In this week’s episode of the NAWL Podcast, Sari Long—Co-Chair of NAWL’s Advocacy, Education & Programming Committee and Partner at Faegre Drinker—sits down with Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto for a compelling conversation. Hydee shares insights into her career journey and the motivations that led her to serve as LA’s City Attorney, along with her perspective on the city’s most pressing challenges today. The discussion also highlights a significant development in her work: the formation of a coalition to join Perdomo v. Noem, a case addressing critical immigration enforcement practices impacting the Los Angeles community. Tune in for this timely and thought-provoking episode, and learn how you can play a role in supporting and protecting your own community.
In this week’s episode of the NAWL Podcast, Sari Long—Co-Chair of NAWL’s Advocacy, Education & Programming Committee and Partner at Faegre Drinker—sits down with Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto for a compelling conversation. Hydee shares insights into her career journey and the motivations that led her to serve as LA’s City Attorney, along with her perspective on the city’s most pressing challenges today. The discussion also highlights a significant development in her work: the formation of a coalition to join Perdomo v. Noem, a case addressing critical immigration enforcement practices impacting the Los Angeles community. Tune in for this timely and thought-provoking episode, and learn how you can play a role in supporting and protecting your own community.
Learn more about Hydee and explore her work as Los Angeles City Attorney
Get details on the case Perdomo v. Noem and its broader implications.
Bios
Hydee Feldstein Soto is the 43rd Los Angeles City Attorney, elected in November 2022 and sworn into office in December 2022. She is the City's general counsel and serves as legal advisor to the Mayor, City Council, and to the hundreds of boards, departments, officers and entities that make up the City of Los Angeles. The Office of the City Attorney is responsible for providing advice and legal opinions to every officer, department head, board, commission or other unit of the City and preparing and signing off on all contracts and other legal relationships of the City of Los Angeles. The City Attorney interprets federal, state, county and municipal laws for Los Angeles, drafts City ordinances and is responsible for the application, implementation, and enforcement of all laws within the jurisdiction, defending the City and its charter. In addition, the City Attorney approves and documents all transactions to which the City is a party, oversees all litigation and other proceedings in which Los Angeles is involved and is responsible for civil and criminal misdemeanor enforcement actions. As the City's chief prosecutor, Feldstein Soto oversees the prosecution of misdemeanors and the administration of criminal justice, including alternatives to incarceration. Her team of more than 1,000 legal professionals, including 550 attorneys, carries out the City's legal work at her direction and under her supervision. Feldstein Soto was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and moved to the mainland United States to attend Swarthmore College and then Columbia University School of Law. After law school, she moved to Los Angeles and has called Los Angeles home for more than 40 years. Feldstein Soto raised her family and built her career as a partner in private practice at large international law firms, earning wide recognition and acclaim for her leadership, problem solving acumen and legal ability. Feldstein Soto is fully committed to serving Los Angeles and its people in this position
Sari Long is a Colorado-based attorney who helps companies create strategies around immigration, Form I-9 compliance and worksite enforcement. She advises on U.S. employment-based immigrant and nonimmigrant visas and labor certifications, family-based immigration, and refugee and asylum issues. Sari works with employers across the U.S. in a range of industries to apply for and secure work authorization and permanent residence for employees, and she provides a full range of training for HR and legal teams on immigration and I-9 compliance issues, including compliance with the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Sari is invited to speak nationally on immigration matters, and she is a strong advocate for employers seeking to solve workforce challenges through creative immigration solutions.