Karen Richardson, NAWL’s Executive Director, is joined by Rahat Babar, Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel of NAPABA, to discuss the current voting restrictions and the challenges faced by communities of color and immigrant communities. Rahat offers invaluable insights into the landmark Shelby County v. Holder case, detailing its impact on Asian and Pacific Islander American communities over the past decade and the ongoing effects of harmful political disinformation. Join us as we discuss some of the most prominent propaganda targeting communities of color this election season. A special thank you to NAWL member Mary Card Mina for making this episode possible.
Karen Richardson, NAWL’s Executive Director, is joined by Rahat Babar, Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel of NAPABA, to discuss the current voting restrictions and the challenges faced by communities of color and immigrant communities. Rahat offers invaluable insights into the landmark Shelby County v. Holder case, detailing its impact on Asian and Pacific Islander American communities over the past decade and the ongoing effects of harmful political disinformation. Join us as we discuss some of the most prominent propaganda targeting communities of color this election season.
A special thank you to NAWL member Mary Card Mina for making this episode possible.
Rahat N. Babar is NAPABA’s Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel. In this dual role, Rahat leads NAPABA’s advocacy, civil rights, and policy priorities, and he serves as NAPABA's chief legal officer overseeing the legal affairs of the organization.
Rahat’s commitment to public service and to the Asian Pacific American community has long defined his career. Nominated by the Governor of New Jersey and unanimously confirmed by the New Jersey Senate, Rahat served as a Judge on the Superior Court of New Jersey, the first Bangladeshi American to be a member of the court. Immediately prior to his appointment, Rahat was Special Counsel to New Jersey Governor Philip D. Murphy, overseeing all high-profile litigation impacting the Governor and the Administration. Previously, he was the Director of Community Engagement at the New Jersey Attorney General's Office, where as part of Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal’s Executive Leadership Team, he led the Attorney General’s efforts to strengthen the office's relationships with community leaders, faith leaders, and the public. Rahat held several other leadership roles within the Attorney General’s Office, practiced in a boutique corporate law firm, and taught law and public policy at Temple University Beasley School of Law as an Adjunct Professor.
Rahat is a former member of NAPABA's Board of Governors and a former chair of NAPABA's Civil Rights Committee. He previously served as President of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania and served on the Board of Directors of the Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey. NAPABA recognized Rahat as one of NAPABA's Best Under 40 in 2018.
Rahat earned his undergraduate degree in International Area Studies from Drexel University and his law degree from Delaware Law School, where he served as an editor of the law review. During his last year of law school, Rahat externed for Chief Justice Myron T. Steele of the Supreme Court of Delaware, and after law school, Rahat clerked for Judge Renée Cohn Jubleirer of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.