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NAPABA CELEBRATES CONFIRMATION OF NORMAN C. BAY TO THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                        
July 15, 2014
Contact: Azizah Ahmad
(202) 775-9555                                                              

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Senate confirmed Norman C. Bay to be Commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) by a vote of 52-45. He is the first Asian Pacific American to lead this powerful regulatory agency. Commissioner Bay is only the third Asian Pacific American to serve as head of a government department or agency during President Obama’s second term.

“Norman C. Bay is a dedicated public servant with the stellar credentials and professional background to be an outstanding leader of FERC. We are proud of Commissioner Bay, who is a longtime NAPABA member. We applaud him on his much deserved confirmation,” said William J. Simonitsch, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). “NAPABA thanks President Obama for nominating Commissioner Bay to lead FERC, and appointing well-qualified, diverse candidates to the bench and to positions in his Administration. More qualified people of color like Commissioner Bay need to be given the opportunity to lead.”

Prior to his confirmation, Commissioner Bay served as Director of the Office of Enforcement at FERC, where he received the FERC Chairman’s Medal in 2013. Before joining FERC, he was a Professor of Law at the University of New Mexico from 2002 to 2009. His career in academia was preceded by time in public service — Mr. Bay served as the U.S. Attorney for the district of New Mexico, and spent many years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice and also as an Attorney-Advisor at the U.S. Department of State. Commissioner Bay graduated from Dartmouth College summa cum laude and Harvard Law School cum laude. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable Otto R. Skopil, Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Portland, Oregon.

NAPABA thanks Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii for their strong support of Norman C. Bay’s 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.

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InsideCounsel Magazine July 2014

InsideCounsel Magazine July 2014

In the wake of the economic recession and an increasingly challenging compliance landscape, GCs are now critical members of the senior executive team.

Congratulations to Advisory Committee Member Don Liu, General Counsel and Secretary of Xerox, for making the front cover of InsideCounsel Magazine with CFO Kathryn Mikells. InsideCounsel explores the complementary relationship that they have been able to develop in the budding years of their professional marriage. To read the feature article on the symbiotic GC-CFO relationship, “Balance of Power” by Erin Harrison, click on the link in the title. Please join AABANY in congratulating Don on yet another well-deserved recognition.

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National Bar Association President Pat Rosier’s Announcement about the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Thank you to Taa Grays, President of the Metropolitan Black Bar Association, for sharing this important statement from the National Bar Association.

Today we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Pushed through Congress by President Lyndon B. Johnson, it is arguably the most important legislation to come out of the Civil Rights Movement.

The most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Act outlaws discrimination, ended racial segregation, and protected the voting rights of minorities and women. The Civil Rights Act opened the door for other significant and historic legislation such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

This milestone was the culmination of bipartisan Congressional leadership, peaceful protests, and determined activism from grassroots and national leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and National Bar Association members Fred D. Gray, Thurgood Marshall, and others. However, in the 50 years since the Civil Rights Act became the law of the land, it’s clear that we still have much work to do.

Today, on behalf of the National Bar Association, the nation’s oldest and largest national network of predominantly African American lawyers, and the nearly 59,000 lawyers, judges, law professors and law students it represents throughout the United States and around the world, I submitted a letter to Patrick J. Leahy, Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary and Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member of the same Committee, in support of the passage of the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014.

A year ago, the Supreme Court of the United States of America greatly weakened the Voting Rights Act of 1965, putting the right to vote in serious danger and in turn delivering a blow to the Civil Rights Act of ‘64. Currently, states and localities around the country are making changes to elections that would take away the right to vote for some people and African Americans are particularly at risk for voter discrimination. Excessively restrictive and discriminatory state laws disproportionately affect people of color, the poor and senior citizens. Every day that Congress fails to act, voters are in danger.

On this day, we celebrate the Civil Rights Act’s impact and acknowledge that we must continue to vigorously defend legislation that promotes equal justice. We urge this Congress, inspired by the bipartisan Congress that passed the Civil Rights Act, to pass the Voting Rights Act of 2014 and protect the right to vote for all Americans.

Patricia Rosier,
President

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