Diego Sada Santos, 1987

Diego is an attorney and Spanish-English translator in Monterrey, Mexico. He is also vice president and general counsel for his family’s art dealership. He has been associated with several law firms, specializing in international law, intellectual property, foreign investment, and related areas. For several years he taught law at the university level.

He is a member of the board of governors of the Monterrey International Film Festival and is a certified legal translation expert.

Diego holds a law degree and a master’s degree in legal pedagogy from Facultad Libre de Derecho de Monterrey and a masters’ degree in comparative jurisprudence from New York University.

A native of Monterrey, he majored in English at Cornell, with a minor in psychology. He was a member of the Spanish, English, French and Fine Arts Film Clubs. He found Cornell, he wrote, by “looking at a college catalog, going slowly in alphabetical order.

When I found the entry for Cornell College and read about the block plan that was it! Going to a small town also appealed to me because Monterrey is a very large city. Also, I liked the fact that at Cornell I would be a person and not a number, as I probably would have been at a big university. Cornell was the only school I applied to.

“Cornell prepared me for the intensity of the work load I encountered in law school immediately after graduating,” Diego wrote. “The critical thinking I learned at Cornell also helped me in law school and has continued to do so both professionally and personally.”

Diego has several times been a visiting speaker via Skype in Jonathan Brand’s law class, leading discussions on the legal systems of various countries.

“I have always wanted to give something back to Cornell other than donating money,” Diego wrote. “Serving on the alumni board allows me to be more involved than ever, and visiting campus at least twice a year is a definite plus.”