Full Name
Nathan Cortez, JD
Company
Southern Methodist University
Speaker Bio
Nathan Cortez is the Co-Director of the Tsai Center for Law, Science and Innovation, the inaugural Adelfa Botello Callejo Endowed Professor of Law in Leadership and Latino Studies, a former Associate Dean of Research, and a Gerald J. Ford Research Fellow. He teaches and writes in the areas of health law, administrative law, and FDA law. His varied research focuses on emerging markets in health care and biotechnology, regulatory theory, government uses of information, and First Amendment regulation of corporate and commercial speech. Professor Cortez has also become one of the world’s leading legal scholars on medical device regulation, particularly devices that rely on artificial intelligence (A.I.) or machine learning. He has published two recent books: Food and Drug Law (5th edition, 2022) (with Peter Barton Hutt, Lewis Grossman, Erika Lietzan, and Patti Zettler); and Readings in Comparative Health Law and Bioethics (3rd edition, 2019) (with Glenn Cohen and Tim Jost).
Professor Cortez presents his research around the world, to governments, regulators, professional societies, industry, and fellow academics. He has presented work at the law schools of Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, among others, and at the medical schools of Harvard, Stanford, and Vanderbilt, among others. His work is recognized internationally and has been translated into Chinese. Professor Cortez is part of several grant-funded projects sponsored by the U.S. and Canadian governments. He also provides frequent commentary to the media, including the Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, CNN, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, NPR, Science, WIRED, and the Washington Post.
Professor Cortez co-founded the Texas Legal Scholars Workshop and the SMU Food Law Forum. He has been a peer reviewer for top legal and medical publications, including Health Affairs, The Lancet, The New England Journal of Medicine, the Oxford and Cambridge University Presses, and the Yale Law Journal. He has been a consultant for the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS).
Before joining the SMU faculty, Professor Cortez practiced with the Washington D.C. law firm Arnold & Porter, as part of its pharmaceutical, health care, and biotech practice. He represented clients in health care regulatory matters, with a special emphasis on health care fraud and abuse, FDA enforcement, privacy, and the Medicare and Medicaid programs. He represented clients during litigation, in corporate transactions, during agency enforcement actions, and during congressional investigations and hearings. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and his J.D. from Stanford.
Professor Cortez presents his research around the world, to governments, regulators, professional societies, industry, and fellow academics. He has presented work at the law schools of Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, among others, and at the medical schools of Harvard, Stanford, and Vanderbilt, among others. His work is recognized internationally and has been translated into Chinese. Professor Cortez is part of several grant-funded projects sponsored by the U.S. and Canadian governments. He also provides frequent commentary to the media, including the Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, CNN, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, NPR, Science, WIRED, and the Washington Post.
Professor Cortez co-founded the Texas Legal Scholars Workshop and the SMU Food Law Forum. He has been a peer reviewer for top legal and medical publications, including Health Affairs, The Lancet, The New England Journal of Medicine, the Oxford and Cambridge University Presses, and the Yale Law Journal. He has been a consultant for the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS).
Before joining the SMU faculty, Professor Cortez practiced with the Washington D.C. law firm Arnold & Porter, as part of its pharmaceutical, health care, and biotech practice. He represented clients in health care regulatory matters, with a special emphasis on health care fraud and abuse, FDA enforcement, privacy, and the Medicare and Medicaid programs. He represented clients during litigation, in corporate transactions, during agency enforcement actions, and during congressional investigations and hearings. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and his J.D. from Stanford.
