017; “Advantages, Disadvantages and Techniques of Arbitration in Employment Cases,” University of Texas Employment Law Conference, 2018; “The Future of International Conflicts in Global Commerce,” Association of Attorney Mediators Advanced Training, 2017; “Anticipating, Receiving and Resolving Workplace Conflicts,” University of Texas Labor and Employment Conference, 2016; “Dynamics of Cultural Diversity in Alternative Dispute Resolution,” State Bar of Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution Section Seminar, 2014; “Basics for Reductions in Force,” Houston Bar Association Employment Law Institute, 2009; "Going Global: International Employment Law," University of Texas, 2007; "How Flat Is Your World of Work?," TEXAS BAR JOURNAL, May 2007; "Mexican Labor Law and the Potential for Reform," TEXAS BAR JOURNAL, February 2007; "Realizing the Promise of Employment Arbitration," TEXAS BAR JOURNAL, October 2006; “International Alternative Dispute Resolution,” Los Angeles County Bar Association International Law Symposium, 2006; “Ethical Issues in Employment Mediation,” State Bar of Texas Labor & Employment Section Seminar, 2005; “Update on Negotiations for Free Trade Agreements,” Program on International Labor and Employment Law, Center for American and International Law, 2005; "Damages-Estimating, Proving and Defending," University of Texas, 2003; "Update on Negotiations for Free Trade Agreements," Council on American and International Law, 2002; "Security and Crisis Management," University of Texas, 2002; "Strategies for Early and Economical Settlement of Employment Cases," Council for Education in Management, 2002;"Deconstructing Opening Statements," State Bar of Texas, 2001; "Public Sector Employment Issues," University of Texas, 2001; co-author, "Ethical Pitfalls in Preparing Witnesses for Deposition," State Bar of Texas, 1999; "Effective Opening Statements in Employment Cases," South Texas College of Law, 1999; co-author, "Ethical Considerations for Employment Lawyers," University of Texas, 1998; coauthor, "Individual Rights of Government Employees," State Bar of Texas, 1998; "Tort Claims in Employment Cases," South Texas College of Law, 1998; "Try to See It My Way: Mediation of Employment Disputes," State Bar of Texas, 1997; "Protecting Your Employment Rights and Resolving Employment Claims," American Society of Indian Engineers, 1997; "Managing Diversity in the Workplace," FMCS, 1997; "Communication, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution: Avoiding Misunderstanding and Settling Disputes Within the Company in Multinational and Multicultural Transactions," State Bar of Texas, 1997; "Ethical Aspects of Appellate Practice," State Bar of Texas, 1997; “International Labor Standards and the NAFTA Supplemental Accord,” Houston Bar Association Section on Labor and Employment Law, 1996; “Mexico, Saudi Arabia and the European Community–Transnational Aspects of Labor Relations,” State Bar of Texas Advanced Employment Law Seminar, 1994; “El Juicio Ante Un Jurado–Aspectos del Procedimiento Civil” (“Jury Trial and Aspects of Civil Procedure,”) 1994, and “Agravios en las Relaciones Comerciales y la Determinación de los Daños Correspondientes” (“Commercial Torts and the Determination of Damages”), Houston Bar Association Monterrey Exchange Program, 1993.

$3,500 Per Day

English, Spanish

United States of America

Houston, TX