|
Mission Statement |
The South Asian Bar Association of Washington, D.C. (SABA-DC) is a voluntary bar association dedicated to the needs, concerns, and interests of the South Asian legal community in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. SABA-DC was founded in 2001 as the successor to the Indian-American Bar Association of Washington D.C. (IABA-DC).
SABA-DC's key objectives are to:
- Advance the professional development of South Asian lawyers and law students in the D.C. metropolitan area;
- Provide a forum for professional and social networking;
- Increase awareness and dialogue regarding legal issues facing South Asians in the United States;
- Improve access to legal services for the South Asian community in the D.C. metropolitan area, particularly among the least fortunate; and
- Promote a greater understanding of the legal, political, economic, and cultural environment of South Asia and its people.
2025 Board of Directors |
| President Avani Uppalapati sabadcpresident@gmail.com Avani Uppalapati is a Big Law Consultant at Khawaja Partners, a national legal search agency dedicated to helping partners, associates, and in-house counsel find the next strategic career move. Prior to her work as a legal recruiter, Avani was an associate at two law firms in the DC area. Her work extended across commercial litigation, international trade, and TechComm. In her time in biglaw, she authored numerous client publications and engaged in diverse pro bono efforts. Avani received her J.D. from The Georgetown University Law Center, where she was an editor of The Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law, the president of the South Asian Law Students Association, and a participant in the Federal Legislation Clinic. She received her B.A. in English and Public Policy from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. |
| President-Elect Amal Rafiq Amal Rafiq is an associate attorney at Vedder Price P.C. where she specializes in executive compensation and employee benefits. She is deeply committed to pro bono service specializing in asylum and U-visa cases. She previously served as the Treasurer of SABA-DC and the Chair of the Women’s Committee for SABA-Philly. Amal received her J.D. from Temple University Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia, PA where she was president of the South Asian Law Students Association, and her B.A. in Psychology from George Mason University. |
| Vice President of Programming Manasi Raveendran Manasi has worked in roles in government and as in-house counsel, advising on government oversight and investigations as well as counselling businesses on various issues, including anti-corruption regulations and cybersecurity. Manasi is passionate about giving back to her community and has participated in bar service through the American Bar Association (ABA) and now through SABA-DC. Manasi received her J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School and her B.A. from Boston University. In her free time she enjoys exploring new cuisines, delving into a mystery novel, and going on adventures near and far! |
| Vice President of Communications Steven Kappen sabadccommunications@gmail.com Steven Kappen is a Staff Attorney with the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service, a civil legal nonprofit located in Baltimore, Maryland. Steven works to stabilize vulnerable homeowners through a combination of property law, estate planning, and probate work. His prior roles were in government, campaign, and nonprofit roles. Steven is a native of Oklahoma City, and received his J.D. and his B.B.A. from the University of Oklahoma. |
| Vice President of Membership Yasaswi Raparla Yasaswi "Swi" Raparla is a Corporate Counsel at Amazon Web Services focusing on product counseling, compliance and policy for AI Services. Prior to working in-house, Swi practiced as an IP and litigation attorney in DC and NY, and clerked in the Eastern District of Texas with Judge Robert W. Schroeder III. He previously served as Secretary for SABA-NY and is committed to contributing to the South Asian community. Swi received his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and an M.S./B.S from Carnegie Mellon University. |
| Co-Vice President of Gala Aanchal Chugh Aanchal Chugh is an associate attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where she practices in the Political Law group. Prior to joining Skadden, Aanchal practiced as a litigator at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York City. Aanchal earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2021 where she was President of the South Asian Law Students Association (SALSA) and the Women's Law Association (WLA). She received her B.A. from UC Berkeley in 2016. |
| Co-Vice President of Gala Sandhya Taneja Sandhya Taneja is an associate at Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP’s Antitrust Practice Group. Her antitrust practice focuses primarily on merger analysis, government investigations, civil litigation, and antitrust counseling and compliance. Sandhya earned her JD from The George Washington University School of Law and her Economics degree from the University of Maryland. After law school, Sandhya clerked in Montgomery County, Maryland, focusing on family law and civil and criminal jury trials. She currently serves as a Vice Chair of the American Bar Association International Law Section’s Women Interest Network. |
| Treasurer Aditya Patel sabadctreasurer@gmail.com Aditya "Adi" Patel is an associate attorney at Clark Hill PLC where he focuses on complex mergers and acquisitions, corporate structuring, and taxation matters. He represents clients across various sectors including renewable energy, healthcare, manufacturing, and emerging technology. Drawing from his international experience working with businesses in Mexico, Spain, UAE, and India, Adi helped establish the India Working Group at Clark Hill and advises both domestic and international clients on cross-border transactions and corporate governance matters. Adi holds an LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law and earned his J.D. from the Emory University School of Law, where he was a Nathaniel Gozansky Scholar and a Kathy Buckman Gibson Scholar. He received his B.S. from the University of Houston and is admitted to practice in Washington D.C. and the Commonwealth of Virginia. |
| Secretary Stevin George Stevin George is an associate at King & Spalding LLP. He focuses his practice on technology transactions and sourcing, especially the commercialization, development, and usage of AI and machine learning tools. Stevin received his J.D. from University of Michigan Law School and his B.A. in political science, summa cum laude, from the University of Texas at Dallas. Before law school, Stevin was a high school English teacher with Teach for America and a speechwriter at the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition to his role as Secretary, Stevin serves as In-House Counsel Section Co-Chair for SABA-DC. |
 | General Director Shereen Gomez Shereen Gomez is a Director of Alternative Dispute Resolution Services in the Commercial Division of the American Arbitration Association (AAA). Shereen received her B.S. in Psychology at Virginia Tech, a J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law, and an LL.M. in Tax at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. |
| General Director Lavanya Hospeti Lavanya Hospeti is a legal advisor at Technical Resources International Inc., where she focuses on negotiating clinical trial agreements between the federal government and industry collaborators, such as biologic and drug product manufacturers. Lavanya received her J.D. from the evening program at North Carolina Central University School of Law in Durham, North Carolina. She received her B.A. in sociology from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. |
| General Director Sai Santosh K. Kolluru is currently an Assistant General Counsel at the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) in the Ethics Law Division. Prior to his current position, Sai was an Honors Attorney at the National Security Agency (NSA) in the Department of Defense (DoD). Sai received his J.D. from the Emory University School of Law with Honors. While at Emory, he served as the Chief of Staff of the Journal of Law and Religion and held various other leadership positions with the South Asian Law Students Association, Immigration Law Society, and the International Refugee Assistance Project. Sai also interned and externed at various Federal agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Sai received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University. |
| General Director Sohil Khurana Sohil Khurana is an Associate Counsel in the Office of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, where he focuses on banking, housing, tax, and trade policy. Previously, Sohil practiced at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP in Washington D.C. and Latham & Watkins LLP in New York. Sohil received his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he was treasurer of the South Asian Law Students Association, and a student attorney for the Harrison Institute for Housing & Community Development. He received his B.S. from Cornell University and is admitted to practice in Washington D.C. and New York. |
| General Director Aliya Manjee Aliya Manjee is Director and General Counsel at Qorvis, a strategic communications firm headquartered in Washington, D.C., and works with sovereign and corporate clients where government relations, management consulting, and communications converge. Aliya previously served as Counsel for the House Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Oversight. Aliya has a Bachelors of Arts in English from Marquette University and a Juris Doctor from Marquette University Law School. |
| General Director Jomy J. Methipara, Partner at Dickinson Wright PLLC, is a business attorney who advises entrepreneurs, business executives and general counsel on corporate and securities law matters such as corporate formation and structuring, mergers and acquisitions, contract negotiations, and efforts to raise capital. Jomy is also well experienced in intellectual property law matters, specifically patents. Jomy represents clients including Fortune 500 companies, startup companies, technology companies, and individual inventors before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Jomy received his J.D. from the UIC - John Marshall Law School and his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. |
| General Director Anupma Sahay Anupma Sahay is an associate attorney at Reed Smith. She focuses her practice on U.S. and foreign utility and design patent preparation and prosecution in the software and mechanical arts. Anupma received her J.D. from the Temple University Beasley School of Law and her B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering from Drexel University. Anupma also writes freelance for the Washington City Paper and is a board member and committee member for patent diversity pipeline organizations. In addition to V.P. of Programming, Anupma serves as IP Section Co-Chair for SABA-DC. |
| General Director Asha Scielzo (she/her/hers) Asha Scielzo serves as the Director of the nationally ranked Health Law and Policy Program at American University Washington College of Law. She teaches a variety of experiential and innovative courses on the topics of health care fraud and abuse, corporate compliance, governance, digital health, and health care business transactions. Asha is also deeply committed to mentoring law students and junior lawyers to support them in developing rewarding and impactful careers. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of the South Asian Bar Association of Washington, D.C., Asha serves on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, a nonprofit educational organization with the mission of providing high-quality scholarship, debate, and critical thought for professionals at the intersection of law, medicine, and ethics. She is also privileged to serve as the President-Elect Designate of the American Health Law Association (the nation’s largest, 501(c)(3) educational organization devoted to legal issues in the health care field). She brings over 20 years of health care industry experience (including 15 years of large law firm practice) to the law school.Asha received her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center and her B.S. from the University of Pennsylvania. |
| General Director Anand Shah Anand Shah is an Assistant General Counsel at KPMG LLP, where he is part of the Confidentiality, Privacy & Information Protection team. He advises the firm on issues related to data privacy, cybersecurity, information governance, and technology transformation. Anand was previously an associate at two national law firms in D.C. and prior to that served as a cybercrime prosecutor at the New Jersey Attorney General's Office. He received his JD from the Emory University School of Law, a Certificate in Technology Commercialization from the George Institute of Technology, and BA from The George Washington University in International Affairs and Economics. |
| General Director Vishnu Tirumala Vishnu Tirumala is a Managing Associate at Sidley Austin focusing on cybersecurity, government investigations, and litigation. Vishnu has been involved with SABA since 2022, and previously served on the SABA-DC Board as Co-Vice President of Gala. He received his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School, and his B.S./B.A. from the University of Louisville. |
| Immediate Past President Ravi Kambhampaty Ravi Kambhampaty is presently a Supervisory Attorney at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Prior to his current position, Ravi was an Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), in the National Security Division (NSD). Ravi also serves as a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Army Reserves and previously served overseas on Active Duty in Eastern Afghanistan, Bogota, Colombia, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Ravi is a former chair or co-chair of SABA-DC's Public Interest, Public Interest Fellowship, Mentorship, and Government Committees. He is a co-chair of SABA-North America (SABA-NA)'s Military Law Section (a 2021 program of the year award recipient), and is a graduate of the SABA-NA leadership institute. Ravi received his J.D. from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, where he participated in the Law School's International Law Clinic and spent his last semester working on Human Rights issues in Windhoek, Namibia. Ravi received his B.A., Summa Cum Laude, in Political Science and History from the State University of New York at Binghamton. |
Former SABA-DC Presidents |
* President of the Indian-American Bar Association of Washington, DC (IABA-DC)--the organization that preceded SABA-DC |