*Born in Hyderabad, India, Judge Mohammed immigrated to New Jersey at the age of 17 where he was raised and naturalized. In 1988, he earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering cum laude from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He worked full-time as an electrical engineer while pursuing a degree at Seton Hall University School of Law and he received his Juris Doctor in 1993. As a solo practitioner Judge Mohammed became known for specializing in citizenship and immigration cases.   After the 9/11 attacks, Judge Mohammed played a pivotal role as a liaison between law enforcement authorities and New Jersey's Islamic community, working with the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI in building relations with the Muslim American community. He was involved in training over 7,000 members of the law enforcement community regarding Islamic culture and practices and co-founded the American Muslim Union, an organization dedicated to cross-cultural understanding between Muslims and Americans. Judge Mohammed was nominated to the bench by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and currently serves as the Presiding Criminal Judge in Passaic County. NCPO is honored to welcome Judge Mohammed to speak on how statutory “western” law frequently interacts with cultural and religious precepts in diverse ethnic communities.  In addition to immigration and citizenship matters, client protection professionals are often confronted with claims arising from cases that also call for an understanding of cultural and ethnic norms in order to be equitably considered. This would, for example, include matters of marriage, dowery, divorce and asset distribution.