Tag: asian american bar association of the greater bay area

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NAPABA Applauds the Nomination of Judge Eumi K. Lee to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

For Immediate Release:
Corrected
Date: August 3, 2023

Contact: Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director for Policy

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden nominated Judge Eumi K. Lee to serve on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

“NAPABA congratulates Judge Eumi K. Lee on her nomination. She is exceptionally well qualified, with experience on the bench, private practice, and academia,” said Sandra Leung, President of NAPABA. “Judge Lee is active in the AANHPI community. She was the first Korean American woman to serve as president of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area, and she was a recipient of the 2011 NAPABA Best Under 40 Award. Judge Lee also served as pro bono counsel to Fred T. Korematsu in his brief before the Supreme Court of the United States in Rumsfeld v. Padilla. We applaud President Biden for nominating Judge Lee and urge the Senate to confirm her swiftly.”

Judge Lee has served as a judge on the Superior Court of California in Alameda County since 2018. She was the first Korean American judge ever appointed to the court in Alameda County. Previously, Judge Lee was a Clinical Professor of Law at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, and co-founded and co-directed the Hastings Institute for Criminal Justice. Earlier in her career, she was an associate at Keker & Van Nest LLP and Thelen, Reid & Priest LLP. Judge Lee clerked for Judge Warren J. Ferguson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Judge Jerome Turner on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. She received her J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A. from Pomona College.

NAPABA thanks United States Senators Feinstein and Padilla for recommending and supporting Judge Lee’s nomination.

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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.

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NAPABA Announces Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area as Its 2017 Affiliate of the Year

WASHINGTON — The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) has selected the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area (AABA) as its 2017 Affiliate of the Year. This award recognizes outstanding NAPABA affiliates for their best practices and accomplishments in their respective communities. AABA is one of over 80 national, state, and local bar associations that are affiliated with NAPABA.

The presentation of the 2017 Affiliate of the Year Award will take place at the 29th Anniversary Gala during the 2017 NAPABA Convention in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2017.

Since its inception in 1976 in the San Francisco Bay Area as one of the nation’s first Asian American bar associations, AABA has stood up for justice by coming together as a community and mobilizing its members to defend the civil rights of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) and other minorities. In the early 1980’s, a group of AABA members, including NAPABA Trailblazers Dale Minami, Don Tamaki, and the Honorable Edward Chen, mobilized with others to overturn Fred Korematsu’s conviction. In 2017, AABA redoubled its efforts to protect the rights of APAs and other minorities.  The significant work AABA accomplished in 2017 includes, among others:

  • Leading an immigration and naturalization clinic for communities affected by the immigration Executive Order of early 2017, where AABA trained over 100 volunteers on immigration issues and served more than 50 clients in just a few hours;
  • Organizing semi-monthly pro bono legal clinics in Oakland and San Francisco, serving over 200 indigent clients, including many APA immigrants; and
  • Working directly with local and national leaders to urge a District Attorney to investigate the attack on Maan Singh Khalsa in Richmond, California as a hate crime; ultimately, two men were sentenced to three years in prison for felony assault and a hate crime.

Throughout 2017, AABA set out to inspire, equip, and mobilize its over 1,200 members to defend civil rights and to help its members advance to higher positions of influence and leadership within the profession. AABA accomplished this by organizing regular CLEs on hot topics and developing areas in the law, offering training on substantive legal and soft skills tailored for different sectors and career stages, and creating opportunities to actualize these skills through speaking engagements, referrals, clinics, and networking events.

NAPABA is pleased to present its 2017 Affiliate of the Year Award to the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area and congratulates its leaders on a successful year serving their members and community.

For more information, the media may contact Brett Schuster, NAPABA communications manager, at 202-775-9555or [email protected].

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of almost 50,000 attorneys and over 80 national, state, and local Asian Pacific American 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 continues to be a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network of committees and affiliates, 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 color in the legal profession.

To learn more about NAPABA, visit www.napaba.org, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter (@NAPABA).