Wilfredo Lopez was born and raised in The Bronx. He graduated from the City College of New York and from Brooklyn Law School. Lopez joined the New York City Department of Health as a staff attorney in 1979, became Deputy General Counsel in 1980, and was appointed General Counsel in 1992. He has authored and contributed to academic articles, and is a co-editor and co-author of the textbook Law in Public Health Practice, (OUP) . In December of 2006. Lopez retired from the Department and was appointed General Counsel Emeritus to the New York City Health Department and Counsel Emeritus to the New York City Board of Health. He is currently performing professional consulting services in the field of public health and public health law. In collaboration with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Lopez served as the executive editor of "The National Action Agenda for Public Health Legal Preparedness," and spearheaded the New York City Health Code Revision Project, the first such effort in 50 years.