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SABA Florida hosts diversity leadership forum at UM Law

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SABA Florida hosts diversity leadership forum at UM Law

JUDGE MEENU SASSAR, from the left, SABA President Harsh Arora, and Judge Anuraag Singal. South Asian Bar Association of Florida, Inc., also known as SABA Florida, held its 2011 Diversity Leadership Forum in November at the University of Miami School of Law in Coral Gables.

SABA Florida is a growing voluntary bar association with members including lawyers and law students interested in the South Asian community in the United States or those who have ties to Southern Asian counties, including India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan, Iran, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

SABA Florida is a chapter of the North American South Asian Bar Association or NASABA, the national organization for South Asian legal professionals.

The event was moderated and presented by SABA Florida President Harsh Arora and President-elect Sumeet Chugani.

The program started off with an Indian-catered lunch followed by panel discussions with attorneys, judges, and in-house counsels who discussed their experiences and best practices to foster leadership among minorities in the field of law.

The panelists included Judge Anuraag Singal, the first South Asian judge on the bench in Broward County who was recently appointed to the 17th Judicial Circuit Court; Judge Meenu Sassar, the first South Asian judge on the bench in Palm Beach County, assigned to the circuit civil division in the 15th Circuit; Board of Governors member Eugene Pettis; Monalee Zarapkar, who currently serves as deputy general counsel and vice president of legal for TradeStation Securities, Inc.; and Dasree Ramsammy, vice president of legal at Jarden Consumer Solutions.

Participants also engaged in roundtable discussions to strategize about methods of overcoming diversity-related obstacles in the legal profession.

Topping off the event-filled day was a reception honoring both Judge Sassar and Judge Singhal for their accomplishments to South Florida’s legal community.

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