PAANY Panel: Independence of the Bench and Bar in the U.S. and Pakistan

April 14, 2026, New York, NY.  To welcome the commencement of spring, PAANY hosted a captivating discussion at Alston & Bird LLP with some of the most prominent members of the Pakistani and American legal systems. This distinguished panel featured Hon. Zahid N. Quraishi of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, Hon. Justice (R) Mansoor Ali Shah of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and Professor Margaret L. Satterthwaite, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers. The panel was moderated by Kamil Jamil, Senior Associate at Alston & Bird LLP. 

The Hon. Justice (R) Mansoor Ali Shah was also recognized as PAANY's first honorary member and presented with a plaque to mark this historic moment for the rapidly growing bar association. 

The panel also brought together a wide cross-section of the legal community, including non-Pakistani lawyers and law students in New York. 

The event concluded with a light dinner and networking reception that allowed lawyers and law students to discuss timely issues with the esteemed panelists.