McALLEN, July 14 - The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund has appointed a legal advisor to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as its new president and general counsel. 

Thomas A. Saenz previously served as MALDEF’s lead counsel for 12 years. He has been a member of Villaraigosa four-person executive team since Aug. 2005. He will join MALDEF in mid-August.

MALDEF's previous president and general counsel, John Trasviña, was tapped by the White House in March to serve in HUD as the Assistant Secretary of Housing and Equal Opportunity.

“Throughout its 40-year history, MALDEF has been a national leader on all legal and policy issues affecting the Latino community,” Saenz said. “I look forward to leading a very strong MALDEF staff in successfully addressing the next set of challenges facing what is now the largest minority group in this country, a group whose progress is essential to our nation’s success.”

Patricia A. Madrid, chair of the MALDEF board of directors and former New Mexico Attorney General, said the group could not ask for a better civil rights leader than Saenz. She said these are critical times because the Latino community is currently facing a drastic rise in hate crimes and witnessing an explosive rebirth of extremist anti-immigrant rhetoric and measures that adversely affect all Latinos.

“A highly respected attorney and community leader, Thomas brings a wealth of legal expertise and dedication to civil rights causes that fundamentally define the future of Latinos. We are looking forward to a great future under his leadership as we work together to advance the mission of MALDEF,” Madrid said.

Villaraigosa said Saenz has been a “trusted advisor” who understands the importance of public service and working on behalf of those in need. “His zealous leadership, legal prowess and counsel have helped diversify our body of City commissioners, provide living wages for our City's workers, and demand a quality education for every child in Los Angeles,” Villaraigosa said. “I thank Tom for his devoted service to the City of Los Angeles and wish him all the best in his new endeavor. MALDEF is not only inheriting a brilliant legal mind, but also a passionate and committed champion of civil rights.”

During his previous stint with MALDEF, Saenz successfully challenged California’s unconstitutional Proposition 187 and led numerous civil rights cases in the areas of immigrants’ rights, education, employment, and voting rights, a MALDEF statement said.

Saenz also 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. 

He was also the lead drafter of the Amicus brief on behalf of Latino organizations supporting affirmative action in the Supreme Court case, Grutter v. Bollinger.

Dolores Huerta, co-founder of United Farm Workers of America and president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, said MALDEF’s work is now “more important than ever before.” She said Saenz has spent his professional life serving as a champion for civil rights and social justice. 

“His legal career has been devoted to protecting the people’s civil and constitutional rights. His lawsuits overturned local ordinances banning day laborers from seeking employment and he will lead the fight to ensure that the promises of justice and equality are a reality for all Americans,” Huerta said.

Saenz was born and raised in southern California. He graduated summa cum laude from Yale University, and he received his law degree from Yale Law School.  Saenz then served as a law clerk to the Honorable Harry L. Hupp of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, and to the Honorable Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Prior to joining MALDEF early in his legal career, Saenz clerked at both the federal district court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit after graduating summa cum laude from Yale University and receiving his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.