Type Legal society National President Robert Maldonado | Tax ID no. 52-1333974 | |
Founded March 20, 1972; 44 years ago (1972-03-20) Legal status 501(c)(6) professional association Headquarters Washington, D.C., United States | ||
The Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) is a 501(c)(6) organization representing Hispanics in the legal profession, including attorneys, judges, law professors, legal assistant and paralegals, and law students in the United States and its territories.
Contents
History
The organization was founded in California on March 20, 1972, as La Raza National Lawyers Association; its first president was Mario G. Obledo. The organization's name was changed to Hispanic National Bar Association and reincorporated in the District of Columbia in 1984.
Purpose
The association represents the interests of the more than 100,000 Hispanic attorneys, judges, law professors, law students and paralegals in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. National officers are elected by the membership at large, and Regional Presidents are elected by their regional members.
Individual attorneys may join, and local Hispanic bar associations may become affiliated with the HNBA. The HNBA collaborates with the local Hispanic bars in over 100 cities in the United States, with other specialty bars, and with the American Bar Association. This group assists Hispanic Americans in defending their rights and improving their opportunities.
Activities
The HNBA holds an annual convention, an Annual Mid-Year Conference and Moot Court Competition, an Annual Legislative Day and an Annual International Conference open to all attorneys and affiliates from around the country. Each year, the HNBA also organizes a variety of events for lawyers and law students throughout its 19 regions, and several community outreach and education initiatives.
The HNBA sometimes condemns rhetoric that it perceives as "divisive and racist" and aimed at immigrants. For example, in response to Donald Trump's comments regarding illegal immigration from Mexico to the United States, and Trump's derogatory remarks about some of those immigrants, the group's president issued a press release in July 2015 calling for a boycott of all Donald Trump-owned businesses. Subsequently, in 2016, Trump criticized a member of the HNBA, Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel, and the President of the HNBA issued a statement defending Curiel.
List of past presidents
Past presidents of the HNBA are as follows: