Sasha Hodge-Wren is an accomplished attorney and WBA Board Member. In addition to her service on the Board, Sasha has served as the Co-Chair of the WBA Executive and Judicial Endorsements Committee and Treasurer of the WBA. In her professional life, she serves as Counsel at Miles & Stockbridge, P.C. where her practice focuses on a combination of criminal defense, civil commercial business litigation and labor and employment litigation matters.  Throughout her career in private practice, she has also assisted [...]

WBA celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month by celebrating AAPI members of our community. Dr. Nudrat E. Piracha is an accomplished arbitrator, mediator, and legal scholar with over two decades of experience in international arbitration, investment law, and dispute resolution. Her career has been shaped by my passion for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and cross-border litigation, and she has represented high-profile clients in sectors such as telecommunications, construction, energy, and infrastructure. Her journey has been marked by significant [...]

Emily Lagan is an Associate Attorney at Regan Zambri Long PLLC. Emily represents victims who have suffered catastrophic personal injuries, as well as families who are seeking justice in wrongful death cases. She joined Regan Zambri Long straight from law school after two summer clerkships with the firm. Since joining the firm, she has represented individuals injured in automobile and pedestrian collisions, gas explosions, premises accidents, and in medical malpractice cases throughout DC, MD, and VA. Emily says, “Our clients [...]

Emmanuela Saint-Jean is a law clerk at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. She is a first-generation Haitian-American and proud attorney. After graduating from law school, she had the incredible opportunity to begin her career as a prosecutor in Miami. During that time, she honed invaluable skills, built lifelong friendships, and developed a deep passion for the law. Emmanuela tell us, “While I have since explored various roles, there’s something special about your first job, and I still cherish the [...]

Jennifer C. Mika is Counsel at Crowell & Moring. She joined the WBA in 2008 when she was a 1L! She’s been involved in many WBA committees, including mentoring, young lawyers, and membership. Jennifer is a first generation lawyer who came to DC after undergrad and has made it her adult home. After 12 years in government service, where she won several local and national awards for her work addressing vulnerable populations, she recently moved to the private sector. Jennifer [...]

WBA celebrates Black History Month by celebrating the Black members of our community.  Adaoma (Ada) Okafor is a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Chief Judge Anna Blackburne- Rigsby at the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Ada was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and moved to the United States at 12, settling in Hampton, VA. She shares, “I quickly had to adjust to the cold, as I hadn’t experienced much of it before.” Ada told us about her experience at [...]

Victoria Clark is the Former Senior Deputy Associate Counsel at The White House and Oversight Counsel at the Department of Homeland Security and is currently exploring new opportunities. After years of public service, Victoria recently transitioned from the federal government, where she focused on investigations. At The White House, she worked on vetting nominees for Senate-confirmed roles, a role that allowed her to dive into diverse topics, connect with people, and identify key risks. Before that, she served as Oversight [...]

Rachel Lawrence is the Associate Director for Pro Bono & Public Interest Career Development at The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law. She’s been at the law school for over 8 years, including a 9-month part-time stint in 2021 while she also worked for the Internal Revenue Service. Rachel loves public service law, community service, and building community. Once a month, she work with a community on Capitol Hill to make sandwiches for the unhoused. She has organized [...]

Sarah A. James is an Associate Attorney at Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC. She attended law school during the evenings while working full time as a paralegal at a Boston law firm. She went on to clerk at the Land Court in Boston and trial court in Rhode Island. After landing in the DC area, she began working as a litigation associate in the commercial litigation department at Eckert Seamans. Sarah comes from a long line of attorneys. Her [...]

WBA celebrates Pride Month by celebrating the LGBTQ+ members of our community. Photo Credit: Sarah Sharaf-Eldien Sunu P. Chandy (she/her) is a Senior Advisor with Democracy Forward, supporting work across the teams including fighting attacks on DEI, and working alongside partner organizations to help build a nation that does right by all of us. She continues to have readings and events in connection with her collection of poems, My Dear Comrades, published by Regal House. Before starting at Democracy [...]

WBA celebrates Pride Month by celebrating the LGBTQ+ members of our community. Evelyn Jung (they/them) is a second-generation Korean American non-binary person working as a Recruiting Director at The Partners Group, a legal staffing firm. They completed their undergraduate degree at New York University and then received their J.D. from George Washington University Law School.” Evelyn tells us: “The part of my job that I love the most is building and establishing strong and lasting relationships between candidates and prospective [...]

Michelle Cohen is Partner at Ifrah PLLC. She spent 20 years in big law before joining Jeff Ifrah, a former colleague and friend, at Ifrah Law, where she has practiced for 12 years. Ifrah Law is a Chambers-ranked boutique specializing in gaming, government investigations, and litigation. She chairs the Privacy and Data Protection Practice and is heavily involved in the firm’s gaming practice. Michelle serves on the Board and Chair of the Governance Committee of Aspire! Afterschool, an Arlington, VA [...]

WBA celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month by celebrating the AAPI members of our community. Lina Xie is a Data Forensics Manager at BDO USA in Washington, DC. She specializes in data investigations related to fraud and corruption, export control sanctions and fraud risk assessments. She works with an incredible team of professionals dedicated to promoting integrity and compliance in business practices. Lina leads forensic analysis on major compliance projects and develops robust compliance strategies. She has extensive [...]

WBA celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month by celebrating the AAPI members of our community. Nina Ren is a Trial Attorney in the Office of Constitutional Torts at the U.S. Department of Justice. She handles vaccine cases before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Nina is currently preparing for her third career appellate court oral argument (her first was before the Fourth Circuit and her second was before the Federal Circuit). Nina says, “I work with an incredible team [...]

Zuka Chuka-Obah is an Attorney Advisor for the Landlord Tenant Branch of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. She is a member of the D.C. Bar and also licensed in Maryland. Zuka graduated from the University of Chicago in 2011 with a BA in Political Science and is a 2014 graduate of Georgetown University Law Center. She has a strong passion for helping her community and loves being actively involved in the community. Outside of work, Zuka loves being [...]

WBA celebrates Black History Month by celebrating the Black members of our community. Sonia Williams Murphy is a Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice. She was WBA president in the 2016-2017 bar year, and presided over the Association’s Centennial Celebration. Sonia joined Justice after over a decade in large, international law firms. Sonia tells us, “As a litigator, joining the DOJ was by far the best professional decision I have made to date. I have argued several cases [...]

WBA celebrates Black History Month by celebrating the Black members of our community. Marcia McCree is a Brooklyn native who graduated from George Washington University College of Law. She began her legal career representing plaintiff's side anti-trust and consumer protection class action suits. She then pivoted to real property and real property taxation and zoning issues, serving as a Special Assistant Attorney General with the Commercial Finance Bureau of the District of Columbia and subsequently small firm private practice until [...]

Ethel Badawi is Co-Founder & Principal of Pollack Badawi Group LLC. She is a current member of the WBA Board of Directors. She is an active member and past president of APABA-DC, the largest and oldest association of Asian Pacific American legal professionals in the DC area. She also serves on the Board of Directors for NALSC (the National Association of Legal Search Consultants) and on the Board for Spur Local, a DC area nonprofit focused on creating a stronger [...]

Mary Blatch is Senior Counsel, Privacy at StockX, an online marketplace that sells limited edition and high demand sneakers, streetwear, collectibles, handbags, and watches. Mary tells us, “I’ve bounced around in my legal career, always following my curiosity.” She clerked in the Eastern District of Virginia, then spent some time litigating at big firms. She transitioned to an in-house compliance role at Deloitte, then worked for the Association of Corporate Counsel in a policy role. She is now back to [...]

Tamara Kraljic is Counsel at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP where she works principally with the Arbitration and the Anti-Corruption & Internal Investigations practice groups. Tamara considers this question: “How can we re-think the corporate law firm model to create a space that works for women, mothers, caretakers and generally people – of any gender, background and generation - who want a healthy life while practicing a profession they love?” Her response to us: “As a senior counsel at a [...]

Serafina Concannon is Of Counsel at Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered and an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center (her alma mater. She has been in private practice since she graduated from law school. She specializes in mass tort bankruptcy litigation. At Georgetown, she teaches Civil Discovery in Federal Courts, Privilege in the Context of Civil Litigation, and Representing Foreign Clients in U.S. Courts (not all at once, thankfully!). In addition to being active with the WBA, she is [...]

WBA celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month by celebrating the Latinx members of our community. "Dedicating this time each year to highlight the immense value we bring to the world is not only important but also serves as a powerful reminder that we are embraced and welcomed, no matter where we choose to sit at the table." Paulette M. Pagán is a White Collar/Criminal Defense Attorney at Price Benowitz LLP. As a former public defender, she believes every person is entitled to [...]

WBA celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month by celebrating the Latinx members of our community. "Witnessing the unequal treatment that migrants and women faced in many contexts, particularly in Mexico and the United States. I also saw becoming a lawyer as an opportunity to find my own voice, and to advocate for myself and for my community." Aura Guerrero is an Associate at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown Law Center. She is an at-large board member of [...]

Michelle Webster is Counsel at Mayer Brown LLP. She was born and raised in a town of 2,800 people in eastern Washington state. Her father was a small town lawyer and her mother was a social worker. She followed in her father’s footsteps and her brother followed in her mom’s. Michelle loves to travel and says she adored the WBA trip to Guatemala in February. Other recent trips include Iceland, Curacao, and Mexico. Michelle is a self-proclaimed “sports nut” and [...]

WBA celebrates Pride Month by celebrating the LGBTQ+ members of our community. The Honorable Deborah Israel is an Associate Judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Judge Israel was WBA president in the 2001-2002 bar year, and WBA Foundation president from 1996-1998. Judge Israel served in private practice for nearly 30 years before joining the bench. During the majority of that time, she worked in large law firms where she also served in many firm management roles, [...]