About Us
North American South Asian Bar Association (NASABA)
In late 2001, a handful of local South Asian bar association leaders
from across the country started meeting to discuss the possibility
of a national South Asian bar organization. Despite never having
met each other, they recognized the value of a national organization
and immediately set out to form the National South Asian Bar Association.
A little over a year later, in early 2003, NASABA was formed.
It didn’t take very long for the news of
NASABA to spread throughout the country. NASABA held its first
national conference on June 18-24, 2004 in Santa Monica, California
with over 350 South Asian lawyers from across the country. The
theme of the conference was simple yet powerful: “Oneness
– Uniting South Asian Lawyers Across America.” By
then, NASABA had already grown from 8 founding chapters to 16
member chapters across throughout the country. This initial gathering
laid the foundation for building a national organization to unite
an ever-increasing body of South Asian lawyers.
In its short existence, NASABA has achieved
much for South Asian lawyers and the South Asian community. The
following are just a few of NASABA’s achievements over the
years:
NASABA expanded its reach to 27 local chapters
including local South Asian bar chapters in Ottawa, Vancouver
and Toronto. As a result of its expansion outside the country,
NASABA became the North American South Asian Bar Association.
NASABA formed an Advisory Counsel (NAC), the
very first unified gathering of the senior-most South Asian bar
in the United States and Canada. The NAC is charged with providing
guidance and input on NASABA's long-term goals and other sensitive
projects.
Together with other national South Asian organizations,
NASABA meets regularly with representatives from the White House,
the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security,
and other federal agencies to discuss issues affecting the South
Asian community, including domestic surveillance, the Patriot
Act, immigrant registration, hate crimes and racial profiling.
NASABA helped facilitate the passage in Congress
of a private bill of relief known as the Waqar Hassan Bill (H.R.
Con. Res. 867, 108th Cong. (2004)). Mr. Hassan – a Pakistani
immigrant – was a victim of a post-9/11 hate crime murder.
As a result of his murder, his wife and four daughters faced being
deported back to Pakistan. With the help of NASABA and other organizations,
Congress passed a bill giving Mr. Hassan’s family permanent
residency in the United States.
NASABA has several active committees and
sections that serve various interests of South Asian lawyers
and the South Asian community.
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