CO-PRESIDENT

Shiraz Khalid is a Deputy District Attorney with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

In addition to his role as a senior prosecutor, Shiraz serves as an adjunct professor of law, mentor, and as the Judicial Endorsement Co-Chair for the Los Angeles County Unity Bar.

He began his legal career as a civil litigator before joining the District Attorney’s Office.

CO-PRESIDENT

Priya Gulati is a legal recruiter with over a decade of experience, driven by a genuine love for helping attorneys find fulfillment in their careers and lives.

A longtime member and past board member of SABA-SC, she’s especially passionate about mentoring South Asian law students—demystifying practice areas and helping them chart practical, purpose-driven paths from law school forward.

Priya earned her J.D. in 2011 and previously practiced law representing homeowners associations in South Orange County.

Outside of work, she’s a proud mom of two—committed to family hikes (despite her kids’ protests), obsessed with building elaborate snack plates, and dedicated to weaving in Indian heritage through classical dance and daily mantras.

SECRETARY

Omar Hashim is an attorney and trusted adviser to companies and investors, who genuinely enjoys helping his clients create and foster growth. Omar's practice involves representing clients in complex financing and strategic transactions and serving as fractional general counsel to companies from ideation to exit. After over a decade of experience and practicing at premier global firms, he is now Special Counsel at Reitler Kailas and Rosenblatt LLP.

Omar graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Political Science and from USC Gould School of Law.

Outside of work, he enjoys "hiking" his way through the many scenic paths of Southern California, all things sports, and watching movies. He is also a board member of the Sri Lankan Muslim Association of California

TREASURER

Talha Khan-Valbuena serves Los Angeles County as a Deputy District Attorney and as a Commissioner on the LGBTQ+ Commission. He considers advancing justice for individuals with mental illness and advocating for LGBTQ+ rights his life’s calling.

Originally from Karachi, Talha is fluent in Urdu and Hindi and proudly embraces his South Asian heritage. He enjoys showcasing his culinary flair—especially through his signature chicken tikkas and biryani.

Talha’s love for long distance running has earned him qualifying times for the Boston and New York City Marathons. In his downtime, he enjoys jogging the LA River trail with his loyal furry companions, Blue and Hunza.

JUDICIAL EVALUATIONS

Raj Srinivasan is an attorney whose work primarily focuses on appeals.

He received his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School and his undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley.

In his free time, he enjoys volunteering at student moot court and mock trial competitions, doing crossword puzzles, and spending time with his wife and two cats.

JUDICIAL EVALUATIONS

Parag Agrawal is the founder of the Law Office of Parag Agrawal, a criminal defense practice serving clients across Los Angeles and Southern California. A former high-ranking prosecutor with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, he also previously served with the California Department of Justice, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, and civil litigation firms in Los Angeles.

With over a decade of experience, Parag's practice spans misdemeanors to murder, white-collar crimes, and complex criminal matters in both state and federal court. He draws on his years as a prosecutor to bring a uniquely strategic perspective to criminal defense. He attended Dartmouth College and UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business before earning his J.D. from USC Gould School of Law.

JUDICIAL EVALUATIONS

Sonali S. Jandial is a Deputy County Counsel with Los Angeles County.  Prior to being with the County of Los Angeles, Sonali was a litigator with Children’s Law Center.  Sonali started her legal career as a litigation associate at Richards, Watson and Gershon.  

Sonali earned her J.D. from the UC Davis Martin Luther King Hall School of Law.  Sonali also has a M.A. in Philosophy from Columbia University with a thesis on the ethics of Utilitarianism.  

Sonali loves traveling, especially visiting architectural and historical sites.

JUDICIAL EVALUATIONS

Robin K. Chand is a Deputy District Attorney in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.

Prior to this position, Robin served in the U.S. House of Representatives as an Impeachment Counsel, a Deputy Chief of Staff for Rep. Maxine Waters and subsequently as Chief of Staff to Rep. Rick Larsen. He has served as a federal judicial law clerk in the Central District of California, the District of New Jersey and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Robin also taught courses in Legal Writing and Constitutional Law at the George Washington University School of Law.

He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, and also Howard University School of Law, where he was a senior editor of the Howard Law Review.

Robin lives in Santa Monica, California with his cat, Yoshi.

JUDICIAL EVALUATIONS

Priya Jupudi is an associate at Stris & Maher LLP, where she works on high-stakes trial and appellate matters. Before joining the firm, she served as a law clerk to Judge Ralph R. Erickson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. She holds a J.D. from USC and a B.A. in Political Science from UC San Diego.

In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, playing trivia with friends, cafe hopping, and spending time with her reluctant cat, Idli.

EVENTS

Hassan Shaikh is an associate at Mintz in Los Angeles. He is a trusted advisor to health plans, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and rebate aggregators, health care providers, and private equity firms navigating the complexities of today’s health care landscape.

Before joining Mintz, Hassan practiced at a top-tier international law firm in New York City and later at a boutique M&A firm in Los Angeles. 

He earned his J.D. from Duke Law School, where he was an editor of the Duke Journal of Constitutional Law and Public Policy. Hassan also holds a B.S.Ed and MPH from Baylor University, with a concentration in health education.

Hassan is an avid runner and tennis player.

EVENTS

Deeksha Kohli is an associate at Hueston Hennigan LLP in Los Angeles, where her practice focuses on complex commercial and “bet the company” litigation. She represents clients in mass torts, securities class actions, employment claims, copyright/trademark infringement suits, false advertising claims, and breach of contract cases. 

She earned her J.D. from UCLA School of Law, where she was the president of the trial team and invited to compete in the Top Gun National Trial Competition, which invites only the sixteen best advocates in the country to compete in a one on one trial competition with only 24 hours of preparation. Upon graduation, Deeksha was elected to the Order of the Barristers, which recognizes excellence in oral and written advocacy.

In her free time, Deeksha loves spending time with her dog Alfie, attending concerts, doing the NYT mini, and spending time with her family and friends.

EVENTS

Nikhil Ramnaney is the founder of Harbor Justice Law APC, a Long Beach-based public interest law firm focused on criminal defense, appellate advocacy, and civil rights litigation. 

Nikhil previously served as Chief of Criminal Policy at the Office for Access to Justice at the U.S. Department of Justice. Prior to his policy work, Nikhil served as a federal prosecutor in the Civil Rights Division. Nikhil began his legal career as a deputy public defender in LA County, and was the inaugural President of Local 148, the LA County Public Defender Union.

Nikhil is a graduate of UCLA and Tulane University Law School.

Nikhil enjoys kayaking, diving, and exploring Channel Islands National Park. His adventures have included kayaking across the Santa Barbara Channel, camping on Anacapa and Santa Cruz Islands, and completing more than a dozen dives throughout the park.

EVENTS

Anujan Jeevaprakash is a complex litigation and employment attorney based in Santa Monica, representing private businesses, individuals, and public agencies nationwide in complex commercial disputes, regulatory compliance, and employment matters.

In addition to his litigation practice, Anujan actively advises on local and statewide affordable housing initiatives and serves on Santa Monica’s Commission on Affordable Housing and Homelessness.

He is passionate about supporting South Asian legal professionals and advancing diversity within the legal community.

MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

Devika Tandon is a Senior Attorney-Advisor and federally certified law enforcement officer at the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Prisons. Her career path includes federal correctional law, immigration defense at Immigrant Defenders Law Center, and senior in-house counsel through a NYSE IPO at FIGS. She is admitted to the New York State Bar and is based in Los Angeles.

Devika is the founder of Ideate Legal, a boutique strategic advisory firm, and The Civic Room, a curated civic convening platform. She is also a certified domestic violence counselor.

Devika is the founder of Motherland Designs — a freehand mandala and Indian-inspired art brand that is her creative exhale from everything else. She is also a proud and slightly out negotiated mom to a very determined 4 year old.

MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

Sumithra ("Sumi") Rao is a seasoned litigator and California employment law expert and currently serves as Counsel in McGuireWoods LLP's Century City office. 

She is commited to being the kind of mentor to junior attorneys and law students that she wished she had coming up and strongly believes that there are many different paths to achieving success in the practice of law.

Sumi is also the mom of a preteen son and tween daughter, so life is rarely boring. In her free time, she and her kids are avid Disneyland enthusiasts. She also enjoys meditation, exercise, and unwinding by disappearing into delightfully inconsequential rabbit holes.

PUBLICITY & MEMBERSHIP

Prashanthi Manoharan is an Associate Attorney at Tucker Ellis LLP, where she assists clients across a broad range of practice areas, with a particular focus on business litigation, labor and employment, and mass tort and product liability matters.

She earned her J.D. from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings). During law school, Prashanthi served as Vice President of Communications for the South Asian Law Students Association and was a student member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Working Group.

In her free time, she enjoys Bharatanatyam dancing, watching Netflix documentaries, playing volleyball, and exploring new culinary spots around Los Angeles.

PUBLICITY & MEMBERSHIP

Sanaya Shah is a 3L at LMU Loyola Law School. She also serves as Director of Events/SABA Liaison for the South Asian Law Student Association and as a General Board Member of the Women’s Law Association.

Before law school, Sanaya worked as a Client Services Associate at an estate planning firm in Newport Beach.

She is a proud alumna of the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she earned a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Professional Writing for Civic Engagement.

While at UCSB, she served as President of UCSB Dhadkan, a nonprofit organization that hosted Santa Barbara’s largest charity Bollywood and Bhangra dance competition.

In her free time, Sanaya enjoys exploring new coffee shops, running, and spending time with friends and family.

MISSION & GOVERNANCE

Shalini Manaktala has served as a prosecutor with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for over 22 years.

She is a current member and previously served as the Community Outreach Liaison for Chinmaya Mission Los Angeles, where she was dedicated to serving and empowering the South Asian community. Her passion lies in promoting civic engagement among youth through her long-standing involvement with Project LEAD and the Teach Democracy program.

She is also a member of WLALA and Women’s United OC and holds a B.S. in Bioengineering from USC and a J.D. from Whittier College School of Law.

MEMBERSHIP & WEBSITE

Marize Alphonso is in-house counsel for Apple Inc.’s original content team, and previously worked at boutique entertainment law firms providing legal services for talent and many TV shows and movies.

She graduated from UC Berkeley with a double major in Rhetoric and English, and from UCLA School of Law with a specialization in Entertainment, Media and Intellectual Property.

Marize was a past-president of SABA-SC twice. She’s currently on the boards/organizing committees for Professional Entertainment Female Attorneys, Goans of America (SoCal), Cal Alumni Association (SGV), and the APA Holiday Toy Drive.

For fun, Marize crochets, fosters kittens, plays board games, decorates cakes, does pub trivia with friends, and is in way too many book clubs.

LAW STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE

Priya Joshi is a 3L at Southwestern Law School. She also holds a Masters of Public Heath from USC.

Her goal is to practice health law, but she’s also motivated by mission-driven work. She’s interested in criminal defense as well, particularly at the intersection of community health, access to care, and the systemic factors that shape client outcomes.

She consistently practices yoga and would love to hose a retreat after she finishes her yoga teacher training.

LAW STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE

Jordan Isaac is a 1L at USC Gould School of Law. Prior to law school, Jordan studied Art History & Criticism at Stony Brook University. She also worked at art museums and galleries in New York.

Her legal interests include public defense and legal aid services on behalf of indigent immigrants and asylum seekers. She is also interested in compliance and art acquisition management.

In her spare time, she enjoys practicing yoga, studying French, and haunting LA’s art scene.