Contact: Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director for Policy
WASHINGTON – In the ongoing litigation against Florida’s discriminatory alien land law (“SB 264”), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit granted a preliminary injunction yesterday in favor of two of the plaintiffs and halted enforcement of the law against them. In temporarily blocking SB 264, the court held that the plaintiffs demonstrated a substantial likelihood that the statute is preempted by federal law and that they have shown an imminent risk that the law would cause them irreparable harm. The plaintiffs, lawfully present Chinese immigrants, first brought the suit because they were stymied in their efforts to purchase homes when the law went into effect.
“We are grateful that the court recognized the real harm that discriminatory statutes such as SB 264 are imposing on the Asian American community,” said Anna Mercado Clark, President of NAPABA. “As litigation continues, NAPABA will continue to oppose alien land laws, whether in the halls of Congress, in statehouses, or in court, until these discriminatory policies return to the dustbin of history, where they belong.”
In a robust concurrence, Judge Nancy Abudu acknowledged that “SB 264 was enacted for the specific purpose of targeting people of Chinese descent.” Judge Abudu concluded that the plaintiffs have shown a substantial likelihood that statute also violated the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. In doing so, Judge Abudu excoriated the District Court’s fraught reliance on the widely discredited century-old Terrace v. Thompson, 263 U.S. 197 (1923), case, determining that it “may have had support in 1923, but it is now 2024” and such laws are now subject to strict scrutiny.
NAPABA, together with its four Florida affiliates, joined an amicus brief before the Eleventh Circuit in the case, continuing our long history for over a decade of leading efforts to overcome the state’s legacy of anti-Asian alien land laws. This includes when Florida became the last state in the United States over five years ago to abolish such discriminatory language from its constitution, only to enact SB 264 last year. Throughout the country, NAPABA and its affiliates continue to fight these discriminatory measures through legislative advocacy and educating lawmakers and the wider public on the painful history and legal implications of wrongfully restricting the property rights of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.
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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.
Prudential Financial, Inc. in Partnership with NAPABA
NAPABA is pleased to partner with Prudential Financial, Inc. (Prudential) to provide a meaningful summer internship opportunity for a highly motivated first-year law student. Through this partnership, NAPABA and Prudential will select a student to join the 2024 summer law intern class at Prudential.
The summer internship will provide interns with the opportunity to work with attorneys who support the broad reach of Prudential’s businesses.
The 1L summer internship will run for 10 weeks, from May 28th to August 2nd, 2024. The starting hourly wage in this position will be $31.00. In addition, if an intern works beyond their standard regular schedule, they will be compensated for all time worked including, where applicable, overtime.
The program will be hybrid at Prudential’s Newark, NJ location. A minimum of 2-3 days a week will be in the office for general intern programming.
Deadline to apply: 5:00 pm EST on Monday, January 22, 2024
If you have any questions, please contact Naomi Mortensen, Strategic Partnerships Manager. All correspondence must include “Prudential Internship” in the subject line.
Prudential and its affiliates are Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employers and are committed to diversity in our workforce.
Contact: Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director for Policy
WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden announced his intention to nominate Amir H. Ali to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Judge Sunil R. Harjani to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and Jasmine Yoon to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia.
“Amir H. Ali, Judge Sunil R. Harjani, and Jasmine H. Yoon are exceptionally well qualified to serve on our federal judiciary,” said Anna Mercado Clark, President of NAPABA. “Active in the AANHPI community, if confirmed, Ms. Yoon, a former board member of APABA-VA, would be the first Asian American to serve as an Article III judge in Virginia. A prominent member of the Chicago South Asian legal community, Judge Harjani was the first South Asian American to serve as a U.S. Magistrate in the Northern District of Illinois. Mr. Ali is an experienced civil rights litigator who has worked to elevate the voices of marginalized communities at the U.S. Supreme Court. NAPABA is proud to support these nominees.”
Amir H. Ali has been President and Executive Director of the MacArthur Justice Center since 2021 and Director of the Criminal Justice Appellate Clinic at Harvard Law School since 2018. Previously, Mr. Ali worked in private practice as an associate at Jenner & Block LLP in Washington, DC, from 2013-17. He also served as a law clerk for Justice Marshall Rothstein on the Supreme Court of Canada from 2012-13 and Judge Raymond C. Fisher on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2011-12. Mr. Ali received his J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 2011 and his B.S.E. from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, in 2008.
Judge Sunil R. Harjani has been a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Illinois since 2019. Judge Harjani served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Deputy Chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Section in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois from 2008-19. He also practiced federal civil litigation as a senior counsel at the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission from 2004-08 and as an associate at Jenner & Block LLP in Chicago from 2000-01 and 2002-04. Judge Harjani served as a law clerk for Judge Suzanne B. Conlon on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois from 2001-02. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in 2000 and his B.A. from Northwestern University in 1997.
Jasmine H. Yoon has been the Vice President of Corporate Integrity, Ethics, and Investigations at Capital One Financial Corporation since 2022. Previously, Ms. Yoon worked as Interim University Counsel and Associate University Counsel at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville from 2019-22. Prior to that, Ms. Yoon served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia from 2010-16. Ms. Yoon was also an associate at Crowell & Moring LLP in Washington, DC, from 2006-09 in its White Collar and Regulatory Enforcement group. She served as a law clerk for Judge James C. Cacheris on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia from 2009-10. Ms. Yoon received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2006 and her B.A. from the University of Virginia in 2003.
NAPABA thanks Senators Durbin and Duckworth of Illinois, Senators Warner and Kaine of Virginia, and Delegate Norton of the District of Columbia for supporting their nominations.
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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC Applauds Removal of the Rounds Amendment from the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act
Discriminatory amendment would have prohibited certain foreign nationals, including Chinese foreign nationals, from owning land in the U.S.
WASHINGTON – Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian American Justice Center (Advancing Justice – AAJC) today commended lawmakers’ decision to strike S. 2226 § 1086 (Senate Amendment 813) introduced by Sen. Mike Rounds (R-ND) amendment in the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
If included, this discriminatory amendment would have effectively prohibited certain foreign nationals, including Chinese foreign nationals, from purchasing U.S. agricultural land — continuing the pattern of a nation-wide resurgence of so-called “alien” land laws that have been introduced in at least 27 states and enacted in at least eight.
A coalition of Asian American and allied organizations took swift and sustained action to oppose this amendment and urge lawmakers to take it out of the final conference report language.
The Rounds amendment is the continuation of a long legacy of unnecessary legislation that leads to harmful profiling of and violence towards the Asian American community. In America’s history such legislation unfairly targeted Asian Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries through anti-immigration laws, land ownership prohibitions, incarceration of Americans of Japanese descent during World War II, and other efforts that sought to exclude members of the community. This racist and xenophobic behavior has continued from the murder of Vincent Chin in 1982 to the murders of Sikh Americans and the racial profiling of Muslim Americans in a post-9/11 environment. Asian Americans are too often considered to be “perpetual foreigners.”
Approximately 27 organizations joined Asian American Advancing Justice – AAJC in submitting a formal letter to NDAA conferees Senate Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed and Ranking Member Roger Ricker, as well as House Armed Services Mike Rogers and Ranking Member Adam Smith, urging them to “prohibit the inclusion of provisions that would effectively bar foreign nationals – including Chinese foreign nationals – from acquiring certain types of U.S. agricultural land.” The letter continued by encouraging them to “strike provisions that stoke racial animus, bias, and discrimination, as well as undermine Asian American participation in the Armed Services.”
John C. Yang, President and Executive Director of Advancing Justice – AAJC said, “We are very pleased that Congress listened to the concerns from our communities and did not include this harmful amendment in the NDAA. We are not naïve to the legitimate and credible threats that the Chinese Communist Party has on U.S. national security interests when it comes to the issue of espionage, and we are certain that Congress and the federal government can take a more responsible and targeted approach to combating foreign malign influence that does not result in the racial profiling of our community members.”
“Like so many similar discriminatory laws and bills of this nations, the Rounds amendment would have ensnared innocent Chinese individuals because the language failed to meaningfully distinguish between entities from China and individuals from China,” said Joanna YangQing Derman, Director of Anti-Profiling, Civil Rights and National Security at Advancing Justice – AAJC. “We are proud to have worked with a strong coalition of partners to call out this discrimination and put Congress and the government on notice that we will push back on any bills that cause harm to our communities.”
“As an organization representing Iranian Americans, it is critically important to underscore that people are not their governments. Equating the two is what led to the creation of the Rounds amendment, and we will continue to combat legislation that seeks to enshrine blatant xenophobia and undermine civil rights. We are grateful to our multiethnic coalition and network of volunteers who worked tirelessly to advocate against this amendment until its defeat,” said Jamal Abdi, President of National Iranian American Council Action.
“The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) and its affiliates across the country have worked to combat discriminatory anti-Asian alien land laws. They are a relic from the early 20th century and ought to remain in the dustbin of history. Instead of focusing on adversarial governmental entities, these bills instead target innocent individuals and wrongfully perpetuates harmful stereotypes about the loyalties of Asian Americans. While policymakers are free to address the legitimate national security concerns of the United States, they may not pursue discriminatory policies on the backs of the Asian American community,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA.
“We commend the removal of the Rounds Amendment from the NDAA,” said Cynthia Choi, Co-Founder of Stop AAPI Hate and Co-Executive Director of Chinese for Affirmative Action. “Had this xenophobic measure been enacted, it would have contributed to the alarming surge in anti-Asian political scapegoating we’re seeing today. Policies like this fuel the harmful ‘perpetual foreigner’ trope that wrongly paints Asian Americans as outsiders and suspects in the country we call home — further stoking hate against our communities. We firmly believe that our leaders can and should address legitimate national security threats without resorting to measures that scapegoat entire groups of people and worsen anti-Asian racism and discrimination.”
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Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC has a mission to advance the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and to build and promote a fair and equitable society for all. Visit our website at advancingjustice-aajc.org.
The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.
NAPABA | 1612 K St. NW, Suite 300 | Washington, DC 20006 | www.napaba.org
Contact: Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director for Policy
WASHINGTON – Today, the United States Senate confirmed Judge Loren L. AliKhan to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Judge AliKhan is the first South Asian American woman to serve on this court.
“NAPABA congratulates Judge AliKhan on her confirmation,” said Anna Mercado Clark, President of NAPABA. “A former Solicitor General for the District and Judge on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, Judge AliKhan will bring a wealth of experience in her service to the residents of Washington, DC on the U.S. District Court.”
“Judge AliKhan is the second Asian American that President Biden has nominated and confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA. “Today, President Biden has increased his record-breaking benchmark with 29 AANHPI Article III judges that the U.S. Senate has confirmed. We thank President Biden for nominating Judge AliKhan, and Delegate Norton for recommending her.”
Judge AliKhan was the first Asian American judge to sit on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Before her confirmation, she served as the Solicitor General of the District of Columbia, where she directed the District’s appellate litigation and has overseen more than 1,800 appeals before the D.C. Court of Appeals, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States. Judge AliKhan has the support of NAPABA’s affiliate, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington DC Area. She has been recognized with the Public Sector Trailblazer Award by the South Asian Bar Association of Washington D.C. and previously clerked for the Hon. Thomas L. Ambro on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and Judge Louis H. Pollak on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Judge AliKhan is a graduate of Bard College at Simon’s Rock and the Georgetown University Law Center.
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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.
Contact: Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director for Policy
WASHINGTON – On November 29, 2023, the United States Senate confirmed Micah W.J. Smith and, on November 30, 2023, Shanlyn A.S. Park to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. Mr. Smith was confirmed for a vacancy opening on January 30, 2024, and Judge Park was confirmed for opening on October 9, 2024.
“NAPABA congratulates Micah Smith and Judge Shanlyn Park on their confirmations to the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii,” said Anna Mercado Clark, President of NAPABA. “Judge Park becomes the first Native Hawaiian woman to serve as an Article III judge, and upon the swearing-in of Mr. Smith next year, it will be the first time in history where all the Article III judges on a U.S. District Court are AANHPI.”
“President Biden continues to extend his record of judges from the AANHPI community,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA. “Today, President Biden has appointed 28 AANHPI Article III judges that the U.S. Senate has confirmed. We thank President Biden for nominating Mr. Smith and Judge Park, and Senator Hirono and Senator Schatz for recommending them.”
Micah W. J. Smith, a graduate of Kauai High School, is an Assistant United States Attorney, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, and Criminal Civil Rights Coordinator in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii. He has also been the office’s Chief of Appeals and Legal Strategy since 2022. Previously, Mr. Smith served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York from 2012 to 2018. Earlier in his career, he was an associate and counsel at O’Melveny & Myers. Mr. Smith served as a law clerk for Justice David H. Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Guido Calabresi on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He received his J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School and his B.A., summa cum laude, from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania.
Judge Shanlyn Park, a graduate of Sacred Hearts Academy, has been a state court judge on the First Circuit Court on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, since 2021. Previously, Judge Park worked from 2017 to 2021 at the Honolulu law firms McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon, L.L.P., and Gallagher Kane Amai & Reyes. From 1997 to 2017, Judge Park served as an assistant federal public defender in the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Hawaiʻi. Prior to her service in that office, Judge Park was in private practice at Hisaka Stone & Goto from 1996 to 1997. She served as a law clerk for Judge Francis I. Yamashita, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Hawaiʻi from 1995 to 1996. Judge Park received her J.D. from the University of Hawaiʻi William S. Richardson School of Law in 1995 and her B.A., cum laude, from Chaminade University of Honolulu in 1991.
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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.
Contact: Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director for Policy
WASHINGTON – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) mourns the passing of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, a trailblazer in our Nation and the first woman on the Supreme Court of the United States.
“For a generation, Justice O’Connor blazed the trail for those who thought that the highest pinnacle of the legal profession was unattainable,” said Anna Mercado Clark, President of NAPABA. “She proved that not only was it possible, but inevitable. During her tenure on the Court, she addressed the Nation’s most difficult issues and strived for consensus—a hallmark of her career both before and during her time on the Court. Even during her retirement, Justice O’Connor devoted her time to service and championed the cause of civic education—a cause that goes to the core of our democracy. On behalf of the entire NAPABA community, we send our heartfelt condolences to her family.”
Despite graduating near the top of her class at Stanford Law School, Justice O’Connor struggled to find a role within the profession and was initially offered a secretarial position. Steadily through the course of her life, she demonstrated the tenacity that led to her success. She started her legal career in public service in California and later in Arizona. She served in the Arizona Senate, becoming the first woman to ever serve as Majority Leader. Justice O’Connor then served on the Maricopa County Superior Court in 1974, ultimately being elevated to the Arizona Court of Appeals in 1979. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated Justice O’Connor for the Supreme Court, and the United States Senate confirmed her nomination with a vote of 99-0. She retired from the Court in 2006.
Contact: Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director for Policy
WASHINGTON – Since 1965, our Nation relied on the promise of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. It prohibits state and local governments from advancing any election or voting standard that discriminates on the basis of race or color. For decades, private parties brought numerous enforcement actions under Section 2, which became a critical tool to realize Section 2’s fundamental guarantee of equal voting rights for all Americans. Even the Supreme Court of the United States, as it invalidated a separate part of the Act in Shelby County v. Holder, 570 U.S. 529 (2013), recognized the ability of private parties to enforce Section 2 through litigation, observing not only that “individuals have sued to enforce [Section] 2,” but also that “Section 2 is permanent [and] applies nationwide.” And just this past term, in Allen v. Milligan, 599 U.S. _ (2023), the Supreme Court decided a Section 2 claim in favor of private litigants challenging Alabama’s congressional districting plan.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, however, seeks to chart a different course. On November 20, 2023, in a 2-1 decision that disregards decades of precedent, the court held in Arkansas State Conference NAACP v. Arkansas Board of Apportionment that private parties may not bring enforcement actions under Section 2. In its view, only the Attorney General of the United States may do so.
We disagree. Nothing in the plain text of Section 2 compels this result. Considering the long history of Section 2, coupled with Congress’s explicit countenance, the private enforcement mechanism is a central feature of Section 2’s protection of equal voting rights. The Eighth Circuit’s decision, which comes less than a year before the 2024 presidential election, risks upending widespread reliance on a core protection of the Act. If left intact, it leaves any vindication of Section 2 rights to the sole discretion of one government official rather than with the voters themselves.
While this litigation continues, NAPABA continues to call on Congress to strengthen the Voting Rights Act by restoring the Act’s coverage in the aftermath of Shelby County, maximizing the full protections for all eligible Americans to vote, and prohibiting voter suppression efforts that impact the Asian American community along with other communities of color.
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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.
As we bid farewell to the 2023 NAPABA Convention, we want to express our deepest gratitude to each one of you who contributed to making this event a resounding success. We welcomed nearly 2,100 attendees to Indianapolis, with nearly 700 first time Convention attendees! Your presence, engagement, and enthusiasm truly made a lasting impact.
Throughout the Convention, we witnessed the power of unity, collaboration, and the collective spirit of NAPABA. The networking, mentorship, knowledge exchange, and most importantly, the power of showing up, were all on display in real-time as we build a stronger, more connected community.
The plenary luncheons were nothing short of inspiring, featuring compelling discussions and insights from distinguished thought leaders who are not just experts from our AANHPI community, but national figures on these important issues. The session on the rights of transgender athletes provided a platform for not only understanding some of the legal complexities, but also emphasizing the humanity behind the legality. The session on law school campus discourse revealed the challenges, opportunities, and constant efforts to create inclusive and diverse environments within legal education, and could not have come at a more critical time.
At the President’s and Trailblazer Awards Reception, we honored the late David Kim and recognized six prominent and incredible trailblazers who have paved the way for others and advanced opportunities for AANHPIs at the national level.
Lastly, the Convention ended on a high note with an unforgettable celebration of our diverse community and shared achievements. At the 35th Anniversary Gala, emceed by actor, author, and activist Maulik Pancholy—who grew up in Indiana—the program kicked off with a musical procession to celebrate Diwali, where attendees were treated to an energetic Dhol performance. We came together to recognize accomplishments, forge new connections, and revel in the strength of our community. We welcomed the new Board of Governors and were privileged to hear from the extraordinary Mia Yamamoto on the importance of focused engagement. And while the Convention has wrapped up, our engagement with the communities of Indiana that have been so welcoming to NAPABA continues.
Thank you for being an integral part of the 2023 NAPABA Convention. We hope that you left the Convention with a renewed sense of purpose and inspiration. Your energy, passion, and commitment are what make our community so vibrant. And thank you to all the CLE program chairs, speakers, and Committee and Network chairs for leading informative and educational programming that ensures NAPABA members are on the cutting edge of legal developments across the country. We look forward to connecting with you in the coming year through our various programs and hope to see you in Seattle in 2024.
For Immediate Release: November 13, 2023 Contact: Priya Purandare, Executive Director
INDIANAPOLIS – Last week, during the first quarterly meeting of the 2023-2024 year, the NAPABA Board of Governors approved and welcomed the South Asian Bar Association of New Jersey (SABA-NJ) as an affiliate of NAPABA. Founded in 2004, SABA-NJ is a voluntary association of attorneys dedicated to addressing the needs, concerns, and interest of the South Asian community in New Jersey, one of the largest in the Nation.
“We are thrilled to begin our new Board year with welcoming SABA-NJ, an influential force within the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander community in New Jersey, as a part of the NAPABA family,” said Anna Mercado Clark, President of NAPABA. “SABA-NJ’s leadership in supporting the community at large, the legal profession, and advancing judicial candidates that reflect the rich diversity of New Jersey, is well known both within New Jersey and beyond. We look forward to our partnership and working together as a force multiplier for good.”
“It is truly an honor and privilege for the South Asian Bar Association of New Jersey to be accepted as an affiliate partner of the well-established and highly-revered NAPABA organization,” said Rippi Karda, President of SABA-NJ. “We look forward to contributing to NAPABA through SABA-NJ’s diverse and talented membership. Thank you to the NAPABA Board of Governors for their support and acceptance.”
SABA-NJ joins a community of nearly 90 local, state, regional, and national bar associations in the United States and Canada that are affiliates and national associates of NAPABA. The affiliates hold certain voting rights under the NAPABA Bylaws, and individual members of the affiliates are entitled to complimentary NAPABA membership and the benefits that accompany it. For more information about how to become a NAPABA affiliate, please visit our webpage here, and learn more here about the benefits of becoming a NAPABA member.
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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.
