For Immediate Release: Date: March 12, 2024 | Contact: Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director |
WASHINGTON – Today, the United States Senate confirmed Jasmine Yoon to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia and Judge Sunil R. Harjani to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
“We congratulate Jasmine Yoon and Judge Sunil R. Harjani on their confirmation to serve on the U.S. District Court,” said Anna Mercado Clark, President of NAPABA. “Ms. Yoon, a board member of APABA-VA, is the first Asian American to serve as an Article III judge in Virginia. Judge Harjani, the first South Asian American to serve as a U.S. Magistrate in the Northern District of Illinois, brings deep experience to the bench.”
“Today, President Biden has appointed 32 AANHPI Article III judges that the U.S. Senate has confirmed. We thank President Biden for nominating Ms. Yoon and Judge Harjani and his continued efforts to extend his record-breaking benchmark of AANHPI judges,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA.
Jasmine H. Yoon has been the Vice President of Corporate Integrity, Ethics, and Investigations at Capital One Financial Corporation since 2022. Previously, Ms. Yoon worked as Interim University Counsel and Associate University Counsel at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville from 2019-22. Prior to that, Ms. Yoon served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia from 2010-16. Ms. Yoon was also an associate at Crowell & Moring LLP in Washington, DC, from 2006-09 in its White Collar and Regulatory Enforcement group. She served as a law clerk for Judge James C. Cacheris on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia from 2009-10. Ms. Yoon received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2006 and her B.A. from the University of Virginia in 2003.
Judge Sunil R. Harjani has been a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Illinois since 2019. Judge Harjani served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Deputy Chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Section in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois from 2008-19. He also practiced federal civil litigation as a senior counsel at the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission from 2004-08 and as an associate at Jenner & Block LLP in Chicago from 2000-01 and 2002-04. Judge Harjani served as a law clerk for Judge Suzanne B. Conlon on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois from 2001-02. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in 2000 and his B.A. from Northwestern University in 1997.
NAPABA thanks President Biden Senators Durbin and Duckworth of Illinois, and Senators Warner and Kaine of Virginia for supporting their nominations.
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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.