2026 National
gala
11.17.2026 | City Winery | New York City
Save the date for Disability Rights Advocates’ 2026 Gala, where we will honor Neel Chatterjee for his extraordinary leadership and commitment to justice.
November 17, 2026
City Winery, New York
6pm
Join leaders from the legal, philanthropic, and disability communities for an unforgettable evening featuring delicious food and drinks, inspiring speakers, and special guest and honoree announcements still to come. Mark your calendar now and look out for additional event details in the months ahead.
Sponsorship opportunities and tickets are now available! Sponsorship is a meaningful way to demonstrate your support for DRA’s work advancing disability rights nationwide. For more information on the event and sponsorship benefits e-mail development@dralegal.org.
We are so grateful to our wonderful 2026 event sponsors!
If you’re in the Bay Area or Chicago, we’d love to see you at one of our local celebrations — in Los Altos on September 10 or in Chicago on October 27.
Honorees
Neel Chatterjee
Neel Chatterjee is an internationally recognized technology litigator and trial lawyer. He has a proven track record handling hard‑to‑win technology cases that often break new legal ground or involve existential issues for major products and business models. Learn more about Neel.
Judge David Tatel
Judge David Tatel, author of Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice, served on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1994 to 2024, succeeding future Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Learn more about Judge Tatel.
Special Guests and Presenters
Arunabha Bhoumik
Arun Bhoumik is Vice President, Associate General Counsel, and Global Head of Litigation and Investigations at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. At Regeneron, Arun oversees all general litigation and government investigations, including investigations by the Department of Justice and other enforcement agencies, commercial disputes, antitrust litigation, shareholder litigation, regulatory litigation, product liability litigation, and other disputes. Learn more about Arun.
Daniel L. Brown
Daniel Brown is the Pro Bono Partner and New York Co-Office Managing Partner at Sheppard. Dan is an experienced litigator whose practice has included complex business disputes, antitrust matters, intellectual property, and employment matters across various industries. Brown also has a longstanding commitment to disability rights. Learn more about Daniel.
James Ian
James Ian is an actor, model, singer, songwriter, writer, and poet. He has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (“SMA”) Type 3, and is a passionate advocate for authentic representation of disabled artists in music, TV, film, and other media. Learn more about James.
Emily Ladau
Emily Ladau is a passionate disability rights activist, writer, storyteller, and digital communications consultant. She is the author of Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to be an Ally. Emily’s writing has been published in outlets including The New York Times, CNN, Vice, and HuffPost. Learn more about Emily.
Richard Lui
Richard Lui is a Peabody and Murrow award-winning journalist, anchor, and filmmaker with more than 30 years across media, technology, and business. A veteran anchor at NBC News, MSNBC, CNN Worldwide, and Channel NewsAsia, he spent a decade traveling every other week from New York to California to care for his parents as they faced Alzheimer’s/dementia. Learn more about Richard.