Midwest Regional Office (Chicago, IL)
In 1980, MALDEF opened a regional office in Chicago, Illinois, to better serve the needs of the Latino communities in the Midwest. The office covers the following states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. The Midwest Regional Office offers the Parent School Partnership (PSP) program.
Midwest Regional Office
11 East Adams Suite #700
Chicago, IL 60603
Phone: (312) 427-0701
Regional Counsel
Ricardo Meza
Mr. Meza is the Midwest Regional Counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (“MALDEF”) in Chicago. MALDEF is a National Civil Rights Organization and as Regional Counsel, Mr. Meza is responsible for managing MALDEF’s litigation and public policy matters in 10 Midwestern states, focusing on education, employment, immigrants’ rights and political access/voting rights issues for Latinos.
Prior to serving as Regional Counsel, Mr. Meza litigated in state and federal courts throughout the country and served 10 years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office, primarily in the Chicago Office. His courtroom experience includes over 30 federal criminal trials and he has also appeared before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He also served with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in El Paso, Texas for two years prior to his service in Chicago.
Mr. Meza began his legal career as a judicial law clerk to the late Honorable Wendell C. Radford, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Texas. He then served with MALDEF where he represented the Latino community in employment and voting rights class-action cases. He subsequently represented the State of Texas as an Assistant Attorney General II where he focused on tax matters.
Mr. Meza received his B.A. in Political Science from Illinois State University and obtained his law degree in 1990 from The John Marshall Law School, where he was a published author, member of the Software Law Journal, and President of the Hispanic Law Students Association.