Vanessa Lopez
Legal Clinic Supervisor
Professor Vanessa Lopez currently works as a supervising attorney at the University of Houston Law Center’s Immigration Clinic. She represents clients in a variety of immigration related issues, while overseeing students working on asylum cases before the Executive Office for Immigration Review and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Previously, Professor Lopez was a supervising attorney for the YMCA of Greater Houston. She was a manager for the detained adults’ program, working with immigrants detained in any of the four detention centers in the Houston area. She performed know-your-rights presentations through the Legal Orientation Program and represented immigrants in removal proceedings under the National Qualified Representatives Program. Part of her role was to hire and train legal and administrative assistants, and mentor attorneys. Professor Lopez also collaborated with participating non-profits as Harris County began its first universal representation program, the Immigration Legal Services Fund, for immigrants that are also Harris County residents.
Professor Lopez graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin. In 2013, she earned her J.D. from Texas Tech University School of Law. She has also worked in Human Resources with the U.S. Air Force in Germany and taught English in Japan.
