Nelson Diaz (lawyer)

Last updated
Nelson Diaz
Personal details
Born1948 (age 75–76)
Political party Democratic
Education St. John's University, New York (BS)
Temple University (JD)

Nelson Diaz (born 1948) is a United States lawyer who has been a Philadelphia city solicitor, a judge on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, and General Counsel at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). He was mentioned as a possible HUD secretary in the Obama administration, [1] before Obama announced that Shaun Donovan was his pick for the position. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the 2015 election. [2]

Contents

Education

Diaz grew up in public housing in Harlem, New York. He graduated from St. John's University in New York City with a B.S. in accounting in 1969, having worked his way through school. He earned a Juris Doctor from Temple University in 1972 – "he was the first Puerto Rican at Temple to receive a Juris Doctor ...". [3]

Public service

Diaz served as a special assistant to Vice President Walter Mondale on a White House Fellowship in 1977. [3] He was elected as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas, First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, from 1981 to 1993, and was also a lecturer at the Temple University School of Law from 1983 to 1992. Bill Clinton appointed him HUD General Counsel in 1993, and he served in that position, under Secretary Henry Cisneros, throughout Clinton's first term. Diaz worked for Philadelphia Mayor John Street as the Philadelphia city solicitor from December 2001 through January 2004.

Private sector

As a young lawyer, Diaz worked at Fell, Spaulding, Goff and Rubin (1976–1977) and Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen (1978–1981). [3] After leaving the Clinton administration, Diaz was partner of the law firm Blank Rome LLP from February 1997 until he joined the Street Administration in 2001. Later, he rejoined Black Rome and served there from March 2004 through May 2007. He has served as of counsel to Cozen O'Connor, a Philadelphia-based law firm, since May 2007.

A director of Exelon since January 27, 2004, Diaz serves on the risk oversight, energy delivery oversight and generation oversight committees. He also serves as a director of PECO Energy Company, an Exelon subsidiary. [4]

On October 27, 2016, Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro García Padilla, appointed Díaz as a member of the new board of directors of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. As a recess appointment, he may take office immediately but must receive the advice and consent of the Senate of Puerto Rico in order to serve a full term. [5]

Non-profit memberships and community involvement

Diaz founded the first organization devoted to black and Hispanic law students at Temple University while he was a student there, and he has been a member of Temple's Board of Trustees since 1992. Having been the first Puerto Rican to be admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar Association in 1973, he later succeeded Cesar R. Miranda as executive director for the Spanish Merchants Association of Philadelphia, a self-help group for Hispanics who own or aspire to own businesses. His board and committee memberships include the Free Library of Philadelphia (1982–1993), the Philadelphia Independent Charter Commission (1992–1993), and the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia (1997–2002), and the Pan American Association (2001– ). [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

Roberto Prats Palerm is a former Senator of Puerto Rico, a lawyer, and a former candidate for Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico in the elections of 2004. He is affiliated and a member of the Governing Board of the Popular Democratic Party and chairman of the Democratic Party in Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José A. Cabranes</span> Puerto Rican judge (born 1940)

José Alberto Cabranes is an American lawyer who serves as a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and a former presiding judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review ("FISCR"). Formerly a practicing lawyer, government official, and law teacher, he was the first Puerto Rican appointed to a federal judgeship in the continental United States (1979).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jorge E. Pérez-Díaz</span> Puerto Rican lawyer

Jorge E. Pérez-Díaz served as Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico from 1991 to 1992. He was appointed by former Governor Rafael Hernández Colón. Prior to becoming the Secretary of Justice, Pérez-Díaz served as Prosecutor General of Puerto Rico from 1989 to 1991. He is currently Major League Baseball's Senior Vice President and Special Counsel, Litigation and International Affairs.

Julio Manuel Fuentes is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Fuentes is the first Hispanic judge to serve on the Third Circuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gustavo Gelpí</span> American judge (born 1965)

Gustavo Antonio Gelpí Jr. is an American lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He is a former chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Eisenhower</span> American lawyer and judge

James J. Eisenhower is an American lawyer and judge from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He is a judge on the Pennsylvania First Judicial District's Court of Common Pleas. He was previously a Judge of the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline. Eisenhower was Of Counsel at Philadelphia law firm Dilworth Paxson LLP. His practice centered around white collar criminal defense, internal investigations, compliance, ethics and campaign finance matters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Diaz (judge)</span> American judge (born 1960)

Albert Diaz is the chief United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Diaz is the first Hispanic judge to serve on the Fourth Circuit. Prior to his appointment to the Court of Appeals, Diaz was a North Carolina state superior court judge and an appellate judge for the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mari Carmen Aponte</span> American diplomat (born 1946)

Mari Carmen Aponte is an American attorney and diplomat who has served as the United States Ambassador to Panama in the Biden administration since November 2022. She previously served as acting assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs on May 5, 2016. She also served as U.S. ambassador to El Salvador from August 2010 until December 2011 and again from June 14, 2012, until December 2015. Before that she was serving as a member of the board of directors of Oriental Group, a major financial and banking services enterprise in Puerto Rico. President Obama also nominated her as the United States' permanent representative to the Organization of American States, but the Senate had not acted upon that nomination upon adjournment in December 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathy Bissoon</span> American judge (born 1968)

Cathy Bissoon is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Previously, she was a United States magistrate judge of the same court. She was appointed to as a district judge by President Barack Obama and was confirmed by the United States Senate in October 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nelson S. Román</span> American judge (born 1960)

Nelson Stephen Román is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilbert F. Casellas</span>

Gilbert F. Casellas is an American lawyer and businessman. He is a private investor and business consultant in the Washington, D.C. area, a director of Prudential Financial, trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, and advisor to Toyota Motor North America, T-Mobile US, and Comcast Corporation. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Law Institute, trustee of the Pan American Development Foundation and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Workplace Harassment Second Edition 2018 published by Bloomberg Law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alejandro García Padilla</span> Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

Alejandro Javier García Padilla is a Puerto Rican politician and attorney who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2013 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nitza Quiñones Alejandro</span> American judge (born 1951)

Nitza Ileana Quiñones Alejandro is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Quiñones Alejandro is the first lesbian Latina to be appointed to serve as a federal judge.

Alberto Bacó Bagué is a lawyer, a certified public accountant (CPA), and a legal and commercial advisor that served as Director of the Puerto Rico Economic Development Bank from 1990 to 1993. Previous to that Bacó served as Executive Vice President of the Puerto Rico Government Development Bank from 1989 to 1990. He also served as General Counsel at the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions from 1986 to 1989, and was a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Puerto Rico from 2004 to 2006. In his private life Bacó served as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Marvel International and Bohío International from 2005 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaka Patterson</span> American attorney (born 1968)

Chaka M. Patterson is an American attorney. He is currently a partner at Alston & Bird in its San Francisco office with a practice that focuses on litigation, investigations, and corporate governance. Patterson previously served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of Adtalem Global Education, Inc.. Chaka joined ATGE in June 2018 as Vice President & General Counsel. He held that position until his promotion to General Counsel in February 2020. Chaka was one of the top fundraisers for US President Barack Obama. He is also a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton. He also served on the national finance committee for President Obama's 2012 presidential campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedro Delgado Hernández</span> Puerto Rican judge (born 1956)

Pedro Alberto Delgado Hernández is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Eggleston</span> American lawyer

Warren Neil Eggleston is an American lawyer who served as the White House Counsel under President Barack Obama. Eggleston was the fourth person to hold this post during the Obama administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law</span> School in San Juan, Puerto Rico

The Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Faculty of Law is the school of law of the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, a private co-educational corporation accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, the Puerto Rico Council of Higher Education, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Department of Education. The School of Law is approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) and is located in San Juan, the capital city of Puerto Rico. Since its founding, the School of Law has succeeded in meeting the needs of the legal profession, in particular, and Puerto Rico's society in general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Simas</span> CEO of the Obama Foundation

David Matos Simas is an American lawyer, former government official, and a former politician. He was the President of the Obama Foundation from 2021 to 2023, having previously served as its CEO from 2016 to 2021 and served in Barack Obama's administration as the White House Director of Political Affairs from 2014 to 2016.

References

  1. ↑ Phila. judge on Obama's short list for HUD secretary Gelbart, Marcia. Philadelphia Inquirer . December 3, 2008. Accessed December 4, 2008 Archived December 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ Nick Field (December 15, 2014). "Nelson Diaz to Run for Mayor of Philadelphia". PoliticsPA. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 The Historical Society of Pennsylvania
  4. ↑ "Nelson A. Diaz Profile". Forbes.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-15.
  5. ↑ "García Padilla Announces New Appointments to Prepa's Board". Caribbean Business. 2016-10-27. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.