1612 K Street NW, Suite 1400
Washington, DC 20006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 31, 2014
Contact: Tina Matsuoka
(202) 775-9555
WASHINGTON – Today, President Obama nominated Amit Mehta to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. If confirmed, Mehta will be the first Asian Pacific American to serve as a federal district court judge in the District of Columbia.
“Amit Mehta has had a distinguished legal career and will serve admirably on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia,” said William J. Simonitsch, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). “I urge the Senate to ensure a speedy confirmation for Mr. Mehta.”
Mehta is currently a partner at the Washington, D.C. office of Zuckerman Spaeder LLP. He is an experienced trial, litigation, and investigations attorney focusing primarily on white-collar criminal defense, complex business disputes, and appellate advocacy. Before joining Zuckerman Spaeder, Mehta was a staff attorney for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. Early in his legal career, Mehta was an associate at Latham & Watkins and clerked for the Honorable Susan Graber of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Portland, Oregon. Mehta served as Director for Facilitating Youth in Leadership and currently serves as Vice-Chair for the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project. The National Law Journal, Benchmark Litigation, and Superlawyers have all recognized Mehta for his legal excellence. Mehta graduated from Georgetown University magna cum laude and University of Virginia School of Law order of the coif.
NAPABA commends President Obama for nominating Amit Mehta to the bench and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia for her support of his nomination.
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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American (APA) attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of over 40,000 attorneys and approximately 70 national, state, and local bar associations. Its members include solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal services and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government. NAPABA engages in legislative and policy advocacy, promotes APA political leadership and political appointments, and builds coalitions within the legal profession and the community at large. NAPABA also serves as a resource for government agencies, members of Congress, and public service organizations about APAs in the legal profession, civil rights, and diversity in the courts.