Kenneth D. Upton, Jr.
Senior Staff Attorney
CONTACT: South Central Regional Office, 214-219-8585
Kenneth D. Upton, Jr. is Supervising Senior Staff Attorney in the Southern Central Regional Office of Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest national legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and people with HIV.
Upton brings over fifteen years of trial and appellate experience to Lambda Legal's legal and public policy work in the region, which includes Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Licensed by both the State Bar of Texas and Oklahoma Bar Association, Upton has handled litigation in state and federal courts across the United States, including most of the eight states covered in the south central region. He also has received regular court admissions to the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit and several regional U.S. District Courts.
An Oklahoma native, Upton moved to Dallas in 1997 to head his law firm's Texas office. In 2002, he became the attorney for and executive director of the Cathedral of Hope, the world's largest liberal Christian church with a primary lesbian and gay outreach. As the Cathedral's executive director for three years, Upton gained new insights into the struggles gay and lesbian people still face in achieving civil rights. While there, he participated in the Cathedral's launch of Hope for Peace and Justice, a faith-based nonprofit organization that strives to equip progressive people of faith to be champions for peace and justice.
Upton joined Lambda Legal in 2005, recognizing the opportunities in the south central region to make important inroads toward full recognition of the civil rights of LGBT people and people with HIV.
Upton received a juris doctor, with honors, in 1987 from Oklahoma City University School of Law. He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of science degree from Oklahoma City University in 1977.
