Scholar Entries - Hispanic Lawyers Scholarship Fund of Illinois

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Are you a past recipient of an Hispanic Lawyers Scholarship Fund award?

Name

Sarah Sadati

Current Mailing Address

5252 S Cornell Ave
Apt 1509
Chicago, IL, IL 60615
United States
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If mailing address is temporary, expected date when current mailing address is no longer valid

05/24/2026

Permanent Address (only if different from Current Mailing Address)

16288 Mira Vista Ln.
Delray Beach, FL 33446
United States
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Phone

(561) 289-7840

Connection to Illinois

Law student in Illinois (UChicago)

In what city do you intend to practice law upon graduation?

New York City

Name of Law School

University of Chicago Law School

Class year

3rd year law student

Full Time or Part Time Student?

Full Time

Date you began attending THIS law school

09/18/2023

Anticipated Graduation Date

06/06/2026

Current GPA

Unknown

Law School Honors, Awards or Special Recognitions

Provost-appointed Student Member of the University-Wide Student Disciplinary Committee

Name of Undergraduate Institution

Yale University

Degree (BA, BSE, etc.) and Concentration/Major

BA in Global Affairs and in French

Undergraduate Graduation Date

05/22/2023

GPA

5.86

Undergraduate Honors, Awards, or Special Recognitions

Distinction in Global Affairs; Distinction in French

Were you employed in 2025?

yes

If yes, please identify your employer(s).

University of Chicago; Kirkland & Ellis LLP

What was your immediate family’s (including you and your spouse or domestic partner, if applicable) estimated income from all sources for the 2025 Tax Year?

42,000

Do you expect to be employed in 2026?

yes

If yes, please identify your employer(s).

University of Chicago; Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

Please estimate your immediate family’s (including you and your spouse or domestic partner, if applicable) income from all sources for the 2026 Tax year

58,250

Please estimate your parent's average annual household income over the last five years

200,000/year

Do your parents own or rent their home? Please describe, if necessary

Own

Describe your parents' health insurance situation. Do they have employer-sponsored health insurance, health insurance through the exchange, or no health insurance?

Employer-sponsored health insurance

LIST below your total EXPENSES for attending law school for ONE YEAR (Please refer to example in FAQs)

Total Tuition Cost $

83,316

Books Cost $

1,300

Fees Cost $

4,293

Housing Cost $

27,000

Food Cost $

7,200

Other Costs $ (describe)

3,000 (transportation)

Total Expenses $ (add above entries)

126,109

LIST below your total FUNDING sources you plan to use to pay for these expenses (Please refer to example in FAQs)

Student Loans $

115,243

Scholarships and Grants $

5,000

Personal Contribution (Savings/Employment) $

Family Contribution $ (include parents, spouse, partner, etc.)

7,000

Total Funding $ (add above entries)

127,243

For 2Ls and 3Ls, what is your current TOTAL loan debt from the previous law school years?

333,993 (including this year)

Please list any community service activities with which you have been involved in the last ten years, paying particular attention to activities in support of the Hispanic community. For each activity, please include the dates of your participation, a short description of the organization and the community they serve, and a description of the activity you performed to help them. (Please read FAQs before completing)

(1) Education Accessible for All (2020-Current): Education Accessible for All is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the Ngäbe-Buglé people of Panama—one of the country’s largest Indigenous communities—by addressing barriers to education, particularly those worsened by the lack of technology for remote learning after COVID-19. As President, I manage the organization's communications with the Centro de Orientación Educativa Especializada, maintain records and financial documentation, organize donation and inventory spreadsheets while tracking community needs to ensure equitable access to digital learning tools.

(2) Latine Law Students Association (LLSA) (September 2023-Current)
LLSA at the University of Chicago Law School fosters an academic, professional, and social community that supports Latine law students and promotes their representation in the legal profession. As a 1L Representative, I helped organize speaker events and lunch talks, drafted and posed questions for invited guests, and participated in interviews that highlighted their experiences and career paths.

(3) Central Americans for Empowerment (August 2022- May 2023): La Casa Cultural is Yale’s cultural center dedicated to celebrating Latinx heritage and supporting student organizations that promote community and cultural awareness. Within this space, Central Americans for Empowerment fosters connection and advocacy among Central American students. As Communications Chair, I created weekly meeting agendas, recorded notes and attendance, managed internal communications, promoted engagement through social media, and helped organize elections, meetings, and community events.

(4) Yale Interpreters Network (August 2022-May 2023): The Yale Interpreters Network provides free interpretation and translation services to help Limited English Proficient community members access social, legal, medical, and educational resources. As a volunteer interpreter, I dedicated time to facilitate high-sensitivity interviews—such as those involving domestic violence—and provide assistance in Spanish or French to non-English-speaking individuals in the New Haven community.

(5) Yale Literary Translation Collective (August 2022-May 2023): The Yale Literary Translation Collective is a community of undergraduate and graduate students dedicated to translating literary works from any language into English. As a workshop member, I provide constructive feedback, editing assistance, and brainstorming support to fellow translators during monthly sessions.

(6) The Women's Network (August 2021-May 2023): The Women’s Network connects collegiate women with professional mentors and resources to foster leadership, networking, and career development. As Vice President of the Yale chapter, I managed the organization’s calendar, recorded and distributed meeting minutes, and tracked membership and goal progress. Previously, as Lead Ambassador, I oversaw recruitment, conducted interviews, coordinated biweekly meetings with Campus Ambassadors, and developed outreach strategies to grow campus engagement. I first joined as a member, participating in national and on-campus events and promoting TWN’s mission through social media outreach.

Please provide a statement describing your background and focus your statement on your reasons for pursuing a legal career and your legal career goals. This statement is important. Please give it appropriate attention. (min. 1000 characters) (Please read FAQs before completing)

When people meet me, they often ask, “So, what are you?” I am always excited to answer because I am proud to be Panamanian, Persian, and American, and I have never felt the need to choose between them. My identity has been shaped by learning to balance these cultures and, increasingly, by using that balance to navigate the institutions like schools and governments that structure opportunity in people’s lives. My Persian roots come from my father, who left Iran in 1984 after the revolution. He believes in freedom and independence more than anyone I know and has taught me that, as a woman, simple things like my hair and my ability to speak my mind are liberties that can never be taken for granted. My Panamanian mother grew up in a predominantly Catholic country with a mulatto father and a mestiza mother who valued hard work and a strong familial network above all else. From her, I inherited a belief in perseverance and an obligation to show up for my family and community. Growing up in a home shaped by these different histories required constant negotiation and compromise—celebrating Nowruz instead of Western New Year, observing Panama’s Mother’s Day on December 8 as well as in May, and navigating a household where my father remained Muslim while my sister and I were raised Catholic. Over time, I learned that I did not have to fit into one category; I could exist in the space between cultures and allow my identity to evolve. That flexibility has become one of my greatest strengths: it allows me to bridge differences and see how systems can either exclude or empower people whose lives cross borders in similar ways.

Early in my undergraduate years, my heritage and family history pushed me to examine how economic and educational inequalities are created and perpetuated. The Ngäbe‑Buglé people of Panama have long faced barriers to education that were only exacerbated by the shift to remote learning during COVID‑19 and the lack of available technology. Their experience resonated deeply with stories my mother told me about inequality in Panama and the importance of community networks in overcoming it. In 2020, in response to these challenges, my younger sister founded Education Accessible for All, and I serve as President. This work has given me a ground‑level view of how funding flows, contracts, and formal agreements can either support or undermine nonprofit efforts, and it has shown me how critical it is to have lawyers who understand both community needs and the corporate and institutional frameworks that shape their access to resources. Alongside this work, I sought out roles that allowed me to support Latine and women students more broadly. Through student leadership positions, I helped create spaces where Central American and Latine students could see themselves reflected in programming and leadership, and where women could build the professional confidence and mentorship structures necessary to enter corporate careers. Now, as a law student, I have continued this work at the professional level. By helping to organize events and conversations with attorneys through the Latine Law Students Association, I have seen how Latine lawyers can shape corporate decision‑making while staying grounded in service to their communities.

My legal career goals grow out of these experiences and my ancestry. I hope to practice corporate law, focusing on transactional work that supports community investment and expands access to capital for underserved communities, including Latine entrepreneurs and organizations. I plan to carry my community work into my career by supporting language‑accessible services, mentoring Latine students interested in corporate practice, and advocating within firms for more inclusive policies and leadership. I know who I am today because of my parents’ sacrifices, the communities that have supported me, and the determination that has guided me through each stage of my education. As a corporate attorney, I want to turn that background into concrete opportunities and ensure that Latine communities help shape, rather than simply endure, the economic decisions that affect their lives.

Please upload a copy of your financial award letter labeled as follows: LastName.FirstName.FinAwardLtr*

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Sadati.Sarah_.FinAwardLtr.pdf

Please upload a copy of your resume labeled as follows: LastName.FirstName.Resume*

Please upload a copy of your law school transcript labeled as follows: LastName.FirstName.LSTranscript*