Congratulations to Ushir Pandit-Durant on Her Historic Induction as Queens Supreme Court Justice

On December 21, the Hon. Ushir Pandit-Durant made history as the first South Asian judge elected to New York State Supreme Court in Queens and the first South Asian woman judge elected in New York State. Justice Pandit-Duran was sworn in by the Hon. Randall T. Eng (ret.), former Presiding Justice of the Second Department, New York State Appellate Division. Justice Eng was the first Asian American elected judge in New York State so it was especially fitting for one trailblazer in the Asian American community to swear in another trailblazer. Hon. Joseph Zayas, Administrative Judge of the Queens Supreme Court, Criminal Term, presided.

Justice Pandit-Duran began her career as a Prosecutor in the Queens County District Attorney’s Office, serving there with distinction for 25 years before being elected to New York City Civil Court in 2015, becoming the first South Asian to hold that elected office.

The induction took place at the Queens Supreme Court in Kew Gardens. Numerous speakers, including elected officials and community leaders, extolled Justice Pandit-Duran’s exemplification of the American Dream, coming here at age 10 not speaking a word of English and rising up to become a top prosecutor and now judge. As a South Asian, Justice Pandit-Durant reflects the diversity of Queens, one of the most diverse boroughs of New York City, with a large Asian population. Justice Pandit-Durant is herself a bar leader, having served as the first President of the South Asian Indo-Caribbean Bar Association of Queens.

AABANY congratulates Justice Pandit-Durant on her historic election and wishes her continued success and achievement as a Justice of the Supreme Court.

Congratulations to Hon. Peter Tom, Recipient of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Public Service Award

On November 30, 2018, Hon. Peter Tom of the Appellate Division, First Department, was presented with the Distinguished Public Service Award by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of the City of New York, at the Chamber’s 2018 Benefit Fundraising Dinner held at the Jing Fong restaurant. The event was attended by over 1,000 guests representing Chinatown’s businesses, family associations and community groups.

The Chinese Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1904 by Chinese businessmen in New York City and registered with the Imperial Chinese Government. This organization was formed to promote and support Chinese commerce and businesses in the Chinese communities. The Chinese Chamber of Commerce was incorporated in New York State in 1932.

The Chinese Chamber of Commerce Public Service Award recognizes Justice Tom’s contributions to New York State and the Asian American community. Please join AABANY in congratulating Justice Tom on this well-deserved award and honor.

Super Lawyers – New York Metro 2018 Supplement

Super Lawyers – New York Metro 2018 Supplement

Congratulations to Jennifer Wu, AABANY Women’s Committee Co-Chair, on Rising Stars Award

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The New York Law Journal recognized Jennifer H. Wu on October 10, 2018 with a Rising Stars Award, given to 29 of the region’s most promising lawyers under 40.  Awardees are acknowledged for their influence in their practice areas in New York and beyond, developing unique practice niches, employing creative uses of technology, amassing robust books of business, demonstrating strong leadership qualities, showing expertise in litigation or transactional work, contributing to the improvement of their institutions, and committing themselves to pro bono, charitable and professional volunteer work.

Jennifer is a partner in Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP’s Litigation Department and focuses her practice on patent litigation matters. Jennifer frequently goes to jury and bench trials in federal district courts and trials before the International Trade Commission. She also represents clients in appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. She has litigated patents in a wide variety of technical areas, with a particular emphasis on pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Jennifer’s work on biologics includes litigating issues of first impression as to the BPCIA, and her patent litigation experience also extends to GPS devices, DNA sequencing technology, and medical devices.

Jennifer directs Paul, Weiss’s first pro bono project expressly for Asian Americans, helping parents of special-needs children obtain services from the New York City Department of Education. Jennifer has also worked with the Innocence Project for over a decade, including on eyewitness misidentification, death penalty, and Shaken Baby Syndrome issues. She is a Board member of the Federal Circuit Bar Association; co-chair of the Women’s Committee of the Asian American Bar Association of New York; a Board member of Friends of UNFPA, which supports the work of the United Nations reproductive health and rights agency; and an Advisory Board member of the NYU Law Alumni of Color Association.

For more information on this award, please click here (subscription required).

Please join us in congratulating Jennifer Wu on this well-deserved honor and recognition.

Congratulations to Hon. Randall Eng, Recipient of the OCA-NY Lifetime Achievement Award

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The Hon. Randall Eng (Ret.), New York state’s first Asian American Presiding Justice, was honored with the OCA-NY Lifetime Achievement Award on Friday, September 28, at OCA-NY’s 42nd Annual Community Service & Leadership Awards Gala. Justice Eng has dedicated himself to public service for over three decades in a variety of positions. He served as the first Asian American Assistant District Attorney in his hometown of Queens County (1973-1980), the Deputy Inspector General of New York City (1980-1981), and also the Inspector General of New York City (1981-1983). In 2016, Judge Eng was awarded NAPABA’s highest honor, the Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award, and in 2017, he received AABANY’s Norman Lau Kee Trailblazer Award. The OCA-NY Lifetime Achievement Award is yet another well-earned recognition of both his contributions to New York State and the Asian American attorney community. Please join AABANY in congratulating Justice Eng on this well-deserved award and honor.

ASIAN AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION CONGRATULATES PAST PRESIDENT SUSAN L. SHIN ON RECEIVING THE NEW YORK CITY BAR ASSOCIATION DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION CHAMPION AWARD

NEW YORK – June 27, 2018 – The Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) congratulates Susan L. Shin, Partner at Arnold & Porter LLP and former AABANY President (2016-17), on being named one of three recipients of the New York City Bar Association’s prestigious 2018 Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award. This award, created in 2006, recognizes the efforts that attorneys dedicate to creating and sustaining a more inclusive environment within their organizations and the legal community at large. Susan and her fellow awardees will be honored at the New York City Bar Association’s Diversity and Inclusion Celebration Dinner on June 27, 2018.

A partner at Arnold & Porter, Susan is a talented lawyer and complex commercial litigator who represents a range of corporate clients including financial institutions and public companies in litigated disputes, class actions, and arbitrations. Since becoming partner at the firm in 2011 after working as a litigation associate, Susan has handled complex cases involving loan servicing, accounting, compliance, disclosure, derivatives, and mortgage and asset-backed securitizations, among other issues. Susan has also served as trial counsel in five trials to verdict in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, where she often served as lead trial counsel. In 2014, Arnold & Porter’s partnership elected Susan to the Policy Committee, the firm’s governing board.

Susan’s dedication to her community can be seen through her strong leadership and involvement in various committees and organizations. She served as the President of AABANY from 2016 to 2017 and is currently an active member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s CLE Selection Committee. Her dedication is also reflected by her frequent CLE talks on legal ethics and her extensive pro bono experience representing New York City charter schools. Susan has won a number of awards that highlight both her impressive legal career and her unwavering efforts to promote inclusion and access to justice within her community, including the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York’s  2018 Trailblazer Award.

Before beginning her legal career, Susan was an Associate at J.P. Morgan in the investment management division. While attending Columbia Law School she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Raymond J. Dearie with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York from 2002 to 2003.

“We are extremely excited and pleased that Susan is receiving this prestigious honor from the New York City Bar Association,” stated James R. Cho, AABANY President. “Having known Susan for many years and having served with her on the AABANY Board, I have observed first-hand her dedication to enhancing diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. We commend the New York City Bar Association and the Selection Committee on recognizing Susan’s efforts and achievements with the Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award. We extend our congratulations to her and her co-honorees, Sheila Kearney Davidson, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and General Counsel, New York Life Insurance Company; and John Mbiti, Director & Counsel, Credit Suisse Asset Management LLC.”

For more information, please contact Yang Chen, AABANY Executive Director, at (212) 332-2478, or direct any inquiries to main@aabany.org.

The Asian American Bar Association of New York is a professional membership organization of attorneys concerned with issues affecting the Asian Pacific American community. Incorporated in 1989, AABANY seeks not only to encourage the professional growth of its members but also to advocate for the Asian Pacific American community as a whole. AABANY is a New York regional affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).

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