Candelario Saldana
Candelario is an associate in Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft’s Capital Markets Group in Charlotte. He represents investment banks and other financial institutions in secured commercial lending transactions, commercial mortgage-backed securitizations and other asset-backed securitizations.
Candelario graduated from the University of Miami School of Law, cum laude, in May 2019 and joined Cadwalader in October 2019. He is a member of the National LGBTQ Task Force Board of Directors and the Pauli Murray LGBTQ+ Bar Association Board of Directors and is also a co-founder. In December 2021, Candelario was appointed to the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Committee for the North Carolina Bar Association, and served as a Co-Chair of SOGI’s pro bono sub-committee for two years.
Undocumented for 27 years of his life, Candelario was forced to put his dreams of law school on hold. After graduating from the University of Utah with degrees in political science and gender studies, it would take six years to get his status adjusted to permanent resident and apply to law school. He filled the time managing Mexican restaurants in Utah and attended the CLEO Pre-Law Summer Institute.
Candelario is also one of Cadwalader’s Black & Latino Association (CBLA) Immigration Clinic leaders. He advises and mentors volunteer attorneys who take on immigration pro bono cases at Cadwalader and often reminds colleagues about the unique challenges faced by LGBTQ+ individuals.
In 2022, Candelario was named among the American Bar Association’s On the Rise honorees, the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association’s 40 Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40, a Top Latino Lawyer by the Latino Leaders Magazine, Advocate of the Year by Charlotte’s chapter of the National Association for Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) Legislative Influencers of Government Affairs, and was voted Best Charlotte Hero and Best Local Activist by readers of Queen City Nerve. He was also awarded the 2022 Young Lawyer of the Year by the Mecklenburg County (NC) Bar. Recently, in 2023, Candelario was named a Rising Star in Securities and Corporate Finance by Super Lawyers.