Sebastian Shibuya is a second-year law student at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law whose legal work is defined by advocacy, public service, and a commitment to disability rights. His early legal experience includes serving as a teen attorney in Pima County Teen Court, where he evaluated juvenile cases and advocated for fair, rehabilitative outcomes. In law school, he has continued this focus through public service roles, including positions with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and the Arizona Supreme Court, where he contributes to work that directly serves the public. He is also set to extern for a federal district court judge, further strengthening his legal training. Beyond formal roles, Shibuya actively advances legal awareness and accessibility as a leader in student organizations, connecting peers with legal professionals and promoting disability inclusion. His work reflects a strong dedication to using the law as a tool for advocacy and systemic impact.

 

 Paige Miller is a third-year law student at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law whose legal work is deeply rooted in advocacy, particularly in disability rights. Drawing from her lived experience with blindness, she has developed a strong commitment to using the law to advance accessibility and equity. Her legal experience includes internships with the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, where she researched and drafted memoranda and advocacy materials on civil rights issues, and with a Tucson family law firm, where she prepared motions and analyzed procedural and substantive family law matters. She also served with the Montgomery County Public Defender’s Office, assisting clients and drafting expungement petitions. In addition, Miller contributes to legal discourse as a leader at JURIST, writing extensively on U.S. and international law. Her work reflects a consistent dedication to public service, legal research, and expanding access to justice. 

 

A second-year law student at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Ms. Allee is committed to pursue a career in disability civil rights law.  Early experiences ignited her passion for justice and advocacy. She is the current president of the Disabled Law Students Association at ASU and the Director of Law School Relations for the National disabled Law Students Association. 
Ms. Allee has interned with the Disability Rights Arizona and Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy and Innovation.  At Disability Rights Arizona, she worked with clients facing discrimination in housing, education and public accommodations.  She conducted legal research, reviewed cases and helped identify systemic issues impacting the disability community.

Ms. Allee is determined to use her legal career to create change for those with disabilities.  Whether it be barriers in education or advocating for equitable access, she seeks to create spaces where all individuals feel supported and empowered to succeed.

 

Finishing his first year in law school, Mr. Huang serves as a representative for the Disabled Law Students Society at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.  Before attending law school, Mr. Huang worked as a project manager on political campaigns for elected officials who were interested in moving the country towards a just path.  Through this work, he witnessed law firms and non-profits making changes that greatly impacted the law and our culture.  He realized a career in the legal profession would allow him to advocate for those in the same way he had aimed to do in politics.

Mr. Huang has never shied away from hard work.  He served in the Army National Guard, was an emergency medical technician, and worked as a construction worker! In his first year at law school, he was a Junior Fellow with Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project; 1L representative of the Trial Advocacy Group; Recruitment committee chair for the Moot Court; Treasurer of the Dispute Resolution Group; and much more. He also came in second in the Alan Matheson Client Counseling Competition and was a Fennemore Fellow.

Asim is a knowledgeable and dedicated Arizona attorney, shining a bright light on the legal profession in our state. However, to nearly 1 million persons with disabilities in Arizona, Asim's legal work at the ACDL is even more important. Asim works tirelessly to ensure equality of opportunity and independence for persons with disabilities. During the past six years, Asim has worked on behalf of Arizonans with disabilities to obtain access to adequate, non-discriminatory healthcare and mental healthcare as well as to advance rights in, employment, fair housing and public and private accommodations. His legal successes have resulted in significant progress under the Americans with Disabilities Act. For example, he was on the legal team that advocated for and achieved full access to 911 emergency services through text messaging for persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, or other communication disabilities throughout Maricopa County. This example is just one of the many significant outcomes Asim has achieved for Arizonans with disabilities.

Born and raised in Kansas City, MO, Patrick Holkins ventured east to attend Phillips Academy Andover and Harvard University, majoring in government. Patrick was awarded a yearlong public service fellowship by Harvard to promote hearing health services in rural South Africa. He returned to the U.S. in 2010 to begin law school at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, where he took courses in employment and disability law and served as an Articles Editor for the Arizona Law Review. In addition to interning with the Civil Rights Division of the Arizona Attorney General and Pima County Juvenile Court, Patrick worked as a Summer Associate at Relman, Dane & Colfax and as an extern at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - Office of General Counsel, both in Washington, D.C. In August, Patrick will begin a yearlong clerkship with Justice John Pelander at the Arizona Supreme Court. He hopes to pursue a career as a civil rights litigator.

"Law school has provided me with invaluable knowledge and skills that I hope to apply in my future through strong disability advocacy." During Andrew's sophomore year of college, an automobile accident left him completely paralyzed from the waist down. Mr. Reilly states his early viewpoint that his life would now be sedentary was "naive and fantastically wrong." He became active in numerous sports and currently is team captain for the University of Arizona's Men's Wheelchair Basketball team (ranked second in the country).

In addition to being a full time law student and star athlete, Andrew works with outreach programs for disabled veterans and other newly-disabled individuals. Mr. Reilly would like to use his law school and life knowledge to be a strong disability advocate. "I am a better person because of my disability, and I am extremely grateful for my disability and the incredible opportunities that I have gained from it."

Karina will not allow the obstacles in her life to get in the way of her goals and believes they only make her stronger. In 2008, she was accepted to Arizona State University, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. Her goal as a law student, currently a 1L, and a future attorney is to continue her professional development through service in Maricopa County, particularly in National Security Affairs. Her main reasons in choosing this career path are to make a difference one person at a time and to empower others to move this community forward in this ever-changing time. This summer she will study abroad at the Guanajuato Summer Law Institute in Mexico. When she returns, she will extern for Judge Heilman at the Maricopa County Superior Court. In the fall, she will extern for the Eloy Immigration Court. She feels all these experiences and future endeavors will continue to broaden her awareness of the societal needs and help advance justice.

"As a profoundly deaf individual, I have had rights and protections afforded to me virtually my entire life, but I really did not know how to utilize them until I went to law school. I can remember several occasions where I should have had an interpreter to help me out with a given situation—whether it was during soccer practice with my college team, or perhaps during a doctor's visit. I want to practice law because I want to be in a position to help deaf individuals be aware of the rights they have and what they can do."

Mark Sorokin graduated from University of Arizona Rogers College of Law in 2009 and Johns Hopkins University in 2004. Additionally, he obtained his LL.M. in Taxation from NYU in 2010. He has taught American Sign Language to undergraduates, interned with Judge Eckerstrom in Tucson and with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in D.C. He is currently a staff attorney with the EEOC, and volunteers with the US Deaf Soccer Association. In his work with the Association, he used his legal education to help the Association regain and maintain their status as a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization.

Mr. Ivan determined to do everything he could to overcome the constraints imposed by his disability. He and his parents emigrated from Europe shortly after he was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. In addition to adapting to a new language, he had to adapt to progressively losing mobility and, finally, to using a wheelchair. His love of the law brought him to law school after receiving his MBA. Mr. Ivan performs volunteer legal research for a multi-county low income housing initiative, and contributes to the Arizona Justice Project. He enjoys helping others, and hopes that what he does will make a difference in his community.

Ms. McCormick is not only known for her determination and resourcefulness, but also for her strength of character and amazing sense of humor.

After graduating from the University of Arizona in 1997, she began working at the Yuma County Attorneys' office Criminal Division and fell in love with the work, for its mixture of law and social work.

Currently she works for Davis Miles law firm in Mesa and is also licensed to practice law in New Mexico and California. Though her diabetes left her blind in 1986, she states she feels blessed to live in a time with so many ways to deal with being blind.

Mr. Kincaid was disabled in combat during the Gulf war after being exposed to nerve agent called Sarin.  The VA has given him a 60 percent disability rating.  The disability and post war trauma led to Mr. Kincaid to be homeless for several years. 

 

Despite overcoming homelessness, disabilities, and cultural barriers – he is Native American and the first of his family to attend college – Mr. Kincaid currently attends ASU’s law school.  He does not attend law school in hopes of a lucrative career, but so that he can be a strong advocate for the community, both Native and non-Native.   He has advocated for homeless program, is a Sacred Land advocate on the national level, was a youth counselor and troubled youth mentor, and is currently involved in the land mark case to protect the San Francisco Peaks.