Christian Luciano Santiago joined Vogelzang Law in 2021 as a litigation attorney. Christian brings a vast amount of legal knowledge to the firm and has an extensive medical background. Before receiving his J.D. from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, he attended medical school in Puerto Rico, where he was born and raised. After leaving Puerto Rico, Christian moved to Chicago for law school. He fell in love with Chicago after attending a medical conference in 2011, and he knew he would eventually be back to live here.
With both the legal and medical perspectives on his side, Christian has a unique insight into the toll treatments can take on the body when you are injured. This level of understanding allows him to provide empathy, trust, and knowledge when establishing client relationships. “When I get a new case, I evaluate [it] on the merits of exposure,” says Christian, “but I [also] look at it from diagnoses to treatment, to medical bills, to everything that happens to one of our clients from a medical perspective.”
When litigating a case, he always remembers that there is a human behind every lawsuit and ensures that his compassion shows each step of the way. “It’s making sure to advocate as hard as we can for our clients,” says Christian, “but at the same time, it’s also reminding ourselves that there is the human aspect to a lawsuit — there is a person and/or family behind this lawsuit that has suffered.” Christian makes sure to remind defendants of this fact in every single case. For Christian, there is no better feeling than to represent our clients in a court of law, but also to be able to provide our clients with closure to a difficult and stressful period in their lives.
Outside of the workday, Christian lets off some steam by bowling with his team weekly and playing volleyball in the summer. He’s an avid home cook who loves to infuse his Puerto Rican culture into his dishes, with one of his favorites being mofongo, a “plantain mash filled with chicken, skirt steak, or shrimp,” says Christian. “It’s delicious.”
Check out some of Christian’s favorites below!
My favorite quote is the title of a French song by Edith Piaf, “Non Je Ne Regrette Rien”. It translates to, “No, I don’t regret anything.”
The Harry Potter series.
Marvel Cinematic Universe movies and Succession on HBO.
When you’re watching Law and Order, or any TV law show, it’s not all as easy as it seems. There are a lot of human emotions involved in the daily practice of law. These shows sometimes portray lawyers as moving from one case to another, but the reality is that there are human beings, families, individuals, that are affected in litigation. Our job is to help them achieve some sort of reconciliation as their advocates, but also being present for them during difficult and emotional milestones during the pendency of their lawsuit.
If you want to connect with Christian, please click here.
