(202) 274-6683
christina.paynetsoup@udc.edu

Chris Payne-Tsoupros
Academic Success Instructor

B.A., Cornell University; M.Ed., University of Houston; J.D., William & Mary School of Law

Chris Payne-Tsoupros is an Instructor in the Academic Success Program at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law.

Prior to joining UDC Law in 2018, Professor Payne-Tsoupros practiced in the employee benefits area at the global law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, where she advised plan sponsors on the design, governance, operation, and compliance of qualified and nonqualified retirement plans and welfare benefit plans. While at Morgan Lewis, she maintained an active pro bono practice and served on the pro bono committee.

Professor Payne-Tsoupros clerked for the Honorable John A. Gibney, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. She received her J.D. from the William & Mary School of Law, where she served as managing editor of the William and Mary Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. She holds a master’s degree in education and taught elementary school prior to attending law school.

Professor Payne-Tsoupros is a member of the board of directors of Advocates for Justice and Education, Inc., a non-profit organization that seeks to empower families and youth in the District of Columbia to be effective advocates for children with disabilities. She is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia and Virginia (inactive).

Articles and Essays

• A Starting Point for Disability Justice in Legal Education, 6 J. Committed to Soc. Change on Race & Ethnicity 164 (2020) (peer reviewed).
• Lessons from the LEAD-K Campaign for Language Equality for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children, 51 Loy. U. Chi. L.J. 107 (2019).
• Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings & Investment Plan: Anti-Alienation and Anti-Cutback Rules, 29 Quinnipiac L. Rev. 1073 (2011).
• Note, No Child Left Behind: Disincentives to Focus Instruction on Students Above the Passing Threshold, 39 J.L. & Educ. 471 (2010).

Other Publications

• A DisCrit Call for Abolition of School Police, in DisCrit Expanded: Inquiries, Reverberations & Ruptures __ (Subini A. Annamma, David J. Connor & Beth A. Ferri eds., forthcoming 2020) (peer reviewed) (book chapter co-authored with Najma Johnson).
• Recent IRS Guidance Provides a Degree of Certainty for 403(b) Plans, 25 Tax’n Exempts no. 1, 2013, at 12 (co-authored with Gregory L. Needles).