Destiny Lopez Email & Phone Number

Los Angeles, California, United States

Los Angeles Metropolitan Area

New Haven, Ct

Assist the Admissions Office in attracting, recruiting, and matriculating a more diverse applicant pool and student body along a variety of dimensions. Work with applicants and prospective applicants from groups traditionally underrepresented at Yale Law School and the legal profession navigate the law school application, admission, and decision-making processes.

New Haven, Ct

Represented defendants in criminal cases in the Geographical Area #23 courthouse (the “GA”) on Elm Street in New Haven. Handled all aspects of clients’ cases under the direct supervision of clinical faculty. Built relationships with clients, investigated and developed cases, constructed persuasive case theories, negotiated with opposing counsel, and advocated for clients in court.

Assist Professor Marisol Orihuela on research related to the intersection between the criminal legal system and the immigration system ("crimmigration"), movement lawyering, prison abolition, and a variety of other topics.

New Haven, Connecticut

Assist attorneys in the Affirmative Litigation department of the San Francisco City Attorney's office on affirmative litigation suits. Conduct legal research and produce legal memos that contribute to ongoing litigation on behalf of the City of San Francisco.

New Haven, Ct

Worked on a parole reform project in Connecticut, including meeting with stakeholders in the Department of Corrections and Board of Pardons and Parole, collaborating with New Haven public defenders, researching parole policies in Connecticut, and bringing together a variety of system-impacted individuals and government stakeholders for a large-scale panel and film screening.

Greater Los Angeles Area

Wrote motions on topics including 1326(d) illegal reentry, suppression of evidence, and motion to dismiss for failure to state an offense. Wrote legal research memos on drug-induced homicide and voluntariness of consent to search. Prepared client’s application for Conviction and Sentence Alternatives Program (CASA). Interviewed clients for arraignment at misdemeanor court.

Greater San Diego Area

Focused primarily on bail reform and conducted research on police reform Created and implemented a court watching program, which involved students from seven law schools collecting over 1,000 observations of bail hearings. Lead the Research Committee of the bail reform campaign, organized large-scale events such as Sacramento Lobby Days, helped write a 150-page research "Briefing Book" on bail reform, and created a number of materials for the bail reform campaign including public education materials on the bail system and an "Activist Toolkit." Researched and wrote policy recommendations for the Coalition for Police Accountability and Transparency.

Stanford, Ca

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute publishes the complete volumes of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project. Located at Stanford University, they possess copies of every document, speech, video, and article related to King. As a research assistant, I was responsible for conducting archival research that contributes to the King Papers Project. I also took on tasks such as interview transcription, newspaper research, and data entry as needed.

Greater New York City Area

I interned full time with the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) for three months as part of the Stanford in New York City program. During my time at HPD, I learned a great deal about the government processes that go into financing affordable housing, specifically the relationship between federal, state, and local government. I was responsible for completing and submitting applications for federal funding for our affordable housing for- and nonprofit developers. I also conducted research on intergenerational affordable housing models and New York City senior citizen census data.

East Palo Alto, California

I interned full-time with the City of East Palo Alto Department of Community and Economic Development, during which I gained exposure to how local government functions. I was responsible for updating the Historic Resources inventory, a list of all historic properties in East Palo Alto, which had not been updated in over 20 years. I conducted site visits to over 50 properties, reporting on their conditions. I found that 25% of the city's historic properties had been destroyed in the past 20 years. I then wrote a staff report encouraging City Council to adopt ordinances for historic preservation, which was later unanimously approved.

Doctor Of Law - Jd, Law

Activities and Societies: Co-president, First Generation Professionals. Communications chair, Latinx Law Students Association

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), History And Political Science

Activities and Societies: The First-Generation and/or Low-income Partnership (FLIP); Student-Initiated Course Committee; Service.