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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. It is a 501(c)6 nonprofit. 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:
- Addressing the needs and goals of South Asian and South Asian American attorneys in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area;
- Serving as a communication and support network for South Asian and South Asian American law students in the D.C. metropolitan area;
- Representing the interests of South Asians and South Asian Americans at local and national levels; and
- Promoting and articulating the unique needs and issues facing the South Asian and other minority communities.
2026 Board of Directors |
| President Amal Rafiq sabadcpresident@gmail.com 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. |
| President-Elect 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 and General Director. He received his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School, and his B.S./B.A. from the University of Louisville. |
| Vice President of Programming 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. |
| Vice President of Communications Kavya Nagumotu sabadccommunications@gmail.com Kavya Nagumotu is a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice in the the Intellectual Property Section of the Civil Division. She joined the Department in 2022 through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. Kavya received her J.D. from University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law, and B.S. from University of Rochester. |
| Vice President of Membership Stevin George Stevin George is an associate at King & Spalding LLP. He focuses his practice on technology transactions, especially the drafting and negotiation of complex commercial contracts for novel, bespoke situations. 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 Vice President of Membership, Stevin serves as In-House Counsel Section Co-Chair for SABA-DC. |
| 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. |
| Co-Vice President of Gala Ithi Joshi Ithi Joshi is a corporate counsel with a leading cloud services company in Northern Virginia. Previously, she was an attorney with a national law firm specializing in M&A transactions, corporate governance matters, and capital raises and structuring. Ithi has been involved with SABA since 2021, and has previously served on the SABA-DC Board as Co-Vice President of Gala. She received her J.D. from Temple University Beasley School of Law, where she was a member of the Moot Court Team, and her B.A. from the University of Virginia. |
| Treasurer Sai Santosh Kumar Kolluru 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. |
Secretary Abhilasha Khanal |
| General Director Niranjan Adhikari Niranjan Adhikari is the Managing Attorney at Adhikari Law PLLLC where he specializes in U.S. immigration, trademark, foreign investments and startups matters. His pro bono service includes matters of Special Juvenile Status, Military Spouse Parole in Place, hosting Know Your Rights workshops and serving on nonprofit boards. He previously served as the Chair of Immigration Law Committee at SABA-DC and helped in the naturalization clinic. He currently serves as the member of District of Columbia Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs. At the beginning of his legal career he interned at International Criminal Court, the Hague, Netherlands, was a Research Fellow with the American Antitrust Institute with a competitive fellowship award from the Antitrust Law Section of American Bar Association, and worked as a legal consultant to a government contractor and as an attorney at a major immigration law firm before founding his law firm. Niranjan received his Master of Laws (LLM) from University of California, Berkeley, School of Law where he was the Associate Editor of Berkeley Journal of International Law and was the member of South Asian Law Students Association, APALSA and other student organizations. He also holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.). During law school he interned at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Kathmandu, Nepal, was a Research Intern at the Centre for Civil Society, New Delhi, India, competed at Philip C Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. He also participated in the summer program on the private international law at the Hague Academy of International Law and participated in the summer programs in China and Bangladesh. |
General Director Pratik Agarwal |
| General Director Samay Singh Kindra Samay manages Vicinity Energy’s government affairs in Maryland. Samay works to advance Vicinity’s zero-carbon mission in Baltimore and partners with stakeholders in City Hall and Annapolis to help the City and State achieve their environmental and sustainability goals. A Baltimore area native and University of Maryland Law School alum, Samay has experience in local, state, and federal government with a focus on the intersection of business and government. Samay has been active in Maryland politics for over a decade and has worked on issues ranging from education and mental health to campaign finance reform and the environment. Prior to joining Vicinity, he was an associate at Ballard Spahr in the Public-Private Partnership group. |
| General Director Sohil Khurana Sohil Khurana is Senior Banking Counsel in the Office of US Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ), where he focuses on banking, housing, tax, and trade policy. He previously worked in the Office of US Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as well as in private practice at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck in Washington DC and Latham & Watkins and Kirkland & Ellis 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 Kaavya Ramesh Kaavya Ramesh built a diverse litigation career spanning both the public and private sectors before joining Georgetown Law School as an Associate Director in the Office of Graduate Careers. Kaavya earned her B.B.A., LL.B. from Jindal Global Law School and her J.D. from Cornell Law School. Kaavya began her legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia, where she served on the Special ATV Task Force Team, and prosecuted misdemeanors and felonies at the Municipal Court level. She later practiced in Big Law focusing on antitrust litigation, where she also had the opportunity to provide advice to asylum seekers at the U.S.–Mexico border, and successfully represented an incarcerated individual in mediation of his civil rights claims. Kaavya also spent time at a boutique litigation firm in D.C., focusing on commercial and business litigation matters. In 2024, Kaavya was recognized as one of the honorees of the Pittsburgh Business Times’ 30 Under 30 for her professional accomplishments, leadership and contribution to the community. Kaavya is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia and 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 Rhea Shinde Rhea Shinde is an associate attorney at Arnold & Porter. She focuses her practice on regulatory and compliance matters in the healthcare industry. Rhea received her law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center, cum laude, and her undergraduate degree in public health, cum laude, from the University of Rochester. |
| Immediate Past President Avani Uppalapati 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. |
Former SABA-DC Presidents |
* President of the Indian-American Bar Association of Washington, DC (IABA-DC)--the organization that preceded SABA-DC |