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About Saba NJ

Learn everything about South Asian Bar association of New Jersey – all information and contact channels.

 Get to Know SABA NJ

We are a voluntary association of attorneys working towards interest of South Asian community of NJ.

 Contact Us

Have a question or an inquiry? Get in touch with us today - we will love to hear from you!

Services

Empowering South Asian legal professionals through mentorship, networking, and educational resources.

 Advocacy

Championing issues that impact the South Asian community and promoting equity in the legal system.

 Job Posting

Connecting members with exclusive legal career opportunities across New Jersey and beyond.

 Scholarships

Supporting aspiring law students with scholarships to foster the next generation of South Asian attorneys.

Membership

Join a vibrant network of South Asian legal professionals dedicated to growth, connection, and community impact.

 Become a Member

Join a professional network that advances South Asian representation in the legal field through mentorship, advocacy, and service.

 Member Login

Access your account securely to manage your profile and membership. Update information, track payments, and stay informed.

Updates

Stay informed with the latest announcements and organizational highlights from SABA-NJ.

 Events & Statements

Explore SABA-NJ’s events, initiatives, and statements shaping legal access and community engagement.

 Gallery

Browse photos from recent events, community outreach, and member gatherings.

 Sponsors

Meet the generous partners and
organizations that support our mission and initiatives.

Welcome to SABA NJ!

SABA-NJ is a voluntary association of attorneys who are dedicated to the needs, concerns and interests of the South Asian community in New Jersey.

We support the professional development and advancement of our members through networking opportunities, educational events, mentoring and advocacy. Our objectives are to provide a networking forum for all South Asian attorneys and law students in the New Jersey area and to educate and disseminate information to the South Asian community in New Jersey about legal access and relevant legal issues. Also, SABA-NJ collaborates with other bar associations and voluntary organizations to maximize diversity in professional networking opportunities and our visibility in the community.

SABA-NJ is a chapter of the South Asian Bar Association of North America which provides a vital link between South Asian lawyers and the South Asian community across North America. Learn more about SABANA here.

2025 Executive Board and Regional Representatives

SABA-NJ Team

Mishita Jethi, Esq.

President

Mishita Jethi is a Partner at Chugh, LLP where she focuses her practice on U.S. nationality and immigration law. She has broad experience in non-immigrant as well as immigrant visa matters. Prior to working at Chugh, LLP, Mishita worked in the New York office of Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP and advised a large financial services company on all aspects of U.S. business immigration law.

Mishita has been an active member of the South Asian Bar Association of New Jersey (SABA-NJ) since 2016. She currently serves as the President of SABA-NJ for the 2025 term and has previously served as President-Elect (2024), Treasurer (2019), and Secretary (2018). As part of her leadership initiatives at SABA-NJ, she has designed and moderated panel events for foreign trained lawyers and has served as a mentor for law students. Mishita has been invited to speak on topics related to her law practice as well as on issues related to hiring and retaining a diverse team of attorneys. She has spoken at panels organized by New Jersey Association for Justice (NJAJ), AILA ISIG, South Asian Bar Association of San Diego, and other similar organizations.

Mishita earned her LL.M from the University of Chicago Law School and her B.A., LL. B (Hons) from National Law Institute University, India. She is admitted to practice in New York and in India and has previously worked across different practice areas in India, Washington D.C., and New York.

Hozaifa Cassubhai, Esq.

President-Elect

Hozaifa Cassubhai is a Partner at Bailey Duquette P.C., where he is a litigator and trial lawyer handling civil and complex commercial disputes. His matters encompass the full range of business-to-business conflicts, including contracts and M&A disputes, trade secrets, shareholder and partnership disputes, corporate governance issues, unfair competition, consumer protection, and employment-related claims.

Born in Singapore and raised in Pakistan, Hozaifa began his legal career at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in Seattle before serving as a federal district court law clerk in Washington State. He later returned to New Jersey, where he had attended middle and high school.

Hozaifa earned his B.A. from Boston College and his J.D. from Seattle University School of Law, graduating magna cum laude. He served on Law Review, was inducted into the National Order of the Barristers, and at graduation was named Faculty Scholar and Student Speaker.

He has been recognized as a Thomson Reuters “Super Lawyer” for business litigation (2019-2025), following earlier recognition as a “Rising Star” (2014-2018). He was also a 2024 NJBiz Leader in the Law Honoree.

Prema Roddam, Esq.

Immediate Past President

Prema Roddam serves as the General Counsel at Compunnel Inc, a technology company, based out of Princeton NJ. Prema has extensive legal experience from her tenure at law firms such as Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP and Chugh LLP. She focuses her practice in the areas of global mobility, workforce management, corporate immigration, corporate governance and compliance as well as advisory services. Her experience spans across various industry verticals such as Telecom, IT, Healthcare, Pharma and Entertainment. Prema is an experienced and passionate advocate who understands the unique needs of companies that have a global workforce and footprint.

Prema is dedicated to advocating for women's rights and serves as the President, Board of Directors for Manavi Inc., whose mission is to end all forms of gender-based violence in the South Asian Community (https://www.manavi.org/). She also serves on the Board of Akshaya Patra Foundation USA Tri-State Chapter (https://www.apusa.org/). Akshaya Patra’s mid-day meal program serves wholesome school lunches to over 2 million children in 22,000 schools in India every day.

Mittal Patel, Esq.

Vice President of Public Relations

Mittal Patel is an associate at Stark & Stark within the Investment Management & Securities practice. She advises on investment-related matters, including initial investment adviser registration, regulatory examinations, and ongoing compliance support for investment advisers.

She earned her JD from Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. During law school, she interned at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission within the Divisions of Corporation Finance and Enforcement, and at FINRA within the Department of Enforcement. She earned her bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from Rutgers University.

Kedar Venkataramani, Esq.

Vice President of Affiliate Relations

Kedar Venkataramani is an associate at Lewis & Lin within the IP litigation practice, where he represents clients on various IP matters. He currently serves as the VP of affiliate relations for SABA-NJ.

. Kedar earned his JD from Rutgers Law School - Newark. During law school, Kedar was a graduate fellow of the Eagleton Institute of Politics and served as a Vice President of APALSA. He has previously served as the Law Student Liaison for SABA-NJ and currently serves as a Committee Co-Chair for SABANY. Kedar earned his bachelor’s degree in genetics and political science from Rutgers University.

Chaitali R. Gandhi

Chaitali Gandhi, Esq.

Vice President of Programming

Chaitali R. Gandhi is an associate staff counsel at Liberty Mutual Insurance. She manages all aspects of civil litigation and defends clients across a broad range of matters. She served on SABA-NJ’s Executive Board as the Vice President of Affiliate Relations in 2024.

Prior to joining the insurance industry, Chaitali clerked with the New Jersey Office of Administrative Law. She earned her JD from Rutgers Law, where she was involved in several student organizations and served as Managing Technology Editor of the Rutgers Computer and Technology Law Journal. She received her bachelor’s degree, with honors, in Biology with double minors in Legal Studies and Innovation & Entrepreneurship from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Navdeep Tucker, Esq.

Vice President of Sponsorships

Navdeep Tucker is an accomplished legal professional with over 16 years of experience spanning corporate, commercial, and in-house practice. She currently serves as Lead Counsel for Sugar Foods Corporation, where she provides strategic counsel on procurement and supply chain, sustainability, food law, human resources, and corporate transactions. Prior to Sugar Foods, Navdeep was Assistant General Counsel at Ferrero U.S. Earlier in her career, she built and managed her own law practice, Tucker Law Office, before joining Torres Legal as Of Counsel., where she advised clients in entertainment, real estate, and corporate law.

Navdeep is committed to service and leadership within the legal and South Asian communities. She is the Vice President of Sponsorships for the South Asian Bar Association of New Jersey, serves as a panelist on the Middlesex County Fee Arbitration Committee, and recently completed her term as Vice President of Membership for the Rutgers Alumni Association. She is also a volunteer and advocate with the Sikh American Legal Defense Fund, where she advocates for civil rights and community engagement, and participates in interfaith initiatives that foster dialogue and inclusivity across diverse communities.

Outside of her legal and community work, Navdeep is passionate about music and cultural preservation. She performs Punjabi folk music at weddings and community events, carrying forward a tradition that brings people together in celebration.lerkship and in-house counsel background, Hozaifa is a versatile advocate and counselor with significant experience in state and federal courts and arbitration forums covering a broad range of business-to-business, corporate governance, employment, and other commercial disputes. He has been recognized as a Rising Star (2014-2018) and Super Lawyer (2019-2024) for business litigation.

Shreya Patel, Esq.

Treasurer

Shreya H. Patel is an associate at Dentons in their Capital Markets practice. In her capacity, she represents banks, secondary market lenders, and other financial institutions on various secured lending and financing transactions.

She earned her JD from Seton Hall Law School. During law school, Shreya was an active member of the Tax Law Society and a Research Assistant for a Professor focused around U.S. federal, European Union and international tax law. She received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Rutgers Business School..

Basma Qazi, Esq.

Corresponding Secretary

Basma Qazi is an associate at PEM Law Firm. She previously served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Jaclyn Medina, J.S.C., in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Family Division. Basma earned a dual J.D. and M.S.W. from Rutgers Law School and Rutgers School of Social Work in 2024. While in law school, she gained appellate, trial, and regulatory experience with both a small law practice and a national trade association and served in leadership roles with the Student Bar Association, Muslim and South Asian Law Student Associations, and SABA-NJ. Basma is also a Licensed Social Worker with a background in clinical practice and prior to pursuing graduate school, she worked in operations and project management. She brings a multidisciplinary perspective to all her work and is dedicated to combining precision and empathy in service to her clients and community.

Saurabh Singal, Esq.

Recording Secretary

Saurabh Singal is as an Assistant Prosecutor at the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, where he has spent much of his tenure in the Special Victims Unit, prosecuting cases of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse. Earlier in his career, he served in the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, where he represented the State of New Jersey in Recovery Court, a program designed to help drug-dependent defendants break the cycle of recidivism through treatment and rehabilitation. Before becoming a prosecutor, Saurabh worked as a Staff Attorney with South Jersey Legal Services, representing low-income clients in domestic violence, housing, and debt collection matters while conducting outreach in underserved communities. In college, he spent several months in Himachal Pradesh, India, volunteering with the Chinmaya Organization for Rural Development to help strengthen rural infrastructure.

Saurabh is a graduate of Widener University School of Law and Temple University. He is active in the Hudson County Bar Association and was appointed to the Supreme Court Committee for Criminal Model Jury Charges.

Rippi Karda, Esq

Rippi Karda, Esq.

North Jersey Regional Representative

As an Associate General Counsel in the Policy, Corporate Social Responsibility, Information Security, Legal and Security department at Verizon Communications Inc., Rippi handles complex contracts for Sourcing involving Human Resources Benefits and Plans, Advertising Agencies, Contact Centers, Contingent Workforce, and Executive Recruiting. Prior to entering the prominent technology industry, Rippi worked at several well-known pharmaceutical and biomedical companies.

Currently, she serves as the Chair of the inaugural New Jersey Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Commission (appointed by Governor Phil Murphy); Board Member of the Ronald McDonald House of NYC Charity; Trustee of SABA North America Foundation; Co-Chief Diversity Officer of the NJ Women Lawyers Association; North Jersey Regional Representative of the South Asian Bar Association of NJ; Member of the New Jersey State Bar Association In-House Counsel Committee; and Treasurer of WEN - Women’s Excellence Network.

As a complimentary service, she runs a LinkedIn series titled “Attorney of the Week” to highlight the notable achievements of diverse attorneys. To date, she has featured more than 275 attorneys worldwide.

Most notably, Rippi was SABA-NJ’s 2023 President and recognizes that one her greatest accomplishments to date was expanding the profile and reach of this fine organization.

Lastly, Rippi will be honored in Denver in early November by NAPABA, an 80,000 member organization, with the coveted Women’s Leadership Award..

Diya Mathews, Esq

Diya Mathews, Esq.

Central Jersey Regional Representative

Diya A. Mathews is a partner based out of Chugh LLP’s New York and New Jersey offices. Her law practice is focused on business immigration law and corporate compliance. Diya is the President of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) – New Jersey Chapter, part of a global nonprofit dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship. Since 2013, she has held leadership roles with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

A frequent speaker on immigration and business topics, Diya has been honored on Lawyers of Color’s 2023 inaugural Wonderful Women list, which recognizes dynamic women attorneys committed to advancing diversity in the legal profession. She was also named to the 2024 Innovate 100 list for driving innovation in New Jersey.

Diya earned her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School as a Michigan Grotius Scholar and JN Tata Foundation Scholar. She also holds a gold medal from the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), one of India’s top law schools. She is admitted to practice law in New York and India.

Mahesh Rajan, Esq.

Central Jersey Regional Representative

Mahesh Rajan is the founder of Rajan Legal PC. He concentrates his practice on complex commercial transactions and matrimonial law. Mahesh was the founding Vice President of SABA-NJ and served on the District VIII Ethics Committee for the Office of Attorney Ethics. He also received the 2021 SABA Solo/Small Firm Award.

Rachna B. Malkana

Rachna B. Malkana, Esq.

South Jersey Regional Representative

Rachna runs her own practice, Law Office of Rachna B. Malkana, and focuses primarily on commercial and residential real estate law in NJ. She has been serving on the Executive Board of SABA-NJ since 2016 and is currently the Chair of the Solo/Small Firm Committee as well as the Scholarship Committee. Rachna is the VP of Affiliate Relations to SABA North America and is also the Chair of their Solo/Small Firm Section. She has also been appointed by the New Jersey State Bar Association to the Special Committee on Racial Equity in the Law as well as their Diversity Committee.

Amit Parikh, Esq

Amit Parikh, Esq.

South Jersey Regional Representative

Amit Parikh is Assistant Deputy General Counsel at Comcast with a practice in patent law. He manages the process for obtaining high quality patent assets in a vast array of technologies such as generative AI, video, broadband, home security, IOT, ad tech, and many other areas. He also leads the business side of patents at Comcast such as harvesting, communications, vendor management, etc. Amit received his J.D. from Fordham Law School, and is currently admitted to practice in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Prior to becoming an attorney, Amit was an engineer at Citigroup and received his B.S. in Computer Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.