Akua D. Coppock is an Administrative Law Judge with the Office of Administrative Hearings for the District of Columbia. Judge Coppock handles cases related to Public Sector Worker’s Compensation, Wage Theft, Universal Paid Family Leave and a variety of other administrative matters. Judge Coppock is also a Certified Mediator.
She was previously an Assistant Attorney General for the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (OAG). Judge Coppock worked in the Tax and Finance Section of the Commercial Division defending tax assessment appeals filed by commercial property owners. In her previous position with OAG’s Civil Litigation Division, she represented the District of Columbia, its employees and agencies in matters of personal injury, employment discrimination and claims filed under the D.C. Whistleblower Protection Act and the D.C. Human Rights Act.
Judge Coppock previously worked as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Atlanta Law Department where she handled civil litigation matters including personal injury, property damage, breach of contract, First Amendment issues and labor and employment matters. She also represented the City of Atlanta Watershed Management and Finance departments in Civil Service Board Hearings and provided legal advice to the Atlanta Citizen’s Review Executive Board.
In 2011, as an adjunct professor, Judge Coppock began teaching in the Paralegal Studies Program at Atlanta Technical College. She taught Constitution Law, Tort Law, Contract and Commercial Law, Legal Research and Writing I and II, Criminal Law and Family Law courses.
In 2008, Judge Coppock began her career as an attorney as an Associate at Thomas Kennedy Sampson & Tompkins LLP where she represented clients handling various types of civil cases, including insurance defense, medical malpractice, wrongful death, premises liability, personal injury and contract disputes.
Judge Coppock received her B.A, from Spelman College and her JD from American University, Washington College of Law.
In 2018, Judge Coppock volunteered as Chief of Staff to the President-Elect then President of the National Bar Association (NBA) Tricia “CK” Hoffler where she served as a strategic advisor across a variety of organizational, political and business decisions. Judge Coppock coordinated internal communications, provides operational support and fostered cross-departmental relationships within the NBA Sections, Division, and staff to ensure leadership success. She designated workloads to her team for accuracy, and conformity with the Constitution and Bylaws to meet goals and objectives. She was also a Board member of the Washington Bar Association under Past President Tony Towns.
Judge Coppock has received multiple awards including the Maynard Jackson Legacy Award for service to the community, six Presidential Awards for Outstanding Service to the National Bar Association, two Outstanding Service Awards from the Washington Bar Association, National Bar Association’s Trailblazer Under 40 Award and the Junius W. Williams Young Lawyer of the Year Award from the NBA Young Lawyers Division. Judge Coppock is a former Board Member of Greater Washington Area Chapter, Women’s Lawyers Division of the National Bar Association, the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys and the Gate City Bar Association. In 2016, she co-chaired the Knowledge is Power committee for the Washington Bar Association. The committee organized monthly community programs for D.C. residents on critical topics including voting rights, the state of policing in Black America, the effect of mass incarceration on the African American community, elder law issues and an expungement fair.
From 2005 to 2015, Judge Coppock worked tirelessly as a volunteer, mentor and guardian ad litem for the Truancy Intervention Project of Georgia for the children and families of Fulton County, Georgia. In appreciation for her service, she received the Glenda Hatchett Volunteer of the Year Award in 2008.