Nelson Diaz (lawyer)
Nelson Diaz | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 23, 1948 Harlem, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Attorney, judge, public official |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Known for | Philadelphia city solicitor; Judge on Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas; General Counsel at HUD |
Nelson Diaz (born May 23, 1948) is an American attorney who has held several prominent roles, including 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 a potential candidate for HUD secretary during the Obama administration before Shaun Donovan assumed the position. In 2015, Diaz sought the Democratic nomination for Mayor of Philadelphia but was not successful.
Education
Raised in public housing in Harlem, New York, Diaz earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from St. John's University (New York) in 1969. He then obtained his Juris Doctor from Temple University in 1972, becoming the first Puerto Rican to achieve this milestone at Temple.
Public service
During a 1977 White House Fellowship, Diaz served as a special assistant to Vice President Walter Mondale. From 1981 until 1993, he was a judge on the Court of Common Pleas, First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, and concurrently taught at Temple University School of Law between 1983 and 1992. Appointed by President Bill Clinton as HUD General Counsel in 1993, Diaz served throughout Clinton's initial term under Secretary Henry Cisneros. He also held the position of Philadelphia city solicitor from December 2001 to January 2004 during Mayor John F. Street's administration.
Private sector
Diaz began his legal career working at the firms Fell, Spaulding, Goff and Rubin (1976–1977) and Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen (1978–1981). After his tenure at HUD, he became a partner at Blank Rome LLP from 1997 to 2001 and returned there from 2004 to 2007. Since May 2007, he has been serving as of counsel with Cozen O'Connor based in Philadelphia.
Since January 2004, Diaz has been a board member of energy company Exelon, contributing to its risk oversight and energy delivery committees. Additionally, he serves on the board of PECO Energy Company, a subsidiary of Exelon.
In October 2016, Governor Alejandro García Padilla appointed Diaz to the board of directors for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, subject to confirmation by the Senate.
Non-profit memberships and community involvement
Diaz established the inaugural organization for black and Hispanic law students at Temple University and has been a member of Temple's Board of Trustees since 1992. As the first Puerto Rican admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar Association in 1973, he went on to become executive director of the Spanish Merchants Association of Philadelphia, which supports Hispanic entrepreneurs. His service on various boards includes the Free Library of Philadelphia (1982–1993), Philadelphia Independent Charter Commission (1992–1993), World Affairs Council of Philadelphia (1997–2002), and the Pan American Association (from 2001 onward).