Matthew A. Lopes Jr. is a Principal with Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O'Gara LLC. He is a nationally recognized Special Master for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, in the matter of Coleman v. Brown, overseeing prison reform and compliance with orders of the Court concerning care of seriously mentally ill inmates. As Special Master, Mr. Lopes heads a team of two deputy special masters, nine mental health clinical experts, three mental health management/custodial experts, and six monitors. Mr. Lopes’ work as Special Master involves confronting complex constitutional law issues relating to the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. He assists the Coleman parties and the court in the design and implementation of mandatory mental health screening, diagnosis, and treatment of the approximately 30,000 mentally ill prisoners throughout the 34 institutions within the California prison system. He also reports extensively to the Coleman court on his findings in the California prisons, as well as on other issues as ordered by the court. Mr. Lopes’ experience in court oversight of correctional systems extends back over twenty-six years of continuous work in the area of court-ordered prison reform, as a special master, deputy special master, and court monitor, in three additional major remedial correctional cases under the supervision of the United States District Courts of Texas, Georgia, and Rhode Island.
In addition to his practice as a Special Master, Mr. Lopes leads the firm’s Alternative Dispute Resolution and Government & Legislative Strategies Teams. He has over 20 years of experience in government affairs and legislative advocacy. Mr. Lopes possesses a unique blend of legal, analytical, and relationship skills, which he credibly employs in assisting clients with their government relations, lobbying and legislative/strategic planning needs. He combines legal expertise with a common sense and pragmatic approach to problem-solving and has a loyal and long-standing government relations client base, representing organizations ranging from Fortune 100 companies to nonprofit businesses, including organizations within the health care, pharmaceutical, food service, and transportation industries, among others.
Mr. Lopes earned his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and his Bachelor’s Degree from Dartmouth College. He is admitted to practice law in the State of Rhode Island.
