Monika Kalra Varma '00 Honored with Public Interest Advancement Award
Monika Kalra Varma '00, executive director of the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center, has been honored with the South Asian Bar Association's 2016 Public Interest Achievement Award. Varma was given the award at the organization's 13th annual convention in Houston, Texas.
In her acceptance speech, Varma implored her fellow attorneys to take a more active role in pro bono work. Varma addressed the need for increased attention to human rights issues and stated that the United States is only meeting 20 percent of the civil legal demands of those living in poverty.
"I am grateful for the recognition that the South Asian Bar Association of North America has given to my work. The Public Interest Achievement Award has also provided me with an opportunity to ask that we all serve in every way we can," said Varma. "Organizations like the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center help leverage the incredible expertise that lawyers have to narrow the unacceptable justice gap in our country. Together, as a legal community, we can create a world where our children and their children can experience a system that is fair, just and accessible to all."
Before joining the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center, Varma served as legal officer at the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal and director of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights (renamed Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights). In her current role, Varma is responsible for running the organization which mobilizes lawyers to assist in making legal information, advice, and representation more readily available for low-income persons and the nonprofit organizations and small businesses that serve them in the District of Columbia.