Thomas Saenz, president of MALDEF, discusses civil rights in the Latinos and the Law Lecture

On Tuesday, October 22, Thomas Saenz, President and General Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), delivered the annual Latinos and the Law Lecture, sponsored by the Bickel & Brewer Latino Institute for Human Rights.

Thomas Saenz is the President and General Counsel of MALDEF, where he leads the civil rights organization's five offices in pursuing litigation, policy advocacy, and community education to promote the civil rights of Latinos living in the United States. Saenz re-joined MALDEF in August 2009, after spending four years on Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's executive team as Counsel to the Mayor. He previously spent 12 years at MALDEF practicing civil rights law as a staff attorney, regional counsel, and vice president of litigation. He served as MALDEF's lead counsel in successfully challenging California's anti-immigrant Proposition 187. Saenz graduated from Yale College and Yale Law School, and he clerked for two federal judges before initially joining MALDEF in 1993.

He was introduced by Christopher Santos '15.

Posted on October 29, 2013