South Asian Bar Association

The South Asian Bar Association was founded in 1993 [ [http://www.southasianbar.org Official Website of the South Asian Bar Association] ] to ensure that Bay Area South Asian lawyers were provided an avenue to develop professionally, network among peers and volunteer within the South Asian community. Since then, SABA has organized MCLE events, monthly luncheons, happy hours, and mentorship events for its members, hosted the SABA annual banquet, [ [http://legalpad.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/03/politics-finds.html#more Article in the Daily Recorder CalLaw legal blog] ] [ [http://pakistantimesusa.net/6%20March%2008/page14.htm Article in Pakistan Times] ] supported and hosted fundraisers for South Asian community support and social service organizations, and advertised, facilitated, and encouraged members to provide pro bono legal services to those in need.

A specialty bar association, the South Asian Bar Association is an independent affiliate of the American Bar Association and represents attorneys of South Asian origin in Northern California.

Mission

The South Asian Bar Association of Northern California:
# promotes alliances between South Asian legal professionals in Northern California and throughout the nation;
# advocates for the South Asian community;
# supports those who value diversity in the legal profession;
# assists law students, and those interested in the law, with developing contacts with practitioners;
# provides information to members on careers and the legal market in Northern California; and
# provides an avenue for professionals and other community leaders to take an interest in matters of concern to South Asian attorneys. [ [http://www.southasianbar.org/page.php?id=35&ic=2 Mission Statement] ]

Committees

SABA is composed of a number of committees dedicated to its mission. [ [http://www.southasianbar.org/page.php?id=36&ic=2 List of SABA Committees] ] These committees include:

* Civil Rights Committee -- This committee works with other organizations to formulate media and/or legal responses to incidents, cases and proposed legislation impacting South Asian communities.

* Endorsements Committee -- This committee makes endorsements recommendations to the SABA Board for judicial, prosecutorial, public defender, and other appropriate positions, as well as on issues affecting the legal community and the South Asian community. It also nominates SABA members for legal awards and leadership positions within the legal community. Its mission statement and endorsement process can be found [http://southasianbar.org/endorsements.missionstatement.pdf here] .

* Events Committee -- This committee plans networking, social, educational, and community service events for South Asian attorneys and law students in conjunction with other professional organizations in the Bay Area.

* External Development Committee -- This committee focuses on developing relationships between SABA and various national and international legal and professional organizations.

* Membership Committee -- This committee develops and implements strategy to increase membership and improve quality and number of services for members.

* Mentorship Committee -- This committee serves as liaison between attorney members, new attorneys, and law students. It strives to pair mentors with mentees based on areas of interest or expertise. The committee also works to develop contacts and relationships with the various Bay Area South Asian Law Student Associations.

* Pro Bono Committee -- This committee identifies pro bono opportunities for members and makes recommendations to the SABA Board regarding involvement and joint participation in pro bono activities.

Accomplishments of Note

* Advocated for the successful appointment of Amul Thapar as the first federal South Asian judge in America. [ [http://www.indiawest.com/view.php?subaction=showfull&id=1198710641&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1 India-West Article] ] [ [http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K/KY_FEDERAL_JUDGE_KYOL-?SITE=KYLOU&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Courier-Journal Article] ] He will serve on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
* Hosted the 4th Annual NASABA Convention which almost 800 attorneys attended. [See [http://www.nasabaconvention.org NASABA Convention Official Site] ]
* Condemned hate crimes in South Lake Tahoe and Sacramento, and supported the hate crime victims of both attacks. [ [http://www.indiawest.com/view.php?subaction=showfull&id=1218052954&archive=&start_from=&ucat=11 India-West Article] ]
* Condemned and rallied against the state of emergency in Pakistan. [ See [http://www.abajournal.com/news/lawyers_to_march_on_washington_today_in_solidarity_with_colleagues_jailed_i/ ABA Journal article] ; [http://www.sfbar.org/announcements/pakistan.aspx Bar Association of San Francisco's Announcement] ]
* Advocating for an increase in H-1B visas. [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/01/BUG1VOUJTG1.DTL Article in "Chronicle"] ]

Board of Directors

SABA is governed by a Board of Directors. [ [http://www.southasianbar.org/page.php?id=37&ic=2 SABA Board] ] The current board consists of:

President -- Khurshid Khoja
Vice President-Internal -- Sadhana Narayan
Vice President-External -- Vid Prabhakaran
Secretary -- Nina Paul
Treasurer -- Neville Fernandes

Arjun Agarwal
Shaamini Babu
Harmeet K. Dhillon
Neville Fernandes
Zer Iyer
Kiran Jain
Gaurav Mathur
Deepa Menon
Kavya Mohankumar
Asha Padania-Young
Avin Sharma

External links

* [http://www.southasianbar.org Official website]
* [http://www.abanet.org/minorities/links/minoritybars.html American Bar Association List of Minority Bars]

References