The South Asian Bar Association of Northern California was founded in 1993 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, 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 of Northern California is an independent affiliate of the American Bar Association and represents attorneys of South Asian origin in Northern California.
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.
SABA is composed of a number of committees dedicated to its mission. 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 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.
Advocated for the successful appointment of Amul Thapar as the first federal South Asian judge in America. 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.
Condemned hate crimes in South Lake Tahoe and Sacramento, and supported the hate crime victims of both attacks.
Condemned and rallied against the state of emergency in Pakistan.
Advocating for an increase in H-1B visas.
SABA is governed by a Board of Directors. The current board consists of:
President—Kiran C. Jain
Vice President—Avin P. Sharma
Secretary—Firasat Ali
Treasurer—Hozefa Botee
Arjun Agarwal
Nina Paul
Veena Dubal
Sujal Shah
Sheena Wadhawan
Ginny Walia
Suchitra Narayen
Sandeep Solanki
Kavya Mohankumar
Mythily Sivarajah Sadhana Narayan
