Cornerstone Award winner Sahar Dar (right), associate director of John Marshall’s Career Services Office, accepts congratulations from Chintan Amin, the North American South Asian Bar Association’s vice president for public relations, during the awards ceremony.
Sahar Ali Dar, associate director of The John Marshall Law School’s Career Services Office, has been named a recipient of the Cornerstone Award by the North American South Asian Bar Association (NASABA).
Dar, who was selected for the award because of her extensive pro bono legal work and contributions to the community, is one of the first Pakistani-American attorneys to receive the award, and she is its youngest recipient.
“I am honored to be included among such an esteemed group of South Asian attorneys from across North America who have received this prestigious award in recognition of their many contributions to their local community, the South Asian community and to the legal profession as a whole,” Dar said. “Their passion and dedication has been so inspirational to me. It is my sincere hope that my work will inspire attorneys to dedicate their time, energies and talents to public service in the same way.”
Dar is president of the Pakistani American Bar Association (PABA) and vice president of Affiliate Relationships of NASABA.
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Dar practiced corporate law at Schiff Hardin LLP in Chicago before joining the staff at John Marshall. While there, she managed a pro bono family law program through Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS) and Apna Ghar, a local domestic violence agency. More recently, she expanded the program to a citywide legal clinic and serves as its director.
Patricia Brown Holmes, a Schiff Hardin partner and co-chair of the Diversity Committee, was one of the attorneys who nominated Dar for the award.
“Sahar is most deserving of this recognition,” Holmes said. “She is dedicated, hard-working, enterprising and committed to public service in a variety of arenas. She works tirelessly for so many people and organizations.”
In addition to her work with Apna Ghar, Dar has been an active volunteer for the National Immigrant Justice Center and has successfully secured legal immigration status (including asylum) for victims of domestic and sexual violence. She also has organized PABA’s annual Lawyers in the Classroom program through the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago and has served as chairwoman of the Associate Board of the Just the Beginning Foundation, an organization that aims to increase the diversity of the judiciary and the legal profession by supporting students of color and other underrepresented groups.
Dar holds a bachelor’s degree in economics, international studies, and psychology from Case Western Reserve University, and a business certificate from The Wharton School.
Dar received the award at NASABA’s convention in Los Angeles in June.
“NASABA is very honored to celebrate all that Sahar has done is such a short time. She is a very involved member who has shown true dedication to the local chapter and NASABA,” said Jolsna John, the organization’s president.
NASABA serves as the umbrella organization for 27 regional South Asian Bar Associations throughout the United States and Canada and represents a unified voice for South Asian attorneys.