Candidate for
Member of the State Assembly; District 13

Residing on Lombard Street in the Russian Hill neighborhood, Harmeet is a founder and partner of the law firm Dhillon & Smith LLP, where she represents businesses, entrepreneurs, and executives across many industries. In addition to her corporate law practice, Harmeet is an internationally recognized civil rights leader and a passionate advocate for principles of limited government, responsible fiscal policy, and equal opportunity. Harmeet's focus is to effect policy based on these principles. This vision, which has been missing from 13th AD representation for more than a decade, will benefit all San Franciscans and all Californians. San Francisco needs Harmeet's new voice, fresh vision, and passion for justice.

Harmeet was born in Punjab, India, and came to the United States as a small child with her family. She attended public schools in North Carolina, where her father started his medical practice, and she graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. Harmeet majored in Classical Studies at Dartmouth College, where she was the editor-in-chief of The Dartmouth Review and was featured by "60 Minutes," The New York Times, The New Republic, The Wall Street Journal, and other national publications.

After graduating from Dartmouth in 1989, Harmeet became the assistant editor of the Heritage Foundation's Policy Review magazine in Washington, D.C., and was published on the op/ed pages of The Wall Street Journal, The Wall Street Journal Asian Edition, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times. At the University of Virginia Law School, Harmeet served on the editorial board of the Virginia Law Review, and was president of the nation's largest chapter of the Federalist Society. Click here for more about Harmeet's legal career.

Throughout her career, Harmeet has been a leader in various civil rights and civic organizations, and has won numerous awards for her pro bono legal services on behalf of political refugees, victims of domestic violence, and plaintiffs in civil rights litigation, including several First Amendment cases. Harmeet has successfully represented political refugees from various troubled regions of the world, including Kashmir, Tibet and Eritrea. Recently, Harmeet was awarded the prestigious "Best Lawyers Under 40" honor by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. She has also been awarded the Minority Bar Council of Northern California's Outstanding Community Service award for her civil rights leadership in the nationally publicized aftermath of 9/11's backlash against Sikhs. She also represented several South Asian women victims of a high-profile sex trafficking ring in Berkeley in 2002. Harmeet served for three years on the board of the American Civil Liberties Union's Northern California chapter. She has also served on the board of Santa Clara County's Support Network for Battered Women, and her pro bono involvement with the cause of domestic violence dates back to law school. Presently, Harmeet is chair of the Civil Rights Committee of the South Asian Bar Association and a trustee of The Sikh Foundation.

In addition to zealously representing her clients, engaging in pro bono legal representation, and spending time with family, Harmeet participates actively in politics. Click here for more about Harmeet's Republican activism. She is a member of the California Republican Party, appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. She serves on the Platform Committee, and recently used that post to push the state party to adopt a platform that was true to the 21st century and the legacy of founding Republican father Abraham Lincoln. Harmeet represents the future, and can give a voice to moderate San Franciscans of all political parties.