Ms. Ciara J. Villalona-Lockhart is an attorney at Guercio & Guercio LLP. At Guercio & Guercio LLP, Ms. Villalona-Lockhart's practice centers on advising school districts on general and labor matters, including employee and student investigations involving alleged conduct of discrimination and harassment, particularly those arising under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Prior to joining Guercio & Guercio LLP in July 2024, Ms. Villalona-Lockhart worked at a regional law firm, where she practiced in the Corporate department's Higher Education Practice Group assisting colleges and universities on various federal and state regulatory compliance matters, accreditation processes, governance matters and evaluation of potential strategic transactions, including mergers, acquisitions and partnership opportunities for financially distressed institutions.
In May 2025, Ms. Villalona-Lockhart was appointed to serve as Vice Chair of the Education Law Committee of the Nassau County Bar Association.
Ms. Villalona-Lockhart received her B.A. in Politics and Religious Studies, cum laude, from New York University in May 2019 and earned her J.D. from St. John's University School of Law in May 2022. She is a recipient of the New York University Founder's Day Award, a Commencement honor awarded to top-ranking Baccalaureate candidates and graduates. During law school, Ms. Villalona-Lockhart was awarded the Dean's Award for Excellence, twice, in recognition of her achievement of the highest marks in her academic courses. At her St. John's University School of Law Commencement, Ms. Villalona-Lockhart was awarded the Daniel A. Furlong Award, which is awarded to students who, in the opinion of the Dean, have rendered outstanding service and leadership to the law school community. She was also awarded the Pro Bono Service Award, which is awarded to graduating law students who have completed 500 hours of qualifying service.
Notably, Ms. Villalona-Lockhart is a recipient of the 2016 American Society of Plastic Surgeons' Patient of Courage: Triumph Over Adversity Award in recognition of her service with the not-for-profit organization, Mission: Restore.
Areas of Practice:
Bar Admissions:
- New York
Education:
- St. John's University School of Law, J.D., 2022
- New York University, College of Arts and Science, B.A. Politics and Religious Studies (Double Major), 2019
Honors & Awards:
- St. John's University School of Law
- Dean's Award for Excellence (Scholarly Research & Writing - Spring 2021 & Jewish Law - Fall 2021)
- Dean's List (Fall 2020)
- Daniel A. Furlong Award (May 2022)
- Pro Bono Service Award (May 2022)
- New York University, College of Arts and Science
- Dean's List (Academic Years 2015-2016, 2016-2017 & 2017-2018)
- Founder's Day Award (University Honors Scholar)(May 2019)
- National Honor Society for Religious Studies and Theology
- National Political Science Honor Society
Professional Associations:
- Member, Nassau County Bar Association
- The Association of Title IX Administrators
Presentations:
- Presenter, Mandatory and New Requirements for Codes of Conduct, 2026 School Law Conference, March 2026
- CLE Co-Presenter, Hiding Behind The Keyboard: Responding to Complaints of Anonymous Online Harassment, Nassau County Bar Association, May 2024