Message from ACS Board Chair Peter Karanjia
Dear ACS Allies & Supporters,
First and foremost, I want to thank you all for your crucial and continuing support of ACS! I joined the ACS board in 2017 because I saw the organization’s tremendous potential to serve as an influential thought leader, draw on its broad and energized network (including 200 student chapters and 50 practicing lawyer chapters), and effectuate real and meaningful change in people’s lives. I’m proud to say that, under Russ Feingold’s leadership, the organization continues to go from strength to strength.
And that’s all the more remarkable during this uniquely challenging time. Right after the first wave of lockdowns last year, ACS nimbly pivoted to highly timely online programming and virtual networking events – drawing larger and more diverse audiences from across the country. And, fittingly marking the organization’s 20th anniversary this year, those and other efforts to execute the ACS Strategic Plan, continue with renewed vigor. ACS has, for example:
- Played a crucial role in supporting the White House’s efforts to identify talented and diverse candidates for judicial office, drawing on ACS’s unique resource of 53 working groups across the country;
- Partnered with government officials, law students, and practicing lawyers, to drive concrete legal reform, including pro bono efforts to protect voting rights;
- Hosted webinars offering practical professional development guidance to members of the ACS network, including last month’s “How to Become a Judge” program (cosponsored by the Muslim Bar Association and its NY affiliate) and next month’s “Navigating the Clerkship Process for First-Generation and BIPOC Law Students” program.
- Contributed to the public debate on crucial and timely issues, including criminal justice and Supreme court reform
- Launched a new and exciting podcast (“Broken Law”) that is already attracting more than a thousand listeners
per episode. - In short – and, in large part, thanks to your invaluable support – ACS is more relevant than ever!
With my sincere thanks and best wishes for the holidays – and looking forward to even greater things for ACS in 2022!
Warmest regards,
Peter Karanjia
ACS Board Chair