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| 2010 Grant Recipients |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 7, 2010 |
For More Information Contact:
Harit Trivedi, 310-795-7971
hutrivedi@yahoo.com |
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| SABA-SC PUBLIC INTEREST FOUNDATION AWARDS
$16,500 IN GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS TO LOCAL PUBLIC INTEREST ORGANIZATIONS AND LAW STUDENTS
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The South Asian Bar Association of Southern California Public Interest Foundation (“Foundation”) is proud to announce that it has awarded grants and fellowships totalling $16,500 to local organizations and law school students committed to serving the public interest. The Foundation awarded grants to the following organizations: the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California; the Sikh American Legal Defense & Education Fund (SALDEF); the South Asian Helpline and Referral Agency (SAHARA); and the South Asian Network (SAN). The Foundation also awarded summer public interest fellowships to UCLA Law School student Priyan Chandraratna, Duke Law School student Nirupama Hegde and Loyola Law School student Puneet Toor.
In its short existence, the Foundation has raised and disbursed over $100,000 in grants and fellowships to deserving organizations and law school students. The Foundation thanks its supporters for their generosity and congratulates grant recipients for their dedication to public interest work. Foundation President Fred Thiagarajah said: “This year was another fantastic year for our Foundation. Despite the economic slump, we raised enough money to give grants totalling $16,500. The continued success of the Foundation is a testament to our donors -- corporate, government, public interest and individual members. It is through our generous donors that we can continue to fulfill our mission to promote public interest activities for the benefit of the South Asian community and the Southern California community at large. This year's grant recipients are a diverse group of organizations and individuals who all share the dedication to public interest service.” Grant and Fellowship Committee Chair Harit Trivedi added: “Congratulations to these outstanding organizations and individuals. They inspire us all through their commitment to public service. The Foundation is proud to support this important work.”
Neeta Dayal of SAHARA appreciated the Foundation’s continued support: “The ongoing support and guidance SAHARA has received from the SABA Foundation since 2006 is very valuable in helping South Asian community. Thank you!” Kavneet Singh of SALDEF said: “With the support of the SABA-SC Foundation, SALDEF will be able continue its work to empower Sikh Americans and be a dedicated resource across Southern California. We thank the SABA-SC Foundation for its generous support and look forward to continued partnership with them in the years ahead.” Shakeel Syed of Shura Council summarized the general gratitude to the Foundation “for empowering community organizations and enabling them to give voice to the voiceless in their respective constituencies.” |
| GRANT RECIPIENTS |
 The Islamic Shura Council of Southern California is an umbrella organization of more than seventy mosques and organizations serving more than a half-million muslims in Southern California. Since 1995, the Council has continued to foster the spirit and culture of working together at all levels in one of the most diverse and largest muslim populations in the country. Shura Council will be using the Foundation's grant funding to document and publish stories of three local victims of discrimination to promote awareness of ongoing abuse and advocate for change.
The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, founded in 1996, is the oldest and largest Sikh American national non-profit civil rights and educational organization. SALDEF empowers Sikh Americans through legal assistance, educational outreach, legislative advocacy, and media relations. SALDEF's mission is to protect the civil rights of Sikh Americans and ensure a fostering environment in the United States. SALDEF received Foundation grant funding to support the opening of a full-time, staffed office in the Los Angeles are to serve the Sikh American and broader South Asian communities of Southern California.
The South Asian Helpline and Referral Agency is a non-profit organization founded and directed by South Asian professionals who volunteer their time to help serve the growing South Asian community in Southern California. SAHARA services all eight counties of Southern California. In August 2003, SAHARA established one of the only transitional living homes in Southern California for South Asian victims of domestic violence. SAHARA will use its grant funding to provide multilingual and culturally competent direct legal clinics through project LEAF (Law Enforcement and Freedom) to South Asian victims of domestic violence.
The South Asian Network is a grassroots, community-based organization dedicated to advancing the health, empowerment and solidarity of persons of South Asian origin in Southern California. Since its inception in 1990, SAN has provided a safe, open forum for individuals of South Asian origin to gather and address social, economic and political issues facing the community. SAN will utilize its grant to expand its Workers’ Rights Project which conducts outreach, community education, case management, worker organizing and leadership development for South Asian workers in Southern California. |
| FELLOWSHIPS RECIPIENTS |
Priyan Chandraratna of UCLA School of Law will be working in the Immigration Unit of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, assisting clients with issues of family re-unification and establishment of legal residency as well as provide legal aid to victims of human trafficking.
Nirupama Hegde of Duke Law School will be working in the Children’s Rights Project of the Public Counsel Law Center in Los Angeles, where she will focusing on legal issues confronting children in the foster care system and working on cases related to the right to education.
Puneet Toor of Loyola Law School will be working in the Workers’ Rights Project and on immigration issues at the South Asian Network in Artesia, assisting in case management on domestic abuse, immigration and civil rights issues affecting the South Asian community.
The Foundation congratulates all grant and fellowship recipients for their exemplary commitment to public interest law and their service to the South Asian communities of Southern California. |
| ABOUT THE FOUNDATION |
Established in 2003, the Foundation is the 501(c)(3) non-profit affiliate of the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California. The Foundation is proud of its past and ongoing efforts to promote public interest work in Southern California. The Foundation seeks to unite members and friends of the South Asian community over our shared commitment to public service, recognize the outstanding achievements of local South Asian lawyers and trailblazers and award grants to organizations and law students dedicated to serving the public interest.
The Foundation provides annual grants to organizations that serve South Asian communities and summer fellowships to South Asian law students committed to public interest work. The Foundation’s public interest grants play a vital role in allowing many worthwhile organizations to provide valuable services to under-served communities. The Foundation’s public interest fellowships enable distinguished law school students to work for local public interest organizations during the summer. These fellowships have been successful in encouraging law school students to serve underprivileged individuals and communities and in promoting awareness of public interest issues that impact South Asians in particular. |
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| Flashpoint Law, Inc. |
For Immediate Release
Contact: Michelle Milagroso
Telephone Number: (650) 539-4019
Email: admin@flashpointlaw.com |
| SAN MATEO ATTORNEY SHIRISH GUPTA HAS BEEN APPOINTED TO THE CALIFORNIA STATE BAR’S SOLO AND SMALL FIRM SECTION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE |
June 16, 2009 (San Mateo, CA): The California State Bar has appointed Shirish Gupta, founder of Flashpoint Law, Inc., to the Solo and Small Firm Section’s Executive Committee for a three year term through 2012. The Solo & Small Firm Section, with 2,400 members, is a resource for solo and small practitioners throughout the state and for individuals considering practicing on their own or with a small firm.
Shirish Gupta joined the section in 2008 soon after starting Flashpoint Law, Inc., which serves as virtual general and litigation counsel to small and mid-size companies. Section Chair Lisa Miller stated, “We’re excited to have Shirish on the Executive Committee. As a new solo, he brings a lot of energy and new ideas to the Section.” |
| The South Asian Bar Association of Northern California President Khurshid Khoja commented that “During his two terms as SABA President, Shirish was a dynamic leader, doubling the size of our membership. I’m confident that he will help in the Section’s outreach efforts to diverse attorneys. He’s a proven leader in our community.” |
| Shirish commented that “After hearing State Bar President Holly Fujie encourage diverse attorneys to become active in the State Bar and seeing the large number of Asian Americans now starting their own practices and firms, I felt a responsibility to get involved at the state level. I have been active in the ethnic bar associations through SABA, NASABA and NAPABA, but wanted to serve the greater legal community, especially new solo attorneys like me. When I was getting started, other solos and small firm attorneys really helped me out by sharing their resources, allowing me to bounce ideas off of them and referring work to me. They have been invaluable to me and I wanted to return the favor to other attorneys just taking the plunge.” |
| A graduate of the University of Chicago Law School and UC Berkeley, Shirish is a recipient of the “Best Under 40” award by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, where he serves as the Alternate Regional Governor. He is a litigator with a decade of experience at Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin; Mayer Brown LLP; and Flashpoint Law, Inc. |
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SABA-SC Applauds the Appointment of Arif Alikhan to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security |
For Immediate Release
April 29, 2009
Contact:
Pankit Doshi
(213) 630-8276
doship@jacksonlewis.com |
| Los Angeles – The South Asian Bar Association of Southern California (“SABA-SC”) applauds the appointment of City of Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Arif Alikhan as Assistant Secretary for the Office of Policy Development in the Obama Administration’s Department of Homeland Security. |
| “Arif Alikhan has been instrumental in advancing my administration's central priorities of preparing Los Angeles to respond to natural disasters and against the threat of terrorism, increasing public safety, and putting 1,000 new LAPD officers on our streets,” said City of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. “I wish him luck as he assumes this new role with the Obama Administration, and look forward to his continued efforts to help protect Los Angeles and our nation's cities.” |
| Arif Alikhan was appointed as Deputy Mayor for Homeland Security and Public Safety in November 2006. He is a current SABA-SC member and the 2007 recipient of the SABA-SC Foundation Trailblazer Award for his contributions to the South Asian legal community. |
| “We are very proud of Arif Alikhan for his appointment,” said SABA-SC Co-President Pankit Doshi. “His uncompromising dedication to the Los Angeles community is second to none. This honor is a testament to his abilities and dedication.” “Arif has been a very good friend to SABA-SC and a role model to South Asian American lawyers throughout the country,” echoed SABA-SC Co-President Paul Saghera. |
| Prior to joining the Mayor’s office, Mr. Alikhan served as a senior official at the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. where he was responsible for overseeing the national Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) Program, as well as key advisor to the Attorney General on intellectual property and cyber crime issues. Previously he served as the first Section Chief of a new Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section for the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, the largest judicial district in the nation. |
| Mr. Alikhan began his legal career as a Judicial Law Clerk to U.S. District Judge Ronald S.W. Lew in Los Angeles and then joined the Los Angeles law firm of Irell and Manella where he handled civil and white-collar criminal defense matters. In 1997, Mr. Alikhan joined the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles where he handled a wide variety of criminal matters as a federal prosecutor for over eight years. He received several awards from law enforcement agencies for his work and was recognized by the Department of Justice for his superior management and supervisory performance. |
| Mr. Alikhan was instrumental in Mayor Villaraigosa’s initiative to put 1,000 new officers on the streets, and now the LAPD has expanded to its highest level in history. Additionally, Mr. Alikhan oversaw and advanced the Mayor’s emergency preparedness and counter-terrorism initiatives, increased cooperation with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, worked to create the Fire Department's Professional Standards Division and helped secure and manage over $400 million in homeland security and public safety grants for the Los Angeles region. He was also a key aid to the Mayor at major emergencies including numerous brush and wild fires and the tragic Metrolink crash last year. |
| Mr. Alikhan graduated with honors from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles in 1993. He graduated cum laude from the University of California, Irvine in 1990 where he earned a degree in Social Ecology with an emphasis in Criminal Justice, Criminology and Legal Studies. |
About SABA-SC:
The South Asian Bar Association of Southern California (“SABA-SC”) is the oldest and largest South Asian bar association in the country. SABA-SC is dedicated to the advancement and development of South Asian attorneys and strives to promote the professional development of lawyers and law students, educate the community about relevant legal issues and expand and enhance business and professional opportunities for South Asians. For more information about SABA-SC, please visit www.sabasc.org or contact SABA-SC Co-President Pankit Doshi at 213.630.8276.
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 Press Releases from Daily SAN FRANCISCO DAILY JOURNAL- |
