Category: Press Releases

On November 1, 2018, the Armenian Bar Association’s Student Mentorship Committee, in collaboration with the CLE Committee, organized the “2018 Mentorship Program Reception and Continuing Legal Education Lecture.” The event was hosted by CKR Law and held at a rooftop venue adjacent to their offices in Century City, California. The first two hours of the reception offered over 30 attorneys and students an opportunity to socialize and enjoy drinks and h’orderves while taking in the scenic LA views. The CLE Committee brought a Live Scan vendor on site to assist the attorneys in satisfying their State Bar fingerprinting requirements.

Montebello City Treasurer Ashod Mooradian, a former California State Bar prosecutor, led the CLE lecture on the State Bar’s new rules governing professional responsibility. The event proved to be both fun and informative. The Armenian Bar Association specifically thanks Ovsanna Takvoryan, a Partner at CKR Law, for all her efforts in bringing this event to fruition.

Armenian Bar Association Announces Formation of Standing Committee on Intellectual Property to Foster Continuing Engagement

Begins Planning 2019 Public Servants Dinner

NEW YORK CITY, October 22, 2018 – The Armenian Bar Association surged to a soaring crescendo with its ambitious 2018 Mid-Year Meeting in New York City on Saturday, October 13, chiseling deeply into stone the Armenian Bar’s vanguard position on cutting-edge, legal issues in Armenia and the Diaspora.  More than one hundred lawyers, law students, and business professionals witnessed an important chapter of history-in-the-making,  a groundbreaking, truly phenomenal legal education conference entitled The Startup Revolution: What Are Your Rights and How to Protect Them.

The Startup Revolution Conference, which was the headline event of the Mid-Year Meeting, took place at Columbia Law School on Saturday, after the conclusion of the Armenian Bar’s morning plenary meeting.  The Startup Revolution brought together distinguished industry and thought leaders in the fields of intellectual property law, technology, business, and government, from the United States, Canada, Armenia, and Russia, in four signature panels, to share their knowledge and expertise on what works and what doesn’t in the vital and burgeoning world of startups.  The world-class panels, featuring participants such as the Hon. Grigor Hovhannissian, Armenia’s Ambassador to the United States, and Ara Ohanian, CEO of Systech International, addressed topics such as establishing and growing a startup, raising capital through IPOs, ICOs, and crowdfunding, protecting the key assets of any startup – intellectual property and trade secrets, and cybersecurity.

The Startup Revolution was attended by lawyers and entrepreneurs representing startups in various lifecycle stages, in industries from IT to biotech to finance, from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, Texas, Michigan, Illinois, Oklahoma, Utah, Florida, Virginia, Canada and Russia.  The program was streamed live, and people participated from three locations in Armenia – Yerevan, Gyumri, and Vanadzor – and another in Stepanakert, Artsakh.

Robert Avetisyan, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh (Artsakh) in the United States, delivered the luncheon keynote speech, and the Hon. Mher Margaryan, Armenia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations also attended.

The Startup Revolution was the brainchild of Souren Israelyan, Co-Vice Chair of the New York | New Jersey | Connecticut Chapter of the Armenian Bar Association, and Emma Arakelyan, CEO and Co-Founder of Orion Worldwide Innovations LLC and Managing Director of her multimedia company Open Mind Productions LLC, who took the lead in putting together the substantive program.

This year’s Mid-Year Meeting was scheduled to coincide with the historic “Armenia!” exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, “the first major exhibition to explore the remarkable artistic and cultural achievements of the Armenian people in a global context over fourteen centuries.”  The Mid-Year Meeting opened on Friday, October 12 with a special, private lecture about “Armenia!” given by Dr. C. Griffith Mann, the Michel David-Weill Curator in Charge of The Met’s Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters, and one of the show’s curators.  The lecture was followed by a visit to the exhibition, and a Welcome-to-New York cocktail reception at the Liederkranz Foundation in the historic Phipps Mansion, nearby.  The 2018 Mid-Year Meeting closed on Saturday evening with an Armenian Wine and Brandy Farewell Reception at Columbia Law School, after the conclusion of The Startup Revolution program.

To harness the energy created by The Startup Revolution and foster the formation of professional networks around its subject matter, the Board of Governors of the Armenian Bar Association voted on Thursday, October 18 to create a standing committee on Intellectual Property  The committee will be the forum for members of the Armenian Bar to remain professionally engaged in this vitally-important space, and to assume a leadership role in the flourishing startup ecosystems of Armenia and beyond.  All those interested in joining the committee are encouraged to contact info@armenianbar.org.

The Startup Revolution is the first of many enterprising, substantive programs to come, sponsored and organized by the New York | New Jersey | Connecticut Chapter of the Armenian Bar Association, aimed to have far-reaching impact.  The next major event on the calendar is the 2019 Public Servants Dinner at the Yale Club in New York, on April 25, 2019.  Save the date.

To download a commemorative copy of the 2018 Mid-Year Meeting Program, click here.

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YEREVAN, Armenia ‒ On September 27, 2018 lawyers and entrepreneurs came together to mark the opening of the Technology and Innovation Legal Clinic of the American University of Armenia (AUA) LL.M Program. The event was hosted by the Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center (EPIC). The Legal Clinic is funded by the generous contribution of the Armenian Bar Association.

Opening remarks were delivered by Adelaida Baghdasaryan, LL.M Program Chair, and Dr. Michael Kouchakdjian, Director of EPIC. A workshop followed led by Stepan S. Khzrtian, Esq. (LL.M ‘10), founding partner of LegalLab. The workshop content was specifically designed to incite interest in launching a startup on the spot and to cover topics of relevance to U.S. corporate laws for Armenian tech startups.

Khzrtian kicked-off the workshop by announcing the launch of a new tech startup seeking on-the-spot answers to questions as to what it would be doing and what it would look like. Two participants came forth as the budding startup founders of “I.F.Car, Inc.,” a Delaware C-Corp. “We will be engaged in promoting innovation through seminars and trainings,” said one founder, “… and invent flying cars in the process through cutting-edge research!” added the other founder. Seated on opposite sides of the hall, these two founders were just meeting each other on the spot. A corporate lawyer chimed in, “but first, let’s see what each founder will bring in to the startup and how the shares of this new corporation will be allocated between you two.”

Engaging the creative entrepreneurial minds and the methodical legal thinking assembled in the hall, Khzrtian guided the participants through a high-level overview of some of the most important concepts of relevance to startup founders and lawyers. Topics covered ranged from the pre-incorporation founders’ agreement to incorporation documents, on to issuing capital stock and devising employee options, instituting and enforcing confidentiality and intellectual property protection, and raising capital through convertible notes and SAFEs. Throughout the discussion, Khzrtian also made reference to the relevant provisions in the Armenian law.

By the end of the workshop, the participants had successfully set-up a new corporation with all the pillar components of a corporation  in place, including shareholders and seed capital, a Board of Directors, C-suite management, and options-incentivized CTO and advisor.

LOS ANGELES – On July 21, 2018, the National Armenian Law Students Association (NALSA) held its annual elections for officers, and elected Michael Guloyan from Southwestern as the chair of NALSA.  

The Armenian Bar welcomed Michael to its Board as the student representative. The group also elected its other officers.  “We have a very enthusiastic group this year” said ArmenBar Vice Chairperson Lucy Varpetian adding that “we’re looking forward to working with them closely.” 

The Armenian Bar would like to extend a special thank you to Sarkis Yeretsian, who completed his term as NALSA chair.  Also a big thank you to Aleksan Giragosian, who as co-chair of the Student Affairs Committee is assisting this group navigate the transition.  Lastly, thank you to Davit Zargaryan for his vision for creating this group.

Learn more about the Armenian Law Student Groups here or check out our Student resources tab on our home page for opportunities to get involved.

Article originally published in the San Francisco Examiner.

We traveled to a place that was majestic and breathtakingly beautiful where few have been fortunate enough to visit. You cannot go there by plane because the neighboring country has threatened to shoot down all civilian aircraft that fly there. To make matters even more interesting, if you tried to navigate your way in a car using Google Maps, the app will essentially tell you that this mystical place does not exist.

What we saw and experienced was surreal. Stunning green rolling hills and mountainous landscapes that rival those of Switzerland and happy people who are making the most of their humble life circumstances. It’s a place where $1,000 lost in cash is returned to its rightful owner without a second thought, where a female-majority Supreme Court is constantly looking to the West to improve its decision-making processes, and where the Human Rights Defender protects the rights of not only the people in his country, but those of all humanity, including enemy combatants.

We are not talking about a fictitious utopia, but rather a real place — The Republic of Artsakh — a country we visited in May with the Armenian Bar Association for its annual meeting. We traveled there with a delegation of nearly 50 people, including judges, lawyers, human rights advocates, journalists, doctors and students.

If you have not heard of Artsakh, you’re likely not alone. Artsakh is a highly contested, landlocked region just north of Iran, east of the Republic of Armenia and west of Azerbaijan. Less than 100 years ago, Artsakh was a part of Armenia (and had been for millennia). Nonetheless, Artsakh was arbitrarily carved out of Armenia in 1921 by the Soviet Union and given to Azerbaijan as an autonomous province, as part of the Soviet divide and conquer strategy.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, in December 1991, Artsakh held an independence referendum in which 82 percent of all voters participated and 99 percent voted for independence. In response, Azerbaijan launched an all-out war against the Republic. A cease fire agreement took hold in 1994, which is still currently in place.

Due to political reasons, no United Nations member states have recognized the nation. Despite this fact, Artsakh has thrived as a forward thinking, progressive, democratic state that celebrates the rule of law.

Since declaring independence in 1991, Artsakh has successfully declared more than 10 parliamentary and presidential elections — all of which have been praised by international observers as free, fair, and transparent.

For about a quarter century now, Artsakh has been governing its own affairs and establishing democratic values and institutions. Recently the late Anthony Bourdain visited Artsakh as part of CNN’s “Parts Unknown” and exposed the treasures of Artsakh’s authentic Armenian cuisine, history and hospitality to worldwide viewership. It’s a place where many other tourists from around the world would also visit; however, there is one major fact that poses a special hindrance: the absence of air travel to and from Artsakh.

The Republic has an airport near the capital city of Stepanakert, which was reconstructed in 2009 and is currently operational. Artsakh authorities announced that they planned to launch commercial flights in 2011.

However, due to threats by Azerbaijan to shoot down any civilian aircraft, the airport has remained closed since 1994. Undeniably, the reality of air travel provides tremendous social benefits to people, including providing humanitarian aid and access for families to reunite and visit loved ones. More than that, however, air transport is a fundamental pillar of our global society, and civilians living or visiting Artsakh should have that basic right as well.

United Nations’ Article 13 has specifically declared travel as a human right. Article 13 of the U.N.s’ 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states the following: “Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of the state. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.”

A policy imposed by a neighboring country that essentially blocks, threatens or in any way prevents people from traveling to and from a territory is not just a violation of a global U.N. agreement, but is an offense to the moral imperatives of our globalized world. Although the Republic of Artsakh is not recognized by U.N. member states, the human rights of the people of Artsakh still need to be protected.

The lack of an operating airport struck us more than any other observation during our time there. Given the windy and mountainous terrain, traveling by car from neighboring Armenia can be difficult and time-consuming (upwards of six hours). Travel by air would give people who otherwise would be unable to travel by car the ability to get to Artsakh in less than 35 minutes. Air travel also facilitates the exchange of ideas, culture, art and cuisine and fosters the development of infrastructure and commerce.

We write this article knowing full well the threat of being placed on Azerbaijan’s “PNG” list which identifies people as personas non grata, for simply having travelled to part of one’s ancestral homeland.

According to Azerbaijan, traveling to Artsakh without Baku’s permission is considered a criminal offense and the country has compiled a list of some 700 government officials, journalists, activists and celebrities (as was done to Bourdain) who have been outlawed. Unfortunately, many freedoms and rights are not respected by Azerbaijan’s government.

We believe the rest of the world would agree that all human beings deserve the right to access civilian air travel free from threats from a neighboring country to shoot down and murder civilians. It is time for Azerbaijan to enter the 21st century and publicly acknowledge that basic human right.

Alex Bastian is deputy chief of staff for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, and Vanna Kitsinian is a Los Angeles-based civil litigation attorney and Armenian Bar Association board member.

At its 29th Annual Meeting held in the majestic mountain city of Shushi, the Armenian Bar’s Board of Governors unanimously approved the establishment of the Artsakh Law Initiative Committee—otherwise known as ALIC, an acronym with the symbolic meaning of a positive “wave” in Armenian.

“This newly-formed committee comes at the ideal time of Artsakh’s emergence as the magnificent example of a nation and people deserving of dignity, poise and recognition.  We will pour all of our goodwill and know-how into seeing that Artsakh’s legal structures and institutions are strong, transparent, and inspiring of its citizens’ confidence.” said Armenian Bar Co-Vice Chairperson Lucy Varpetian.

Armenian Bar Chairman Gerard Kassabian offered the following historical perspective, “In a show of just how important the continuing peace and developing prosperity of Artsakh are to the Armenian Bar, in 2015, we amended our official mission statement for the first time since our inception in 1989.  In our Arstakh Amendment, the Armenian Bar has declared that we steadfastly recognize the sovereignty of the Republic of Artsakh and that we will endeavor to bring about the international recognition of its undeniable statehood and its acceptance among the family of nations.”

As for the structure and organization of the new committee, ALIC Chairman Saro Kerkonian had this to say, “ALIC will centralize the numerous legal initiatives that our devoted group of lawyers and specialists has undertaken in Artsakh and the programs—some  that are already underway–will be developed under the authority granted by the Board of Governors.  The health and longevity of Artsakh are our top priorities and we will do everything humanly possible to help with that and, in so doing, the phrase ‘one nation, one people’ will take on true meaning.”

With the guidance and leadership of the Honorable Ruben Melikyan, Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender and Ombudsman–and a veteran Armenian Bar member– the Association has already implemented and funded two programs in Artsakh:  the first is a dynamic legal clinic offering free services in the capital city of Stepanakert, in collaboration with Artsakh State University.   The clinic was launched in October 2017 and, through its staff of dedicated teachers and gifted students, provides much-needed professional assistance to Artsakh residents who might not otherwise have access to or knowledge about the legal system.   At its Board of Governors meeting in Yerevan, on May 28, 2018, between celebrations of the First Republic of Armenia, the Board renewed the organization’s commitment to the Artsakh Pro Bono Legal Clinic by authorizing the funding of the clinic office and staff for an additional year.

The second program actually transports young Armenian Bar members to Artsakh, where they will live and work during an 8-week internship program at the office of the Artsakh Human Rights Defender.   From a field of several highly-qualified candidates, UCLA law student Anahid Sargsyan and Notre Dame law student Davit Avagyan were chosen as the Armenian Bar’s inaugural legal interns.   They will spend two months learning and assisting Mr. Melikyan and the Human Rights Defender’s office with legal research, evidence gathering and legal document preparation.

The Board of Governors also agreed to furnish logistical and monetary support to a moot court team from Artsakh State University, which will participate in a mock trial competition in Nuremberg, Germany.   The funds will go towards underwriting the costs of travel and lodging for the team.  Also, while in Stepanakert, delegations of Armenian Bar members met with Artsakh’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Masis Mayilyan, and with Chief Justice Narine Narimanyan and the Associate Justices of Artsakh’s Supreme Court, which notably consists of a female majority.

Following the success of the meeting with Artsakh’s Supreme Court, swift consensus was reached among the Board members that arrangements will be made in the near futrure to facilitate a judicial exchange whereby Artsakh Supreme Court Justices will be brought to the United States to meet their colleagues in the Supreme, Appellate and Trial Courts in America.

Alex Hrag Bastian, a key Armenian Bar representative who works in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office summed up the importance of ALIC, “A strong and independent judiciary is a pillar of any country’s democracy and we have chosen to invest who we are and what we do best into the development of Artsakh’s legal institutions.  We are proud to partner with the Justice Ministry and the Supreme Court to enable this exchange, which will be of benefit to all who participate.  We can’t wait to open our doors and welcome in our sisters and brothers from Artsakh!”

For those interested in supporting the work of the Armenian Bar Association’s Artsakh Law Initiative Committee, please contact us at Info@ArmenianBar.org or make a donation here.