Temple University is hosting its inaugural celebration of the Díaz Professorship with a panel discussion highlighting local Latinx lawyers and judges. During the discussion, members of the panel will discuss their career trajectories, the role of racial justice in their work, and the importance of Latinx representation in the legal profession. 

The panel will feature the City Solicitor, Diana Cortes, of the Law Department. She was appointed in 2020 by the Kenney Administration and is the first Latina to serve as a City Solicitor for the City of Philadelphia. 

Moderated by Judge Felipe L. Restrepo of the U.S. Court of Appeals, the panel will also include Jacqueline C. Romero, a U.S. Attorney from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Chief Judge Juan R. Sanchez of the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The panel will take place on Monday, February 27, from 4 PM to 6 PM in the Moot Court Room in Klein Hall at Temple University. 

To read more about the panelists, click here. 

The panel discussion is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a reception with Temple Law School Dean Rachel Rebouché. Please register in advance. 

The Honorable Nelson A. Díaz Professorship in Law

The Hon. Nelson A. Díaz is Of Counsel at Dilworth Paxson following a trailblazing career in the legal profession. A 1972 graduate of Temple Law School, he was the youngest judge to serve on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas at the time of his election in 1981, and the first Latinx judge in Pennsylvania history.

Judge Díaz served as the city solicitor of Philadelphia and was appointed by President Clinton to be the general counsel for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He is a leader in the Latinx community and a member of Temple University’s Board of Trustees.