Author: Emil Krawczyk

Neal Sarkar (he/him)
Chair, ACS Houston Lawyer Chapter

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“The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread.” – Anatole French

I remembered this quote now because it animates the progressivism that brought me to ACS. The Constitution is a declaration of ideals, and it endures because the meaning and application of these ideals have been shaped over time by precedent, historical experience, practical consequences, and societal change. More so than any other organization, it is ACS that is the standard-bearer for this vision for the Constitution—a just Constitution. Whether the discussion is about race, gender, sexual orientation, immigration, wealth inequality, or a whole host of other issues, a law that applies “equally,” might not be equal at all: the law may lead to just outcomes, and it may not. ACS fills this gap and fights for that justice.

My name is Neal Sarkar, and I am a trial attorney at the complex commercial litigation boutique of Ahmad Zavitsanos Anaipakos Alavi & Mensing in Houston, Texas. My practice focuses on all types of high-stakes commercial litigation, for plaintiffs as well as defendants, in both state and federal court.

I began my legal career in private practice in Chicago, and, looking for an outlet for my progressive passions, I found my way to the board of the local ACS Lawyer Chapter in Chicago.

Ever since, the ACS community has educated me, strengthened me, and amazed me. ACS’s programs and publications give greater accuracy, precision, and clarity to my own policy positions and arguments. At ACS’s annual National Convention, I meet amazing lawyers, students, and academics. Moreover, ACS’s network is second to none; every day, I am secure knowing I can reach out to lawyers and intellectuals around the country on any type of issue.

I moved to Houston in March 2014, without any prior connection to the city, and I was looking for ways to engage with the City’s progressive community. A little over a year later, a few colleagues and I restarted the ACS Houston Lawyer Chapter. I am grateful that ACS afforded me the opportunity to find my place. A few major historical incidents have hit Houston acutely: the Muslim Ban, Hurricane Harvey, and Family Separation. In each case, ACS’s Houston Lawyer Chapter members were able to take a leading role to coordinate, organize, and mobilize the right response that embodied ACS’s values.

Texas is ground zero for many of the issues that are central to ACS’s mission: voting rights, reproductive rights, gerrymandering, the 2020 census, and the list goes on. ACS provides a needed platform to amplify progressive values here and has provided a progressive scaffolding that the Houston community can build upon. I count myself so fortunate to be a part of such a great organization at such a critical time.

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Craig Mastantuono (he/him)
Chair, ACS Milwaukee Lawyer Chapter

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The assistance of counsel in all criminal prosecutions, guaranteed by the 6^th Amendment to our Constitution, means that anyone accused by our government shall have access to a lawyer. To someone that will stand between that person and the government as a legal advocate, to assert all defenses, and ensure that all other constitutional rights of the accused are honored. I’ve spent my career in that role, and the American Constitution Society (ACS) is a powerful institutional ally in my work on behalf of my clients.

My name is Craig Mastantuono, and I am a partner at Mastantuono & Coffee, SC, a firm in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, focused on defending people under investigation and accused of crimes. I am the son and grandson of immigrants from Italy and Mexico, and, like many people of recent immigrant backgrounds, my generation was the first in my family to receive a college education. In law school, I became interested in issues involving the enfranchisement of full citizenship privileges to recent immigrants as I participated in constitutional law class discussions, leading me to a research assistant position with my constitutional law professor, and later to an internship with the Cook County Public Defender’s Office in Chicago. Working with smart, disciplined, talented public defenders, the value of a Constitution that requires the government to pay for lawyers to fight against it when seeking to convict someone of a crime was not lost on me. What could be more enfranchising than providing a lawyer to fight the government at the moment when that government (and the world, it sometimes seems) is against you?

Inspired by the work, I began my career as an Assistant State Public Defender in Wisconsin, and after seven years, opened a private practice. Today our firm is women/minority owned and has employed members of our community among whom are first-generation Americans, who have fought in the Iraq War, and who are DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients, all important members of an energetic litigation group. In addition to our practice, we involve ourselves in shaping policy around criminal justice reform. ACS is an important part of that effort, providing research, networking and informational support on a wide variety of important issues.

ACS started its Milwaukee Lawyer Chapter in the early 2000’s under the leadership of several judges and lawyers from the generation just ahead of me, progressives who wanted to affect the local debate and legal landscape with ACS’s fundamental vision: that the Constitution works best when it serves as a force to improve the lives of all people. I have served as the Chair of the Milwaukee Lawyer Chapter for the past two years, as we attract and engage the next generation of progressive lawyers who share this philosophy, and who work in a wide variety of practices, public and private, large firm and small. In the fall of 2017, the ACS Milwaukee Lawyer Chapter hosted the ACS National Lawyer Convening, a gathering of ACS leaders and members from chapters across the country for a three-day conference. The support and enthusiasm shared by the 125 attendees for our Constitution as a progressive force for good, for the concept that our government is at its best when it helps the most people, for a shared vision of a diverse and independent judiciary, and for the robust debate of constitutional theory, was self-evident and motivating.

In my opinion, ACS provides the associational home and progressive infrastructure for those who want to use their law degrees to fully enshrine and protect all the rights guaranteed by our Constitution. It’s a necessary part of our firm’s efforts to be a voice in our community. It’s the place for those lawyers who want to make a difference.

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Saraswati Singh (she/her)
Co-President, ACS Minneapolis-St. Paul Lawyer Chapter

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The Constitution is for all of us. After all, it begins with “We the People.” I am a proud member of the American Constitution Society, working to make sure the Constitution continues to protect our rights and helps us become “a more perfect Union.”

My name is Saraswati Singh and I am a prosecutor in Minnesota. I was born in Brooklyn, moved to Queens, and went to high school in the Bronx. While at Colgate University, I “studied abroad” in Washington, D.C., where I interned for Senator Hillary Clinton and met Justice Antonin Scalia in my constitutional law class. After college, I worked for then-senator Joe Biden—going to Iowa for his presidential campaign to help people exercise their constitutional right to vote.

I first heard of the American Constitution Society (ACS) in law school. It was the summer of my 1L year. I was working on Elena Kagan’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Senator Ted Kaufman, who was on the Judiciary Committee. The head of the legal team suggested I attend an ACS event. When I arrived, I was equally surprised as I was impressed. There were former U.S. Supreme Court law clerks of all genders and backgrounds explaining how cases have and would impact someone like me. Talking about issues that mattered to women, people of color, the poor, the middle class, and the voiceless. I came back to the office armed with questions and topics that Senator Kaufman may want to consider asking Elena Kagan.

That day, I found my place in the legal world. A place where a progressive law student like me could discuss how the Constitution could become a vehicle to help people with their everyday lives instead of just talking about pie in the sky theories.  ACS provided me an opportunity to learn from the best—from people across the ideological spectrum—on issues that often have no easy answers. ACS has informed and provided me opportunities that I would not have known about otherwise, especially because I did not have any other lawyers in my family.

Because of ACS, I had a chance to work with a federal judge, getting time in the courtroom and helping him assist the Kosovo government with amending their constitution. Because of ACS, I was able to connect with and was recruited by another ACS member—a progressive District Attorney—who values making changes that will rebuild trust in our justice system. Because of ACS, I was able to learn what skills I needed to achieve my goals and was provided with a blueprint to develop that expertise.

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