As Fordham Law School celebrates Latine Heritage Month, we recognize four outstanding Fordham Law alumni who continue to lead and pave the way for the next generation of legal professionals.
Mauricio A. España ’03
Mauricio A. España ’03 is the managing partner at Dechert LLP’s New York office where he focuses on complex commercial litigation and white collar and securities litigation. He counsels clients on internal corporate investigations; criminal, regulatory and state attorneys general investigations; bankruptcy-related litigation; and commercial disputes.
In 2022, España was named a “Latino Leader Worth Watching” by the journal Profiles in Diversity and a “Future Leader” by Who’s Who Legal: Investigations in 2019 and 2018. He was also named as a Top Lawyer Under 40 for 2017 by the Hispanic National Bar Association and ranked among the 2017 “40 Under 40” by Global Investigations Review, which honored 40 lawyers from 11 countries under age 40 who are shaping the future of the investigations practice.
España currently serves on the Fordham Law Alumni Association’s Board of Directors, LatinoJustice PRLDEF’s Board of Directors, and the Legal Aid Society’s Board of Directors. He is also a certified member of the Hispanic National Bar Association.
Mary Diaz ’20
An associate at Walden Macht & Haran LLP, Mary Diaz ’20 represents public and private companies and senior executives in complex civil, criminal, commercial, and regulatory matters. She maintains an active pro bono practice and has provided direct legal services for asylum-seeking women and children and on voting rights matters.
While at Fordham Law, Diaz was a Stein Scholar, member of the Fordham Moot Court and Environmental Law Review, and worked at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. as an honors legal intern as well as at the Office of the United States Trustee in New York within the Department of Justice.
Diaz currently serves as a member of the Fordham Law Recent Graduate Committee, Federal Bar Council, New York American Inn of Court, Hispanic National Bar Association, and the Cafecitos Network.
Steven Cordero ’99
Before beginning his legal career, Steven Cordero ’99 served as a combat engineer for the U.S. Army. Now a partner at Akerman LLP, he focuses his practice on commercial litigation in federal and state courts, mediations, and arbitrations. He defends and prosecutes on behalf of a wide range of clients, including law firms and businesses, actions pertaining to commercial, professional liability, directors and officers liability, insurance, real estate, and employment disputes. Cordero’s practice is further deepened by his experience in patents, contracts, securities, environmental, immigration, and real property law.
Cordero currently serves on the Fordham Law Alumni Association’s Board of Directors, and he is a member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the Hispanic National Bar Association. He previously served as the 64th and 65th president of the Puerto Rican Bar Association.
Diana Santos ’10
Counsel at IBM, Diana G. Santos ’10 supports IBM’s Consulting business with generative AI issues on a worldwide level as the Consulting legal team’s global generative AI lead. Prior to this role, she supported IBM’s Global Markets organization, which drives the adoption of hybrid cloud and AI and guidance from IBM Consulting professionals. Before joining IBM, she served as assistant general counsel at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, associate counsel at the New York Genome Center, and outside counsel at Ropes & Gray LLP and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.
Santos passionately advocates for diversity, equality, and inclusion through her leadership and membership activities, including as second vice president of Fordham Law’s Alumni of Attorneys of Color affinity group and board member of the New York Intellectual Property Association.