Chaldean American Bar Association Returns after Hiatus

CABA leadership celebrating the organization’s comeback at West End.

By Cal Abbo

The Chaldean American Bar Association (CABA) has risen from the ashes. A young and energetic board led by president Rita Soka has big plans for the future of the Chaldean legal community.

CABA hosted its first event in January at the new restaurant and bar West End to kickoff its relaunch. It was well attended, drawing nearly 70 attorneys, judges, students, and other professionals. Even Peter Abbo, one of the founders and the first president of CABA back in the day, attended the event.

This is a stark change from CABA’s past. When the pandemic happened in 2020, the group essentially became inactive, like so many other organizations. Various people reached out to the previous president, Koro Khammo, asking how to get involved or help restart the organization. Those individuals are now the board members charged with leading the new group.

Right now, the leadership consists of seven attorneys and two student liaisons. President Rita Soka, Vice President Joseph Arabbo, Secretary Deion Kathawa, Treasurer Alexander Karana, and Directors Lauren Azzo, Lauren Kallabat, and Brandon Kastaw comprise the core and will each serve a two-year term for the new organization. University of Detroit Mercy Law student Tina Toma and Wayne State University Law student Cameron Jajonie represent the next generation of Chaldean attorneys and help involve students in the operations. Each will serve a one year term, and the organization is looking for more student liaisons.

Soka is proud of the burgeoning organization’s recent restart. In her mind, it’s important to engage the youth as well as the “seasoned veterans” of the Chaldean legal community. The interaction between them can lead to important exchanges of knowledge that can help Chaldeans in unseen ways.

The board needed to be strategic about recruiting from each of these age groups. Thanks to Azzo and Toma, who oversee the organization’s marketing and social media, they were able to reach a large audience via that avenue.

In addition, Soka said she sent 371 emails to past CABA members or attorneys she thought would be interested in joining the organization’s kickoff. The combination of these efforts led to the well-attended kickoff event.

In addition, dozens of law students attended the kickoff party because of Toma and Jajonie’s help. This is something Soka plans for the organization to focus on, as she’s already had her share of interactions with the community’s youth.

Soka, who is also a professor at UDM, travels around metro Detroit speaking to high schoolers, especially Chaldeans. The Chaldean American Student Association (CASA) helps to organize this event, where Soka encourages the students to go into a profession, especially the field of law. “I’m very involved in our youth, to make them aware of the professional world,” she said. “A lot of them don’t have people to look up to.”

One of CABA’s first activities will be putting on “The Chaldean Red Mass,” which they have labeled Raze Smoqa. This refers to an age-old Catholic tradition of Red Mass in which the Church gathers annually with judges, lawyers, professors, students, and anyone related to the legal community to pray and ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit over the following year. UDM has a long-standing tradition of putting on the Red Mass, and Toma started to put the idea together with her school before bringing it to CABA.

“Raze Smoqa will posthumously honor Clarence Dass, a Chaldean attorney who left an indelible mark on the legal profession,” reads the event flyer. “We will also announce the Clarence Dass Memorial Award, annually recognizing a Chaldean attorney who exemplifies Clarence’s dedication and commitment to the legal profession.” The event will be held the evening of April 10 at Saints Peter and Paul Jesuit Church, with a reception to follow at UDM Law.

Dass was an award-winning attorney who was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer in 2017. His death in 2022 as a result of the cancer was a gut-punch for the community. His family still speaks about his compassion, empathy, calming demeanor, and unceasing attitude of service.

This is a good start, then, for CABA, which looks to represent these and other Chaldean values in their work. The organization is open-minded and always looking for fresh ideas on how to connect the Chaldean community in more intimate ways.

One of their ideas is to bring back the annual CABA Gala, at which the group will celebrate all of their members who passed the bar this year. This is another good way, according to Soka, to engage the youth and provide continuity for the organization, which is desperately needed following its near-demise in 2020. Though it may seem strong at the moment, it could only be a representation of the excitement at its relaunch. Sustaining a group like this takes effort, planning, and active engagement.

CABA’s short-term goals are relatively simple, like activating their network of Chaldean legal professionals and engaging other Bar associations. Their long-term goals, on the other hand, are ambitious and could take years to bear fruit.

Brandon Kastaw plans to handle public affairs and politics. While the organization has just restarted and hasn’t accomplished much yet, they plan to connect with politicians, not only for the purpose of assisting our community here, but in order to gather resources and aid the homeland in some way.

The future is bright for CABA and everyone involved. Those interested in the organization are encouraged to follow their social media accounts for updates on events and visit their website, chaldeanlawyers.org.