Judge M. Nawaz Wahla was confirmed to the Connecticut Superior Court on November 5, 2010. He is the first Pakistani American and first Muslim to be appointed as a judge in Connecticut.
Judge Wahla is currently serving in the New Haven Judicial District where he presides over civil matters. His previous assignments have included juvenile and criminal cases. Prior to being appointed to the bench, he was the principal of Wahla and Associates, a firm that he formed in 1999. As an attorney, Judge Wahla was well recognized for his dedication to the community and public interest, with approximately 25 percent of his practice dedicated to pro bono work. He previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Hartford County Bar Association and is presently a Bencher with the Oliver Ellsworth Inn of Court. In 2011, Judge Wahla received the Trailblazer Award from the South Asian Bar Association of Connecticut. He was also the recipient of the Connecticut Asian Pacific American Affairs 2011 Leadership Award. Most recently, Judge Wahla received the 2014 Immigration Day Award for his community contributions from the Connecticut Immigrant Refugee Coalition. Judge Wahla was the recipient of the Immigrant Haritage Hall of Fame in 2017.
Prior to becoming a lawyer, Judge Wahla served in the Pakistan Army for approximately 20 years, and rose to the rank of major before being wounded in the line of duty, he is the recipient of an award equivalent to the purple heart. He received his LLB from the University of the Punjab Law College in Pakistan. He then completed his Masters in Comparative Jurisprudence at the University Of Texas School Of Law, and his Masters of Law at the University of Houston. Thereafter, he was a fellow at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. In July 2017, Judge Wahla received a Masters in Global Affairs from Tufts University, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
Judge Wahla has been married to his wife, Amy, for 41 years. He has three children; his daughter, Mehvish, and son, Sarosh, are both practicing attorneys in Connecticut. Zara, his youngest daughter, is a surgeon in Connecticut.