Nov. 13, 2023 —U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani (J.D. ’99) spoke about the importance of connections and pivotal moments during a fireside chat at the University of Houston Law Center last week.
“We are all going to have that defining moment. It is going to happen to you,” Hamdani told the audience.
For him, that moment came in the aftermath of 9/11 when he recognized “that people who looked like me or shared my parents’ faith would be looked at jaundiced by the deeds of Muslim terrorists. When I came to that realization, my life changed, and it eventually led me to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
“That moment changed everything,” Hamdani said whose career journey would lead him to make history as the first Asian American to serve as a U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas.
Hamdani was sworn into the U.S. Attorney role in 2022, becoming “the chief law enforcement officer responsible for prosecuting and defending the interests of the United States in the seventh largest district in the nation.”
“I would not be here today if not for folks along the way giving me a chance,” said Hamdani.
Born in England, Hamdani immigrated at the age of 10 with his parents to the United States “in search of the American Dream.”
“I grew up in Euless, Texas,” said Hamdani. “A big part of my identity is that I’m a migrant. I am a person of color. For me, the American Dream is something that is tangible” and while “I didn’t know what it looked like; I knew it existed.”
During his time at the University of Houston Law Center in the late 1990s, Hamdani attended as a part-time, evening student and transitioned to full-time studies after joining the Houston Law Review.
Reflecting on his educational journey, he said, “I went to law school as a part-time student, not knowing what a lawyer was or what I wanted to do. This law school helped shape that. Houston is a great place to be a lawyer and to be a law student.”
To the UHLC students, Hamdani emphasized the importance of networking, “The connections you make here and the relationships you build here are going to be the most important relationships you have in your professional career,” adding, “I still maintain many of those relationships.”
After graduation, Hamdani began his legal career as a young associate at a big law firm. However, the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, that occurred shortly into his career had a profound impact.
Hamdani’s legal focus shifted toward litigating civil rights cases and expanding the South Asian lawyer network. In 2003, he co-founded the South Asian Bar Association of North America. He has been with the Department of Justice since 2008, where, in addition to his current role as U.S. Attorney, Hamdani has served as Deputy Chief of the Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney with the Southern District of Texas.
Reflecting on his approach to public service, Hamdani mentioned the “momma rule,” which involves treating everyone with respect and like family. He also referenced the public prosecutor’s creed described by Justice George Sutherland in Berger v. United States, stating “while we may strike hard blows, we are not at liberty to strike foul ones.”
“It is refreshing where the mission is to do justice,” said Hamdani. “The U.S. Attorney is the best job in the world I will ever have.”
Commentators for the fireside chat included UHLC Alumnus Judge Ravi K. Sandill (J.D. ’01) of 127th Civil District Court and UHLC student Christopher Wong, the Internal Vice President for the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association.
The event was co-sponsored by the Asian American Law Students Association and the Asian American Law Alumni Affinity Group.