50 Most Influential Latinos

Dax E. Lopez

State Court Judge

State Court of Dekalb

Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Judge Dax López moved to Georgia at the age of six. Constantly on the move, Judge López lived in six states, mostly in the South, throughout his childhood. Judge López attended Vanderbilt University and then, Vanderbilt Law School.

After law school, Judge López served as the law clerk for the Hon. Hector M. Laffitte in the Federal District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. He returned to Atlanta in 2002 to commence his career as an attorney at Holland & Knight, LLP. Before joining the DeKalb State Court, Judge López also worked in the litigation groups of Ashe, Rafuse & Hill and Foltz & Martin LLC, where he handled class actions, complex civil litigation, employment matters, and product liability cases.

On August 10, 2010, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue appointed Dax to the State Court of DeKalb County, where he has presided over both criminal misdemeanor and civil matters. Judge López also presides over two sections of the DeKalb County DUI Court, which includes the only such court conducted entirely in Spanish.