Atlanta ? over 400 people attended the North American South Asian Bar Association recent annual convention held in Atlanta last month. Focusing on the theme, ?Networking to Influence, Influencing the Network," the convention featured about 70 panelists and speakers discussing a number of topics relevant to the South Asian legal community, including diversity, business development, the USA Patriot Act, racial profiling and pro bono work.

The convention gave the South Asian-American legal community opportunities to for professional development their professional lives and to learnto educate themselves on issues that affecting them and their community, the association said.

?Feedback from each panel's attendees was very high positveon average as because we worked hard to have areas subjects that appealed to law students, attorneys, legal business executives, general counsels and judges," said convention co-chair Sonjui Kumar.

Underscoring the influence wielded by South Asian attorneys was keynote speaker Neal Katyal. The Georgetown University Law Center professor is lead counsel for detainees at US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He also argued a recent case before the US Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of military tribunals. He stressed that lawyers should utilize their talents to better society by advocating for a cause they believe in.

Keynote speaker, Madhu Khatri, general counsel of Wipro Technologies came from Bangalore to share her insights on the current state and future of business in South Asia and the possibilities available to American lawyers of South Asian descent. Her challenge to the attendees was to remain in the forefront of these developments and to ensure the continued strength of South Asians throughout the world.

The opening keynote was given by Judge Stanley Birch, of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, who is most well known for his decision in the Schiavo case. Judge Birch stressed the need for judicial independence.

Other notable speakers included general counsels Teri McClure of UPS, Joaquin Carbonell of Cingular and Javade Chaudri of Sempra Energy, who spoke on diversity practices of their companies, especially in the areas of legal services.

?The NASABA community is strengthened with every year that passes," said NASABA board of director's member Kirtan Patel. ?Sponsorship of the event eclipsed 2005 figures, thanks to the support of companies like CompuCredit and many others."

The National South Asian Bar Association represents over 5,000 South Asian lawyers in the US and Canada. The association was started in 2003 with 12 chapters. It currently has 23 chapters. The association's 2007 convention will be held in San Francisco.

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