Rising Bukharian Law Students Redefine Community Traditions
t just 19 and 20 years old, Daniela Sarikov and Leah Nektalova are already making waves in the legal world as vice president and president of the Bukharian Law Association (BLA) Law Student Division. Both rising second-year law students at Touro Law School, they represent a new generation of Bukharian women breaking into traditionally male-dominated fields.
Their paths to law school were anything but conventional. Sarikov completed her entire undergraduate degree in just one year through a specialized program at the University of Mount Saint Vincent, cramming 120 credits while simultaneously studying for the LSAT. «It was a busy year,» she says with characteristic understatement. She started her bachelor’s program in August 2023, finished in July 2024, and began law school that same August.
Nektalova took a similar accelerated path, completing her bachelor’s degree in a year and a half. «I always wanted to be challenged academically,» she explains. Both women graduated from their undergraduate programs at the same time and entered law school together.
Building Community from Scratch
The BLA student division began almost by accident. Originally just a lawyers’ group, founder Leo Jacobs expanded it to include law students in August of last year. When elections were announced, both Sarikov and Nektalova threw their hats in the ring after proving themselves on the committee planning BLA’s annual gala.
Jacbos appointed Leah Nektalova as President and Daniela Sarikov as Vice President in November, and they’ve been transforming the student division ever since.
The numbers speak for themselves. The annual gala, which drew both established lawyers and students alike, grew from 77 attendees in its first year to 300 the following year. The student division now boasts 137 members across New York state, connected primarily through Whats App and working together to create networking opportunities that didn’t exist when they started law school.
«A lot of law students got jobs for this summer from that event,» Sarikov notes about the gala’s success. «It was the best networking event for them.»
First-Generation Pioneers
Both women are first-generation Americans whose families immigrated from Central Asia. Nektalova’s parents came from Samarkand, Uzbekistan in the 1990 s, fleeing religious persecution to build better lives in America. Sarikov’s father’s family also came from the Samarkand area, while her mother immigrated from Israel.
«They didn’t have the opportunity to even finish high school because they had to automatically start working,» Sarikov explains about her parents. «They were very pro ‘let our kids have an education and become something’ because they didn’t have that opportunity.»
For Bukharian families, encouraging daughters to pursue demanding careers like law represents a significant cultural shift. «It’s very new for our community for women to pursue careers like this,» Nektalova acknowledges. «It was definitely a shock to my family that I wanted to pursue [law].»
Both faced questions about their career choices. «People would ask, ‘Don’t you want to be a wife and a mother?’ And I’d say, absolutely I can’t wait to be a mom one day. I also really love what I do, and I believe there’s room in my life for both.»
Expanding Horizons
The legal field has traditionally funneled Bukharian law students toward personal injury law, seen as a «safe zone» that aligns with religious principles while offering financial security. But Nektalova and Sarikov are encouraging their peers to explore broader opportunities.
«There are so many personal injury firms. That’s all that some people know,» Nektalova explains. «BLA should really encourage people to step out of their comfort zone because there are so many areas of law.»
Nektalova is currently working at a commercial litigation firm handling business disputes, while Sarikov is currently drawn to civil rights work, particularly landlord-tenant law. «I’m here for the passion,» she says. «If I’m going to do something, I want to do it because I enjoy it.»
Looking Ahead
The Law Student Division has ambitious plans for the coming year, including launching a podcast and expanding mentorship opportunities. They’ve built a nine-person executive board with specific roles–treasurer, event coordinator, public relations–moving beyond the informal structure they started with.
«We have a lot planned for this coming year,» Sarikov says. «We want to make the BLA [Law Student Division] a bigger community than it already is.»
Their recent backyard networking event in Jamaica Estates drew both current and incoming law students, with attendees expressing interest in tax law, real estate, and other specialties beyond personal injury. It’s exactly the kind of expansion Nektalova and Sarikov hope to foster.
As they prepare to hand over leadership in the coming year, both women are proud of what they’ve built. They’ve created not just a student organization, but a community that reflects their families’ immigrant journey while blazing new trails for the next generation of Bukharian professionals.
«It’s amazing for our parents to see that we’re building a community here in the United States when we came from a different country,» Nektalova reflects, «and we’re building a community reflective of where we came from.»
Follow @bukhlawstudents to stay updated on BLA Law Student Division events and opportunities.
By Erin Levi