Seattle lawyer to receive ABA Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence Sharon L. Corbitt award

The American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence will award Riddhi Mukhopadhyay, executive director, Sexual Violence Law Center in Seattle, Washington, the 2022 Sharon L. Corbitt Award.

This annual award will be presented in a virtual ceremony Thursday, July 28, from 4 to 5 p.m.  The award is for outstanding work on behalf of victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

The following people will speak at the ceremony: Jonathan Bing, shareholder, Greenberg Traurig LLP; New York, New York; Grace Huang, director of Policy, Asian-Pacific Institute for Gender-Based Violence in Seattle, Washington; Margaret Drew, associate professor of Law, University of Massachusetts Law School; Dartmouth, Massachusetts; Maricarmen Garza, chief of programs, Tahirih Justice Center; Houston, Texas; Karla George, deputy director, Bronx Family Law Project, Sanctuary for Families; New York, New York; and Andrew King-Ries, chair, ABA Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence and professor, Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana in Missoula.

Corbitt Award recipient Mukhopadhyay oversees the Sexual Violence Law Center which protects the privacy, safety, and civil rights of survivors of sexual violence through free holistic legal assistance and representation. She is also on the Shared Leadership Team of Legal Voice, which works to advance justice and build community power for all women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people across the Pacific Northwest.

Mukhopadhyay has more than 20 years of experience providing services to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. She is an interpreter (speaks fluent Hindi, Bengali, and
Spanish), works as an advocate for immigrant survivors, a hospital advocate accompanying rape survivors and as an attorney.

She has worked to advance the rights of survivors at the state and local levels. She has been engaged in litigation, policy advocacy, and public education. Her work and expertise has led to significant legislative changes in Washington that allow increased access to safety and justice for survivors.

She started her legal career as a Berkeley Law Foundation Legal Fellow and staff attorney with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project where she represented immigrant detainees with mental health and competency issues, including survivors of trauma and gender-based violence. She was co-counsel on Franco-Gonzales v Holder, a class action lawsuit on behalf of hundreds of immigration detainees in California, Arizona, and Washington who have severe cognitive disabilities.

An adjunct faculty at the University of Washington School of Law and Seattle University School of Law, Mukhopadhyay received the 2017 Jeanette Williams Award from the Seattle Women’s Commission and the 2021 Golden Tennis Shoe Award from Senator Patty Murray.

She earned her law degree from Seattle University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from Duke University.

To watch Mukhopadhyay receive the 2022 Sharon L. Corbitt Award during the virtual ceremony visit Thursday, July 28, visit www.americanbar.org/groups/domestic_violence.