Lisa J. Soto, Of Counsel
Practice Description
Based in El Paso, Lisa's practice includes the representation of both employees and management. She represents employees throughout Texas in administrative processes and in contract review and negotiations. In El Paso, Lisa works with businesses to help instill sound employment practices and help management handle employee and contractor-related challenges. She also provides employee training and offers bilingual mediation services. Lisa has worked with Brim Arnett from 1996 to 1999 and from late 2005 to the present.
From 1999-2005, Lisa practiced law in California, representing school districts, colleges, and governmental entities primarily in the greater San Francisco bay area. She represented clients in federal and state litigation. Lisa advised on construction issues, contract and business matters, policy formation, and labor and employment matters, including serving as a labor contract negotiator and negotiations trainer. She provided many inservices and training sessions for various categories of employees and supervisors regarding sexual harassment, discrimination, and employee discipline. Lisa has published articles in the Texas Hispanic Journal of Law & Policy, the Texas Spectrum, the California Employment Law Reporter, the Hispanic Law Journal, and The Southwest Woman magazine.
Lisa has provided many continuing legal education sessions to attorneys in Texas and California, and has spoken on diversity matters and clinical program innovation across the United States. As a current member and leader of the Texas State Bar Diversity in the Profession Committee, as well as in her community, she has initiated several programs to further diversity in the legal profession and in the educational pipeline leading to law school. Lisa has served as a leader (president, chair, board member) and active member of various state and local professional and charitable organizations in Texas and California throughout her career.
Practice Areas
- Labor and Employment
- State Administrative Law
- Contracts
Educational Background and Certifications
- Stanford University, Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy with Honors in Education (1994)
- University of Texas School of Law, Doctor of Jurisprudence (1997) Judicial Internship for the Honorable Raul A. Gonzalez, Texas Supreme Court; Editorial Board, Hispanic Law Journal; Children's Rights Clinic
- CTA Interest-Based Bargaining Negotiations Trainer Certification (1999)
- Clinical Associate Professor, The University of Texas at El Paso (faculty positions 2008-Present)
- University of Texas School of Law Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution Mediator Certification (approved for court-ordered mediation in Texas) (2014)