Punitha CloudGeneral Practice Attorney in Oregon

About

I am a Virginia trial lawyer who provides a diverse range of legal services, including criminal jury trials, in several counties, including Fairfax, Arlington, Loudoun, Prince William, Stafford, Culpeper, and Fredericksburg. Please refer to the AVVO Q&A section to read some of my 15,900 legal answers. The main reason I became a lawyer was that I didn’t see much diversity in the legal profession, and I thought the lawyers I hired for my life events, did not understand the context or cultural background. Though I tried to find other lawyers, my searches were futile. I am an immigrant from India who became a US citizen a long time, decades ago. My father, grandfathers, and great grandfathers were farmers owning huge parcels of farmland in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu, and accordingly, I studied Agriculture all through PhD and became an Assistant Professor at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India. Later I pursued computer programming in the United States - MS in Information Systems and worked in Siebel CRM at Accenture and SAP FICO at the Customs and Border Protection. Later, I switched to Federal Govt employee status and worked as an Inspector at the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the Dept of Homeland Security (DHS) in Washington, D.C. My team did audits of the detention centers in Texas. As a DHS OIG inspector, I was also trained in criminal investigations by NCIS' FLETA at Glynco, Georgia. My first entry in the United States was as a graduate research fellow with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington, D.C. DEI is a gift and IFPRI is a non-profit institute gifting diverse opportunities to the international PhD students (like me) around the World. I started my career as an Agricultural Economist (India), as a teaching Professor (TNAU), a graduate research fellow (IFPRI) and a DAAD fellow (JLU, PhD) in Germany. Later, after publication of a book and marriage, a new married last name and a career in computer coding, and my beautiful daughter, I pursued law school. That means I bring multi-continental, multi-area, and multicultural legal experience to the practice of law. I received the Civil rights leader Rosa Parks Scholarship and studied law at the only public and affordable law school in Washington, D.C., the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law. My team won the ABA Client Counseling Competition Championship in Region 3 in Philadelphia. My team also won the second place at the Nelson Mandela Int'l Negotiations Competition in Wisconsin. Some small law schools like mine produce great defenders and change agents. I encourage people to donate to UDC David A. Clarke School of Law which shapes many African American students, immigrant women and men into fierce defenders and champions. Please check out the free legal clinics offered by UDC law. Contact the Rising for Justice Criminal Defense Clinic in Washington DC.

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