What Happened?
Los Angeles, CA-based Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund has Promoted Thomas A. Saenz as General Counsel
About the Company
MALDEF strives to implement programs that are structured to bring Latinos into the mainstream of American political and socio-economic life; providing better educational opportunities; encouraging participation in all aspects of society; and offering a positive vision for the future. Unique to MALDEF is an approach that combines advocacy, educational outreach, and litigation strategies to achieve socio-economic change. MALDEF has achieved significant legal victories with the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, Plyler v. Doe. The Court struck down a Texas law that allowed districts to charge tuition to children of undocumented immigrant parents. MALDEF’s victory opened school doors to all students equally. In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court heard seven challenges to a Texas Congressional redistricting plan. Only MALDEF’s prevailed. The New York Times described it as “the most important voting rights case of the decade, rejecting the statewide gerrymandering claim brought by…other plaintiffs while accepting the Voting Rights Act challenge in Southwestern Texas, brought by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.” The case resulted in new lines drawn for the 23rd Congressional District and a special election (where a MALDEF suit opened the polls early) resulting in the Latino community having the opportunity to elect its candidate of choice to Congress. MALDEF is headed by a President and General Counsel and is governed by a 30-member national Board of Directors. Headquartered in Los Angeles, MALDEF operates four regional offices in Los Angeles, San Antonio, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. MALDEF strives to implement programs that are structured to bring Latinos into the mainstream of American political and socio-economic life; providing better educational opportunities; encouraging participation in all aspects of society; and offering a positive vision for the future.
About the Person
Thomas Saenz is president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), a national civil rights organization. Saenz had previously served at MALDEF for 12 years. During that time he successfully challenged California’s unconstitutional Proposition 187 and led numerous civil rights cases in the areas of immigrants’ rights, education, employment, and voting rights. Saenz achieved several victories against ordinances unlawfully restricting the rights of day laborers, served as lead counsel in the 2001 challenge to California’s congressional redistricting, and initiated the employment discrimination lawsuit resulting in a $50 million settlement with Abercrombie and Fitch. From 2005 to 2009, Saenz was counsel to the mayor of the City of Los Angeles, providing legal and policy advice to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. From 1993 to 2005, Mr. Saenz was an attorney with MALDEF, where he served as lead counsel in numerous high-profile civil rights cases in the areas of voting rights, employment discrimination, immigrants’ rights and education equity. Mr. Saenz previously served as president of the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations. He is a graduate of Yale University and Yale Law School.
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