Diana Cortes ’06
Law Clerk,
The Honorable Juan Sanchez,
United States District Court for
the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania

By the time she was nine years old, Diana Cortes ’06 had decided she wanted to be a lawyer. “I loved the idea of being in the courtroom, objecting, arguing, and representing clients.” When she entered law school in 2003 Cortes immediately involved herself with the Villanova community. She was a member of the Latin American Law Students Association (LALSA) and the Inclusiveness Commission. As President of LALSA, Cortes used her leadership skills and her command of Spanish to organize a highly successful outreach program that gave law students the opportunity to handle case intake for indigent individuals. In her third year she also served as Editor-in-Chief of the Villanova Sports and Entertainment Law Journal.

As a student Cortes also gained valuable experience in the Philadelphia legal community by working in the District Attorney’s office, the U.S. Attorney’s office and in the Federal District Court as an intern for Judge Juan Sanchez. After graduation, she rejoined Judge Sanchez’s office as a law clerk. “I enjoy helping draft opinions and memoranda, and observing trials has helped me to learn the various litigation techniques each attorney uses. I’m excited to be working with Judge Sanchez. He has very high expectations, but at the same time, he works with you in order to meet those expectations.”