Soma Syed

Principal Attorney

Soma Syed & Associates

Soma Syed is a NYC-based attorney who has dedicated her legal career to the needs of immigrants, small business owners, and working class communities. She is the principal of the Forest Hills based law firm, Soma Syed & Associates. She represents multi-faceted clients in all aspects of real estate law & foreclosure defense, business & corporate law, matrimonial & family law, immigration law, non-profits law, and general litigation. She is the President of the Queens County Women’s Bar Association and the Chairperson of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS). She was previously a Judicial Delegate.

Ms. Syed is admitted to practice law in New York, the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York, the Southern District Bankruptcy Court, the Eastern District Bankruptcy Court, the U.S. Tax Court, and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ms. Syed has been active in civic endeavors since high school and strongly believes in representation and advocacy. Her late parents who were public servants, educators, freedom fighters, and advocates for women’s rights and education are her inspiration for public service. She is a frequent presenter and panelist on issues related to immigration, landlord & tenant, real estate, business law, women’s rights, law and politics.

She has volunteered with the Volunteer Lawyers Program in Housing, Queens Volunteer Lawyers Project (QVLP) representing homeowners in foreclosure, New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) to answer landlord & tenant questions relating to victims of Hurricane Sandy, and Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) to protect election integrity, to name a few of her services. She interned at the NYS Senator Leichter’s office to learn about public policy and engagement. Ms. Syed protested the travel ban in 2017 at the JFK Airport and provided legal representation to travelers. She has organized and moderated a number of candidate forums to inform the public about candidates and their positions (Queens District Attorney’s Forum in 2019 and Queens Borough President Office in 2020). She has been recognized for her legal work during the Covid-19 on unemployment benefits, landlord and tenant rights, immigration rights, small business assistance and government relief programs in addition to overseeing, and running an early critical N95 mask donations to frontline workers and food distribution drives. She has continued partnering with organizations that provide food and fight food insecurity.

She is a recipient of various awards and certificates for her legal, civic and community work. NYS Governor Cuomo recognized Ms. Syed for her legal and community work with a “Certificate of Recognition” in 2017. She has been honored by NYC Public Advocate Leticia James with a Proclamation, National Action Network (West Nassau Chapter), South Asian Political Action Committee (SAPAC) with their 2016 SAPAC Heroes Award, and a recipient of numerous other honors by elected officials and organizations in New York City, Long Island and Westchester. She is a founding member and senior VP of CAG (Community Alliance Group) and lifetime member of the labor organization ASAAL.

She enjoys working with people. She received her J.D. from the Albany Law School of the Union University, B.A. from the City College of the City University and high school diploma from Jamaica High School. She is a big believer of public service and ran for NY City Council in 2021. She grew up in Jamaica and lives with her husband and family in Queens, New York City.