Locke Lord's Alicia Castro Selected as 2022 LCLD Fellow; Natalie Jersak and Jonevin Sabado Named to Pathfinder Program

(HOUSTON, BOSTON and LOS ANGELES) February 24, 2022 – Locke Lord Houston Partner Alicia Castro has been selected as a member of the 2022 Fellows Program for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), and Boston’s Natalie Jersak and Los Angeles’ Jonevin Sabado have been named to LCLD’s Pathfinder Program. Both programs aim to identify, train and advance the next generation of leaders in the legal profession.

According to LCLD, its landmark Fellows Program, established in 2011, is one of its most important initiatives. As a Fellow, Castro will participate in conferences, in-person training and projects with LCLD’s top leadership that aim to further leadership and relationship skills among lawyers who are committed to creating a more diverse and inclusive legal profession. The Pathfinder Program, now in its seventh year, targets high-performing associates. Pathfinders receive training in critical career development strategies, including leadership and building professional networks.

A member of Locke Lord’s Litigation Department, Castro concentrates her practice in business litigation, fiduciary litigation, securities litigation, internal and government investigations and arbitration. She has a wide range of litigation experience, including in the energy, chemical, electric, banking and financial services industries, in actions involving securities violations, trust and fiduciary issues, fraud, negligence, fraudulent transfer, breach of contract and the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Castro has also led numerous internal investigations concerning the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other laws, and she has advised clients with respect to compliance matters, such as agent retention issues under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other relevant law and export-import issues regarding sanctioned countries.

An Associate in Locke Lord’s Public Finance Practice Group, Jersak’s experience covers representation on all sides of taxable and tax-exempt bond issuances for municipal, governmental and 501(c)(3) entities as issuer's counsel, bond counsel, borrower's counsel, lender's counsel, disclosure counsel and underwriter's counsel. She is a member of the Hispanic National Bar Association, Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys and Women’s Bar Association.

Sabado is an Associate in the Firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group and concentrates his practice on defending companies in complex and class action litigation, typically involving labor and employment claims. He has defended employers in litigation involving wage and hour claims brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act, California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), California Labor Code and Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) Wage Orders, alleged worker misclassification, claims of discrimination and harassment and alleged violations of family and medical leave laws.

Locke Lord has a long history of support and participation in LCLD initiatives. Previous Fellows include Providence Partner Krystle Tadesse, Chicago Partners Ernesto Palomo, Julie Webb and Bilal Zaheer. Chicago Partner Wasim Bleibel participated in LCLD’s Pathfinder Program.

Diversity and inclusion is one of the Firm’s five core values and an integral part of Locke Lord’s strategic plan. Locke Lord understands that fostering an inclusive environment results in better decision-making, better outcomes for clients and a firm where team members can be successful and thrive. To read more about Locke Lord’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, click here.

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About Locke Lord LLP
Locke Lord is a full-service law firm with global reach and 20 offices designed to meet clients’ needs in the United States and around the world. The Firm has a history that spans more than 130 years and is a leader in the middle market arena. Locke Lord focuses on providing the highest levels of commitment, quality and service to clients across its five Key Sectors: Energy and Infrastructure; Finance and Financial Services; Insurance and Reinsurance; Pharmaceutical; and Private Equity. In addition, the Firm advises clients across a broad spectrum of other industries, including fund formation, venture capital, health care, public finance, real estate, technology, cybersecurity and white collar, while providing a wealth of experience through its complex litigation, intellectual property, tax, regulatory and transactional teams.