DIANA SANTA MARIA attended the University of Miami, where she received both her undergraduate and law degrees. During law school, she represented the school in Mock Trial and Moot Court Competitions on the state-wide level, winning the Best Brief Award on behalf of the University of Miami at the (1983) Robert Orseck Memorial (State) Moot Court Competition. Upon graduation she was awarded and inducted into the Order of Barristers, which is awarded to the top ten graduating law students based on leadership in trial and appellate advocacy.
Since being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1985, she has devoted her practice to the representation of persons injured due to the negligence of others. From 1985 to 1991, she practiced with the late Sheldon J. Schlesinger, one of the country’s top personal injury lawyers in the areas of Plaintiff’s Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice and Wrongful Death, both on the trial and appellate levels. In 1991, Diana formed her own practice specializing in Plaintiff’s Personal Injury and Wrongful Death.
From 1996 to 2006, Diana served on the Board of Directors for the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers (now the Florida Justice Association/FJA); she is a Fellow of the FJA and in 2016 received its Compassionate Gladiatrix Award. Diana is also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and a past President of its Fort Lauderdale Chapter. In 2013 she was awarded the ABOTA Chapter’s Trial Lawyer of the Year Award. She is a Sustaining Member of the American Justice Association and an Executive Board member of the National Trial Lawyers Association Top 100. On the local level, she has served on the Board of Directors for the Broward County Bar & Broward County Trial Lawyers Assn. and as an adjunct Professor of Law at Nova Southeastern University Law Center
In 2004 Diana was appointed by the Florida Bar to the Florida Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism and from 2013 to 2023 served on the Florida Bar’s Board of Governors for the 17th Judicial Circuit. She was also appointed and served a 4-year term as a Commissioner to the Supreme Court JNC. She is an active member of The Florida Bar and its Trial Bar, having lectured and written on numerous legal topics within her field, including Seven Steps to Effective Mediation, published in the June 1997 TRIAL journal and Guideline for Handling Sexual Abuse of a Minor by a Public School Teacher, published as part of a National Conference by the National Crime Victim Bar Association in Washington, D.C., among other ublications.
Diana is listed in the 2024 LAWDRAGON 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers, South Florida’s 2024 Top Lawyers and America’s 2023 Most Honored Lawyers. She is also listed among the Best Lawyers in America, and Outstanding Young Women of America. For over 25 years she has been AV rated by Martindale-Hubbel.
