1.5 hours of general CLE credit offered to those attending the ANCA Grassroots “Transnational Justice” Panel, hosted in collaboration with the Armenian Bar Association.

Glendale, CA – The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region announced today that the ANCA Grassroots Transnational Justice panel packed with noted attorneys will be hosted in collaboration with the Armenian Bar Association, allowing attorneys in attendance to obtain 1.5 hours of general CLE credit. Renowned attorneys David Balabanian, Kate Nahapetian, Igor Timofeyev, and Edvin Minassian will share their personal experiences in advocating Armenian rights within the state and federal legal systems while also discussing the current stage and future outlook of pursuing the Armenian Cause in the legal field. The panel will be moderated by none other than the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Armenian Bar Association, Garo Ghazarian.

“The ANCA has had a longstanding close working relationship with the Armenian Bar Association and we couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with them for this panel filled with battle hardened attorneys that will discuss the happenings of Hye Tad at the forefront of the legal arena,” stated ANCA-Western Region Executive Director, Elen Asatryan.

David Balabanian is the founding Chair of the Armenian Bar Association and a litigator with more than 40 years of experience handling complex, high-stakes commercial litigation, including securities, energy and antitrust cases and takeover litigation. He is the former co-chair of the firm’s Securities and Financial Institutions Litigation Group. Recently, he served as lead counsel for MOEX Offshore 2007, a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., Ltd., and its affiliates in the Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill litigation and related investigations.

Balabanian has also represented a series of human rights and public policy groups on a pro bono basis, including the Armenian Bar Association, Armenian National Committee of America, Zoryan Institute for Contemporary Armenian Research and Documentation, Inc., Genocide Education Project, Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action, Center for the Study of Law & Genocide, and the International Human Rights Clinic of the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, in filing amicus briefs at numerous stages of the Movsesian/Arzoumanian Armenian Genocide-era life insurance claims. He also successfully represented Armenian Americans in defending the Mt. Davidson cross and Armenian Genocide memorial in San Francisco from Turkish attempts to silence speech on the Armenian Genocide.

Kate Nahapetian is the Government Affairs Director for the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), where she has focused on reparations and Armenian Genocide-era properties including helping coordinate attorneys who filed amicus briefs for life insurance class actions. Prior to joining the ANCA, Nahapetian worked as an attorney litigating complex class actions. In addition, she worked as a Policy Analyst with the Community Relations Service of the U.S. Department of Justice, which mediates ethnic and racial conflicts.

Nahapetian received a J.D. with a focus on international and human rights law from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in International Studies from American University.

Igor Timofeyev is of counsel at Paul Hastings where he focuses on appellate litigation, as well as international arbitration and dispute resolution. He has represented corporations and business associations in proceedings involving constitutional, foreign affairs, securities, healthcare, patent, and antitrust issues. Throughout the years, Timofeyev has also worked so generously on a pro bono basis, providing tens of thousands of dollars worth of legal expertise to the Armenian community. Before representing plaintiffs and filing the petition for review to the Supreme Court in the Movsesian/Arzoumanian case, Timofeyev also filed an amicus brief supporting Armenian American claims on behalf of federal legislators.

Prior to joining Paul Hastings, Mr. Timofeyev served as director of Immigration Policy and special advisor for Refugee and Asylum Affairs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In that capacity, he advised the Secretary of Homeland Security on immigration, visa, refugee, and asylum policy, and coordinated the department’s regulatory policy on immigration reform, benefits, and enforcement. He also represented the Department of Homeland Security on the G8 Anti-Terrorism and Law Enforcement Working Group, the U.S.-Canada Visa Policy Working Group, and before the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

Edvin Minassian is the managing partner of the Law Firm of Tennenhouse, Minassian and Adham and the current Chairman Ex Officio of the Armenian Bar Association, which is a global network of legal professionals of Armenian descent who work to continuously push for justice and Armenian-rights issues at a local, national and global level. A devoted member of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Minassian has served the Western Diocese in various capacities including member of the Protocol and Government Relations Committee, Primate’s Circle of Friends, Legal Counseling and various AD HOC Committees. He is also the current Chair of the Board of Trustees of Organization of Istanbul Armenians.

Recently, Minassian has taken on the task of writing a column for Agos – Hrant Dink’s newspaper, concentrating on issues pertaining to the United States’ Foreign Policies regarding Armenians, and non-Armenians alike.

Garo Ghazarian is currently serving a second term as the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Armenian Bar Association. A Commissioner in the City of Glendale, he is the Chairman of the City’s Civil Service Commission, charged with the oversight of the 1,500 employees of the City, including its Police and Fire Departments. He is the Dean of People’s College of Law (PCL) in Los Angeles. Mr. Ghazarian is the Proprietor and Chief Litigator of a law firm based in Encino, California.

Ghazarian is also an active member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL); Board Member of Mexican American Bar Association-PAC (MABA-PAC), and a member of its Judicial Evaluations Committee; Board Member of Armenian Center for National & International Studies (ACNIS) — a Think Tank based in Yerevan, Armenia, and many other community organizations. On several occasions he has appeared as a guest on CNN/Headline News, Fox TV-LA, and Al Jazeera English TV News. During the past eighteen (18) years, Mr. Ghazarian has lectured extensively to State and Federal Law Enforcement Academies and C.S.I. — Forensic Science Programs in California. He has spoken often to student bodies of many Universities. His presentations entitled “A Culture of Lawfulness,” have been implemented by the National Strategy Information Center (NSIC), in Washington D.C. and have been made a permanent part of several School Districts’ curriculums, both in the U.S. and abroad.

The successful ANCA Grassroots Conference will return on Thanksgiving Weekend, this time in the heart of Hollywood at Loews Hotel. The event brings together academicians, artists, historians, legal experts and political officials who will make presentations about varied topics regarding the myriad aspects of the pursuit of Hye Tad.

The conference is open to the community, but requires registration. Register now by visiting itsmyseat.com/ANCAWR or by calling 818.500.1918. To obtain updates on the conference, like the ANCA Western Region Facebook page at Facebook.com/ANCAWesternRegion or visit ancawr.org.

The ANCA Grassroots Conference will bookend the annual ANCA Gala Banquet, which will take place on Saturday, November 30 at the Roy Dolby Ballroom and will feature a special menu created for the banquet by renowned chef Wolfgang Puck.

This year’s honorees include, Archbishop Parkev Martirossian, Legendary Coach Jerry Tarkanian, Manas Boujikian, Assemblymember Khatcho Achajian, and Ara Soudjian.

The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.

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