Law and Labor

South Asians hope to raise interest in field of law

By Alana Roberts / Staff Writer

Four Las Vegas Valley lawyers are working to form the South Asian Bar Association, Las Vegas Chapter, to ensure more South Asians take an interest in the law.

The soon-to-be-incorporated group's president, Kris Rath, a partner at Hutchison & Steffen, said the area has about 10 lawyers of South Asian descent. He said the local group is affiliated with the 8-year-old North American South Asian Bar Association, which has about 5,000 members in 21 chapters across the United States and Canada.

The group's other founding members are Steve Sidhu, Paul Padda and Ravi Bawa.

Rath said the group plans to promote the legal industry as a potential profession for South Asian students and professionals.

"As far as South Asians in general, a lot of the first-generation South Asians tend to be doctors and engineers," he said. "There weren't as many getting into the law. As the children of the immigrants started to get more Americanized, more of them went to law school. We're trying to promote more of that."

Sidhu, a lawyer at Gordon & Silver and secretary of the group, said other industries, besides the sciences, have exhibited more growth among minorities and South Asians than the legal profession, but that is changing.

"I moved here about six years ago from Southern California," Sidhu said. "The growth of the population has reflected more minorities, especially in the service industry. In the professional (sector) like law, 10 to 15 years ago there weren't as many minority lawyers of South Asian descent. That's changing right now."

Rath said one of the main goals of the group is to offer mentoring programs for law school students of South Asian descent.

"I think what we want to do is have some mentoring programs to get together with the law students," he said. "As we grow, then we can look at some financial assistance (for students)."

Sidhu said the group's mentoring efforts will include possible internship and job opportunities.

"The initial group we have is diverse enough that we have members with the U.S. attorney's office and private practice (attorneys) meeting with us," Sidhu said.

Rath said the group was formed because more South Asians are taking an interest in the law.

"More people are going to law school," he said. "We're trying to form networks and help people who are going to law school get jobs and get into the legal profession and network. Also (we're trying to) get people who are already in the legal profession and get them interested in getting into judgeships and making judgeships in the legal profession more diverse."

Sidhu said the South Asian Bar Association's efforts will complement the efforts of the Asian Bar Association of Las Vegas.

"Kris and I were the founding members of the Asian Bar a few years ago," Sidhu said. "As that community has grown, we're part of that larger umbrella. This is reflective of how it's growing over the last few years that we're able to have this separate South Asian Bar Association."

Bryce Kunimoto, an associate at Hale Lane and co-president of the Asian Bar Association of Las Vegas, said the new group will be able to reach a more specific audience. The Asian Bar Association of Las Vegas has about 20 active members.

"I think it's great that the South Asian Bar is being developed," Kunimoto said. "What's great about it is they might be able to serve a particular demographic that maybe we're failing to reach. I encourage people to get involved."

He said the group is currently preparing for the national convention in 2007 of its affiliate the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, which will be held here.

He said one goal of the Asian Bar Association of Las Vegas, is to help Asian business owners learn how to navigate the legal system.

"There's a lot of Asian-Americans moving into Las Vegas, and many are not familiar with the court system or how to incorporate their business if they have a small mom-and-pop store," Kunimoto said. "Hopefully the Asian Bar Association can serve as a conduit between Asian American business owners and the legal system."

Alana Roberts covers courts and labor relations for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached by e-mail at alanar@lasvegassun.com or at (702) 259-4059.

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