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Honorary Doctorate Recipient and Commencement Speaker
Ms. Maria Villa
Attorney And Principal, Lathrop & Villa
Maria Villa is a first-generation graduate of California State University, Dominguez Hills (BS ‘82) and Loyola Law School (JD ‘86). She is a principal with the law firm of Lathrop & Villa in Rolling Hills Estates, which she co-founded in 1992. She has a state and federal appellate practice, and has practiced in the areas of employment and business litigation, and plaintiff’s class action litigation.
Born in Tijuana, Mexico, Villa immigrated to the United States at the age of 2 and was raised in Redondo Beach. The eldest of seven daughters, she obtained United States citizenship in 1979.
As a student at CSUDH, Villa served as vice president of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (M.E.Ch.A.) and was the campus coordinator of the group’s high school student outreach program. During law school, she was an active member of La Raza Law Students Association, was co-chair of La Raza’s Fundraising Committee, and served as a volunteer law student at the Labor Defense Network of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.
In 1999, Villa became the first Hispanic attorney to be elected to the State Bar Board of Governors, where she served as vice president and treasurer. She has also been chair of the Stakeholder Relations Committee for the State Bar and is a founding fellow of the State Bar Foundation. Villa isa founder and member of the Latina Lawyers Bar Association, a member and former president of the Mexican-American Bar Association of Los Angeles County, and a lifetime member and former deputy regional president of the Hispanic National Bar Association.
Villa is the recipient of numerous awards, including the American Bar Association Difference Maker Award, Latina Lawyers Bar Association Trailblazer Attorney of the Year Award, Mexican American Bar Association Attorney of the Year Award, and Dolores Huerta Foundation Adelita Community Service Award.
She lives in Palos Verdes Estates with her husband and son. Villa currently serves as the Chair of the CSUDH Philanthropic Foundation Board, and is dedicated to opening the doors of opportunity for students through mentorship and philanthropy.