LOS ANGELES – MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) announced the appointment today of Leticia Marie Saucedo as a National Senior Counsel.
Saucedo has spent more than a decade as a professor of law at the University of California, Davis Law School, where she is a Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Law. She is an expert in immigration, employment, and labor law, with specific knowledge at the intersection of immigration and employment law. She will be on partial leave from the Law School as she takes on this position with MALDEF.
“We are excited to welcome Leticia Saucedo back to MALDEF, even as she continues her stellar academic career,” said MALDEF president and general counsel Thomas A. Saenz. “Her creative and strategic thinking will serve MALDEF and the Latino community very well as we continue to build a legacy of impactful and innovative litigation.”
Prior to UC Davis, Saucedo was a professor of law at William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
She has co-authored several articles and books on immigration and labor topics, and on Latinos and the law.
The appointment marks Saucedo’s return to MALDEF, where she worked in the organization’s San Antonio office from 1999 to 2003. During that time, she litigated class-action and impact lawsuits as well as advocated for policy positions related to employment discrimination, immigration, education, and voting rights. Saucedo was one of the very first MALDEF/Fried Frank fellows, a partnership with the law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP that continues today.
“I’m thrilled to be back at MALDEF working with an amazing group of attorneys,” Saucedo said. “I’m proud to be one of those leading litigation efforts with the premier Latino civil rights organization in the country.”
As a National Senior Counsel, Saucedo will work with MALDEF President and General Counsel Thomas A. Saenz, Vice President of Litigation Nina Perales, and National Senior Counsel Belinda Escobosa in leading MALDEF’s litigation efforts nationwide.