Sadina Montani Wins as D.C. Bar President-Elect
June 07, 2024
Sadina Montani, a partner at Crowell & Moring LLP, has been elected president-elect of the D.C. Bar for the 2024–2025 term. Montani will serve in that position for one year starting July 1 before becoming president in 2025. With Montani’s installation, incumbent President-Elect Shaun M. Snyder will become the Bar’s 53rd president.
Montani, an employment lawyer, has served the D.C. Bar in many capacities. In prior years she has served on the Bar’s Nominations, Leadership Development, and Screening Committees, in addition to long-standing service with the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center’s Nonprofit & Small Business Legal Assistance Programs.
“I am honored to have been elected by the D.C. Bar membership to serve as president-elect. It has been a pleasure getting to know [president-elect candidate] Hardeep Grover and the other talented candidates for Bar leadership positions throughout the election process,” Montani said. “I am confident the future of the Bar is bright, and I’m committed to making a positive impact on our legal community. I am particularly eager to support and lift up our voluntary bar associations and D.C. Bar Communities.”
A graduate of the George Washington University Law School, Montani began her legal career at Dentons, followed by a 10-year tenure at Vedder Price that saw her rise through the ranks to become a shareholder. In September 2020, she joined Crowell & Moring, where she counsels employers on compliance issues, discrimination claims, and internal investigations. As part of the firm’s innovation technology committee, she has been involved in discussions about the impact of artificial intelligence technology on the legal profession.
Montani is also active in voluntary bars, serving as president of the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia from 2020 to 2021, a time that put her leadership skills to the test with keeping members engaged professionally and personally during the pandemic.
D.C. Bar members also elected Joshua L. Mogil, a federal attorney, to a one-year term as treasurer-elect. Incumbent Treasurer-Elect Mark A. Salzberg of Squire Patton Boggs will become treasurer upon Mogil’s installation.
Elected to the Bar’s Board of Governors for three-year terms are Shirley Diaz of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; Belinda Edwards Taylor, a nonprofit staff attorney; Kathryn “Kate” Rakoczy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia; Leila S. Bham, a federal government attorney; and Diane A. Seltzer of The Seltzer Law Firm.
Elected to the American Bar Association House of Delegates for two-year terms are Laura A. Possessky of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Lorelie S. Masters of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, and Lucy L. Thomson of Livingston PLLC.
Of the 88,261 D.C. Bar members who were eligible to vote, 7,563 cast their ballots, for an 8.6 percent turnout. A complete breakdown of the election results follows.
Office | Candidate | Votes | |
President-Elect | Sadina Montani | 4,624 | Elected |
Hardeep Grover | 2,506 | ||
Treasurer-Elect | Joshua L. Mogil | 4,589 | Elected |
Phillip L. Husband | 2,338 | ||
Board of Governors | Shirley Diaz | 3,290 | Elected |
Belinda Edwards Taylor | 3,264 | Elected | |
Kathryn “Kate” Rakoczy | 3,242 | Elected | |
Leila S. Bham | 3,045 | Elected | |
Diane A. Seltzer | 3,029 | Elected | |
Anthony J. Coppolino | 3,023 | ||
Caroline E. F. Frauman | 2,527 | ||
Brian K. Flowers | 2,495 | ||
Kevin D. Minsky | 2,323 | ||
Denis C. Mitchell | 2,122 | ||
Alberto J. Rivera | 1,801 | ||
Adriaen M. Morse Jr. | 898 | ||
ABA House of Delegates | Laura A. Possessky | 4,461 | Elected |
Lorelie S. Masters | 4,056 | Elected | |
Lucy L. Thomson | 3,208 | Elected | |
Madina Lokova | 3,139 | ||
Kathleen B. Havener | 2,546 |
The D.C. Bar Communities also elected new steering committee members to open seats:
Community | Candidate | Votes | |
Administrative Law and Agency Practice | Krystal Wilson | 146 | Elected |
Daniel Wolff | 89 | Elected | |
Erich Reimer | 80 | Elected | |
Paul D. Cullen Jr. | 77 | ||
Samuel Keenan | 76 | ||
Michael Stern | 75 | ||
Yveline Dalmacy | 30 | ||
Frederic Schwartz | 16 | ||
John Newell | 13 | ||
Antitrust and Consumer Law | Don Resnikoff | 99 | Elected |
Brian Scarpelli | 95 | Elected | |
Arts, Entertainment, Media and Sports Law | Kimberly Sullivan | 95 | Elected |
Kassandra Ramsey | 85 | Elected | |
Audriana Osborne | 62 | ||
John Newell | 13 | ||
Corporation, Finance and Securities Law | Wenchi Hu | 163 | Elected |
Ryan Brewer | 53 | ||
John Newell | 15 | ||
Criminal Law and Individual Rights | Robin M. Earnest | 99 | Elected |
Kimberly Phillips | 96 | Elected | |
Meghan Skelton | 70 | Elected | |
District of Columbia Affairs | Angela Parsons | 111 | Elected |
Lisa Leibow | 94 | Elected | |
Matthew Cohen | 70 | Elected | |
Craig Leen | 69 | ||
Environment, Energy and Natural Resources | Erin Grisby | 104 | Elected |
Abhi-Shék Jain | 74 | Elected | |
Gregory Simmons | 66 | ||
Estates, Trusts and Probate Law | Judith del Cuadro-Zimmerman | 112 | Elected |
Maureen Conly | 95 | Elected | |
Audriana Osborne | 49 | ||
Charles James | 43 | ||
Andrew White | 11 | ||
Family Law | Emily Cunniff | 28 | Elected |
Cheryl Chado | 23 | ||
Jillian Morris | 22 | ||
Melissa McClure | 19 | ||
Josette Barsano | 14 | ||
Alexandria Horton | 1 | ||
Government Contracts | Robyn Burrows | 86 | Elected |
Leslie Edelstein | 64 | Elected | |
Kevin Barnett | 56 | Elected | |
Thomas Coulter | 49 | Elected | |
Daniel Russell | 48 | ||
Erich Reimer | 43 | ||
Geoffrey Goodale | 29 | ||
Thomas Crist | 18 | ||
John Newell | 9 | ||
Health Law | Chelsea Daniels | 61 | Elected |
Robert Howard | 49 | Elected | |
Lindsay Burrows | 39 | Elected | |
Elizabeth LaPaugh | 36 | ||
Gregory Starks | 28 | ||
William Richmond | 23 | ||
Denise Barnes | 19 | ||
Matthew Monroe | 9 | ||
Intellectual Property Law | Akiyah Francis | 45 | Elected |
Brian Brookey | 37 | ||
Barnabas Fekete | 31 | ||
Audriana Osborne | 30 | ||
Robert Scheffel | 12 | ||
John Newell | 6 | ||
International Law | James Newland | 65 | Elected |
Priya Royal | 52 | ||
Gene Burd | 17 | ||
John Hocker | 3 | ||
Labor and Employment Law | Erika White | 120 | Elected |
John Newell | 22 | ||
Law Practice Management | Paulina Proper | 116 | Elected |
Michael Kitzman | 11 | ||
Litigation | Alicia Clausen | 197 | Elected |
Kevin Clark | 160 | Elected | |
Kathleen Havener | 142 | Elected | |
Ryan Band | 132 | ||
Courtney Forrest | 71 | ||
Savian Gray-Sommerville | 32 | ||
John Newell | 25 | ||
Public Interest and Courts | Don Resnikoff | 91 | Elected |
Brittany Sims Nwankwoala | 68 | Elected | |
Wesley Paisley | 26 | ||
Real Estate, Housing and Land Use | John Muir | 89 | Elected |
Audriana Osborne | 65 | ||
Taxation | Priya Royal | 98 | Elected |
Lauren (Yonsoo) Kim | 32 | ||
John Bentil | 19 |
All newly elected officers, board members, and delegates will be recognized at the D.C. Bar’s Celebration of Leadership on June 20 at the Westin Washington, DC Downtown Hotel.