Mr. Lopez’s career is a testimony to achievement. He is a United States citizen,

born in the Dominican Republic. He began as a hardworking student in a ghetto

neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. His early years were spent trying to master English

while he learned the basics in math, reading, and history. He learned quickly and excelled,

building on his achievements in high school he was selected to participate in the SEEK

program, a special government backed effort to assist college ready minorities.

He then entered Middlebury College in Vermont, there he obtained a Bachelor of

Arts in 1973. He received his Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School in Boston,

established a thriving law practice in Washington, D.C. and has now achieved another

milestone in his career, being sworn in as an Associated Judge to the Superior Court of the

District of Columbia.

As Mr. Lopez is sworn in he represents the result of life-long work combined with

motivated caring about the community he serves. He has a long history of involvement in

community causes, where he has made major contributions.

He is a two term member of the Mayor’s Commission on Latino Community

Development in the District of Columbia. He also is a member of the Hispanic Bar

Association steering committee and responsible through this role for demonstrating the

need for interpreters’ program of the Superior Court. In addition, he has been an active

member of the Superior Court Probate Rules Advisory Committee.

Mr. Lopez’s professional career began in 1977 when he was selected to be a

student attorney in Boston on the Massachusetts Defender’s Committee. From there, he

moved to become an attorney advisor on the United States Department of Labor Benefits

Review Board.

In 1979, he became part owner and general counsel to Anthony Houses, a small

real estate development firm in Washington, D.C., and in 1980, he opened the doors of his

own law firm as a sole practitioner.

He quickly achieved a reputation as a successful litigator, concentrating in real estate,

landlord and tenant and domestic relations.

In 1984 he joined Smink and Scheuermann, P.C., where he became a partner. This

general practice law firm in Washington, D.C. specializes in real estate, probate and small

businesses and condominium representation. Mr. Lopez practices extensively at Superior

Court of the District of Columbia and District of Columbia Office of Consumer and

Regulatory Affairs.

His judicial experience includes acting as a part-time Attorney member of the District

of Columbia Board of Appeals and Review. In this capacity, he chairs a three-member

hearing panel that reviews appeals of administrative action on business licenses and

various permits, including certifications of medical facilities. He is also a part time member of

the District of Columbia Traffic Adjudications Appeals Board.

Mr. Lopez’s client list is diverse, it includes a wide range of people from business

entrepreneurs and investors to low and middle income families who seek basic legal aid.

Mr. Lopez resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Silvia Altagracia Josephson

and their two children, Melissa and Jose.

Josephson and their two children, Melissa and Jose.