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Career Conference

Fourth Annual Muslim Law Career Conference

Speaker Bios

Panel: America at a Crossroads: Legal Issues Confronting American Muslims

Umbreen Bhatti – Umbreen Bhatti is the Staff Attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware. Prior to joining the ACLU, Umbreen was a Litigation Associate at Latham & Watkins LLP in Washington, DC. She is a 2005 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and a 2000 graduate of Barnard College.

Shama Farooq – Shama Farooq acts as a pro-bono attorney advisor for Muslim Advocates. She professionally serves as a Senior Assistant Public Defender in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where she has been representing indigent criminal defendants for over three years. Previously, she served as the Director of Civil Rights for the Maryland & Virginia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations where she advised clients on matters ranging from employment discrimination to racial & religious profiling by state and federal law enforcement. She testified in hearings before the Maryland and Virginia legislatures on racial profiling by law enforcement, and represented the interests of the local Muslim community in numerous meetings with the FBI, DOJ, and DHS. She is a board member of the Washington DC-based 9/11 Unity Walk, an interfaith organization dedicated to increasing awareness about religious diversity and tolerance through experiential educational events.

Asim Rahman – Asim Rehman is President of the Muslim Bar Association of New York (MuBANY), a professional organization for Muslim lawyers, law students, and legal professionals in the New York area. MuBANY serves the needs of its members through networking opportunities, resource sharing, legal referrals, mentoring, and career development panels. MuBANY also focuses on improving the New York Muslim community at large by conducting informational events, registering Muslim voters, and advocating for the rights of Muslims in New York.

In addition, Mr. Rehman was most recently a lawyer with Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP in New York. On March 1 he will join the new law firm of Chaffetz Lindsey LLP. Mr. Rehman's practice focuses on complex litigation and internal investigations, but also includes pro bono work in immigrant's rights and death penalty law. Mr. Rehman spent six months as a Special District Attorney in the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, and was a clerk to a Federal District Judge in NY. He has held positions with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the AIRE Centre (Advice on Individual Rights in Europe) in London. Mr. Rehman is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the South Asian Bar Association of New York. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and Haverford College.

Panel: Nontraditional Legal Careers

Mohammed Wasim Billah – Mohammed Wasim Billah is an attorney in New York City, who successfully started his own law firm, The Billah Law Firm, which employs 3 attorneys and various other staff. The firm specializes in commercial and real estate transactions, and in litigation. He represents home buyers, developers, businesses, banks, and lenders. Prior to that, he worked at Frekhtman & Associates, the New York State Attorney General's Office, and the New York City Council. Because of his varied experiences, especially with starting his own firm, he will have a lot to share about his non-traditional career path. He received his B.A. in Political Science from New York University and his JD from St. John's University School of Law.

Nadia Firozvi – Nadia Firozvi is is a staff attorney for the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center (APALRC) in Washington, DC. She supervises many law student volunteers that staff their elpline, and provides legal assistance on immigration law and a range of other matters to D.C. area residents. She also engages in community outreach and education to D.C. residents, and supports the D.C. Language Access Coalition's advocacy initiatives. For instance, she presented testimony on language access at a hearing entitled Racism in DC at a UN Inquiry. Prior to the APALRC, she was at the law firm of Howanski&Greene, LLC in Towson, Maryland, where she worked as an immigration associate. She has a B.A. from Loyola College, a J.D. from University of Baltimore, and an LL.M. from American University.

George Selim – George Selim serves as a Policy Adviser in the Office for Civil Rights & Civil Liberties at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). His primary duties involve advising Department leadership on policy issues at the intersection of civil rights and homeland security. This includes (1) working with other Federal agencies to develop and strengthen the U.S. Government’s civic engagement, public outreach and public diplomacy initiatives; (2) regularly engaging with the American Arab, Muslim, Sikh, and South Asian communities; and (3) helping law enforcement officials better engage with ethnic and religious minorities nationally.

Prior to joining DHS, Mr. Selim had been serving at the U.S. Department of Justice as Special Assistant to the Director of the Community Relations Service (CRS), an agency created out of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. He has also worked as a community organizer for Dr. James Zogby at the Arab American Institute. Mr. Selim is a member of the Carnegie Council for Ethics and International Affairs, and the Annenberg Foundation Speakers Bureau for Public Service.

Mr. Selim is a recipient of the 2006 Department of Justice Meritorious Service award and 2008 DHS Secretary’s Award for Excellence. He was also named the Washington Post “Federal Player of the Week” in March 2009.

Keynote Address

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