NAPABA Awards - National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

NAPABA Awards - Public Sector Leadership Award

Public Sector Leadership Award

The Public Sector Leadership Award honors a NAPABA member in the public sector (government, non-profit, legal aid – federal or state) for their outstanding achievements and impact in their legal practice.

Award Qualifications

Please be advised that honorees must be:

Current with their NAPABA membership, and
Present to be eligible to receive award

Selection Criteria

The award recipient will be selected on the basis of the following factors:

Current employee in the Government, Public Interest, or Public Sector (federal or state)
Outstanding achievements in their field
Demonstrated professionalism in the practice of law
Commitment and service to the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) community

Required Materials

The following information must be provided for the nominee in order for a nomination to be considered:

Statement(s) of support detailing the nominee's outstanding achievements and how they have met the award criteria (maximum of 2 pages);
Current CV or resume of the nominee;
Biography
Detailed narrative of nominee's outstanding service and/or achievements.

Nominations are Now Open

2025 Awardee | Niyati Shah

Niyati Shah is the Director of Litigation at Asian American Advancing Justice | AAJC where she is responsible for overseeing and advancing the organization’s priorities before the courts. This includes cases that impact racial justice and the civil rights of Asian Americans, particularly in the areas of voting, immigration and national security, tech/telecom, census, anti-racial profiling, and education equity. Niyati has served as one of the lead attorneys in Lupe v. Ross, successfully challenging the addition of the citizenship question to the 2020 Census. Prior to joining Asian American Advancing Justice | AAJC, Niyati worked as an Election Counsel at Project Vote where she investigated, litigated, and advocated against violations of federal constitutional and statutory law nationwide. She is an expert on the implementation of Sections 5 and 7 of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), working both cooperatively with, as well as litigating against, states to enforce the NVRA. She has also litigated violations of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and enforced Section 203 of the VRA. Previously, Niyati worked for the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs litigating against deceptive and misleading trade practices and at Legal Services of Northwest Jersey as a family, consumer, and housing law attorney. She is a graduate of Rutgers University School of Law – Camden and obtained her undergraduate degree from American University.