SABA-SC's 2007-2008 Board of Directors

"I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end."

- The Inner Life of Abraham Lincoln: Six Months at the White House by Francis B. Carpenter (University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1995), pp. 258-259.

Shanaira Udwadia, President

Shanaira Udwadia is a litigation associate with the law firm of Latham & Watkins LLP. She is involved in a broad range of commercial litigation. Her practice includes securities litigation, intellectual property, contractual disputes, and land use matters. Ms. Udwadia also represents, on a pro bono basis, individuals seeking asylum in the United States, and victims of domestic violence who petition under the Violence Against Women Act. Ms. Udwadia is a graduate of Stanford University where she received her A.B. and M.A. degrees. She received her J.D. degree from USC Law School, where she was an editor of the Interdisciplinary Law Journal and President of USC Law School's Amnesty International Chapter. Ms. Udwadia currently serves as President of the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California, and is on the Board of Directors of the North American South Asian Bar Association. Additionally, Ms. Udwadia is an active member of Amnesty International, the National Association of Women Lawyers, Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, and Human Rights Watch Young Advocates. She can be reached at Shanaira.udwadia@lw.com.


Pankit Doshi, Co-President Elect

Pankit J. Doshi is an associate with the law firm of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP. Mr. Doshi's expertise focuses on commercial and business litigation, as well as on intellectual property litigation. Mr. Doshi is a graduate of California State University, Los Angeles, where he graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Business Administration. He received his J.D. degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, where he served as a senior editor on the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review and a competitor on the Scott Moot Court Honors Board. He currently serves as the Co-President Elect of the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California and is on the Board of Directors of the North American South Asian Bar Association. He can be reached at pdoshi@lbbslaw.com.


Co-President Elect, Paul Saghera

Paul S. Saghera is a partner and serves as the Litigation Chair for The Chugh Firm. Mr. Saghera has extensive experience in a wide variety of litigation matters and has prosecuted and defended numerous actions through trial. Mr. Saghera's practice focuses on all aspects of litigation, including cases involving contracts, business torts, trade secrets, intellectual property rights, partnership rights, accounting actions, alter-ego liability claims and shareholder disputes. His litigation experience has involved many different technologies and industries, includingcomputer software and peripherals, digital media and other consumer products and services.

Mr. Saghera attained a B.A. degree from the University of California Irvine in 1988. Mr. Saghera attained his Juris Doctorate from Western State University in 1991. He is a member of the State Bar of California, the Orange County Bar Association, and the South Asian Bar Association. He can be reached at Paul@Chugh.com.


Mona Patel, Treasurer

Mona R. Patel is a Senior Associate with the Los Angeles office of Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP. She represents various business and corporate entities in a matters involving maritime, environmental law and general civil litigation. Her practice encompasses all aspects of litigation including many successful trial verdicts. Ms. Patel is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine where she received her B.S. degree in Political Science in 1996. Ms. Patel received her J.D. from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1999. After law school she practiced for a number of years in Sacramento focusing on both a career of litigation and lobbying. Ms. Patel currently serves as the Treasurer of the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California. In addition, she is a member of the Marine Underwriters of Southern California, Women Lawyers of Southern California, Women Lawyers of Sacramento, and is currently on the board of the Los Angeles Chapter of the International Indian Bar Association. She is on faculty at Cal State Los Angeles in the Extended Education Department. She is actively involved in various charities, included the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and various orphanages throughout India. She can be reached at mona.patel@wilsonelser.com.


Hema Patel, Secretary

Hema Patel is an associate with the law firm of Latham & Watkins LLP. Ms. Patel is a graduate of the University of Southern California where she graduated with a B.A. in International Relations and Political Science with honors and a minor in Psychology. She received her J.D. degree from Northwestern Law School in 2005. Following her graduation from law school, Ms. Patel clerked for Judge Thomas G. Nelson on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. She currently serves as the Secretary of the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California. She can be reached at secretary@sabasc.org.


Sabina Clorfeine, Communications Chair

Sabina Bhalla Clorfeine is Senior Counsel for Sempra Energy. Prior to joining Sempra, Ms. Clorfeine spent 8 years at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, where she practiced complex business litigation and intellectual property litigation. Ms. Clorfeine handled cases for clients such as Research In Motion, Lifetime Television and Zuffa LLC, the owner of The Ultimate Fighting Championship. Ms. Clorfeine recently had a book published by Lexis which she co-authored, entitled The Summer Associate’s Guide To A Permanent Job Offer. Ms. Clorfeine graduated magna cum laude with college and department honors from UCLA, and received her J.D. from the University of Southern California. She can be reached at sclorfeine@sempra.com.

Sayema Hameed, Public Interest Chair

Ms. Hameed is a litigator at White & Case LLP who practices civil business litigation in state and federal court. She represents small businesses and large corporations in a variety of industries including telecommunications, real estate, banking, health care, bakery, and electronics manufacturing. She handles contract disputes, business torts including fraud, real property disputes and employment matters. Ms. Hameed is experienced in all aspects of civil litigation in both state and federal court from the pleading and discovery stages through trial. Her work includes strategizing and conducting discovery, taking and defending depositions, preparing mediation, trial and appellate briefs, oral argument and preparing cases and witnesses for trial. Ms. Hameed has participated in several successful non-jury trials. Ms. Hameed received her B.A. in Political Science and M.A. in International Policy Studies from Stanford University. She received her J.D., with a Business Law Specialty, from UCLA School of Law. Ms. Hameed currently serves as President of the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California Public Interest Foundation, a non-profit organization affiliated with the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California dedicated to supporting and raising funds for organizations that provide legal and social services to the South Asian communities of Southern California. In addition, since 2005 Ms. Hameed has served on the Board of Governors of the ACLU of Southern California Foundation Advisory Board, a group of young professionals dedicated to expanding awareness of the ACLU of Southern California and to promoting education and activism on issues pertaining to civil liberties and civil rights. Ms. Hameed can be reached at shameed@wbcounsel.com. or at foundation@sabasc.org.


Gautam Dutta, Public Policy Chair

A Yale and Georgetown-educated attorney and civic leader, Mr. Dutta has dedicated his career towards public service. Currently, he serves as Founder and Principal Attorney of the Porta Justicia Law Firm. Last year, he served as Tax Counsel to now-California State Controller John Chiang. Mr. Dutta began as an SEC Enforcement Attorney in Washington, D.C. Subsequently, he served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Gladys Kessler in Washington D.C. 's federal district court, and as a commercial litigator at Buchalter Nemer in Los Angeles.

Mr. Dutta plays an active leadership role in the City of Los Angeles. Last summer, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appointed, and the City Council confirmed, Mr. Dutta as Commissioner on the Los Angeles Industrial Development Authority. In addition, he serves on the Boards of the American Civil Liberties Union. Mr. Dutta also serves as National Endorsements Chair and California Co-Chair of the Asian American Action Fund, a national Democratic political action committee.

Earlier, Mr. Dutta served as President of the APABA Educational Fund (AEF) in Washington, D.C.; and as Vice Chair of the Washington D.C. Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs. He is fluent is several foreign languages, including Spanish, German, Hindi, and Bengali. He can be reached at gautam@aya.yale.edu.


Ritu Manjunath, Judicial Evaluation Committee Chair

Ritu Manjunath is an associate in the Investment Management Group of the law firm Reed Smith LLP. Ms. Manjunath represents registered investment companies, investment advisers, broker/dealers, and collective investment vehicles with respect to regulatory advice, ongoing compliance needs, sales and advertising literature, and service provider contracts. A portion of Ms. Manjunath's practice is also devoted to financial services work whereby she advices companies, that wish to lend in California, in terms of how they may engage in commercial and residential mortgage lending. Ms. Manjunath received her B.A. from the University of California, Irvine; her J.D. from New England School of Law; and her LL.M. from Boston University School of Law. She currently serves as the Judicial Evaluation Committee Chair and is on the Board of Directors of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association. She can be reached at judicialeval@sabasc.org.


Manoj Shah, Events Chair

Manoj N. Shah is an associate with the law firm of Pond North, LLP. Mr. Shah's expertise focuses on defense of complex toxic tort and mass tort claims with specialized experience in cases dealing with the respiratory and central nervous systems. Mr. Shah is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he graduated with a B.A. in Political Science. He received his J.D. degree from Whittier Law School, Costa Mesa, with a certificate in International and Comparative Law in 2006. Throughout law school, Mr. Shah participated in various activities, most notably clerking for the Orange County Public Defender’s Office as a Certified Public Law Student. Mr. Shah currently serves as the Events Chair of the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California. He can be reached at mshah@pondnorth.com.


Nilam Patel, Membership and Law Student Outreach Chair

Nilam Patel is an associate with the law firm of Bremer Whyte Brown &O'Meara, LLP where she focuses her practice on complex civil litigation and business litigation. Nilam received her degree in History and Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1999. Before heading to law school, she explored her creative side working in advertising at TBWA/Chiat/Day and Saatchi & Saatchi. She thereafter received her JD degree from Santa Clara University in 2003 with a specialization in Intellectual Property/High Technology Law. Throughout law school, Nilam participated in the law journal, was active in various organizations, clerked for Yahoo! and Sony Computer Entertainment, andperformed pro bono work for members of the local community in the Bay Area. Nilam can be reached at nilamlaw@gmail.com.


Saddia Khan, Community Awareness Chair

Saddia Khan is a Litigation Attorney with the Civil Rights Litigation Project at the Disability Rights Legal Center. Ms. Khan has participated in cases involving the rights of individuals with disabilities with respect to physical access and accommodations by private and public entities. She has also helped create and conduct workshops on the legal rights of children with disabilities within the schooling system. Ms. Khan is a graduate of Arizona State University, where she graduated suma cum laude with a B.A. in Political Science. She recieved her Juris Doctorate from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University where her legal studies concentrated on civil rights, public international law and human rights. Ms. Khan currently serves as SABA 's Community Awareness Chair. She can be reached at saddia.khan@lls.edu.