Tag: district of columbia

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NAPABA APPLAUDS NOMINATION OF AMIT MEHTA TO THE US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

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.

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Press Release: NAPABA AND AAJC APPLAUD CONFIRMATION OF SRI SRINIVASAN

NAPABA AND AAJC APPLAUD CONFIRMATION OF SRI SRINIVASAN

Srinivasan Becomes First South Asian American
Federal Appellate Court Judge In Nation’s History

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Senate voted 97 to 0 to confirm Srikanth (“Sri”) Srinivasan as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Mr. Srinivasan is both the first South Asian American federal appellate court judge in the history of the United States and the first Asian Pacific American to serve on the D.C. Circuit.

“We are deeply gratified that the Senate has confirmed Mr. Srinivasan today,” said Wendy C. Shiba, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). “Given that over 3.5 million South Asian Americans live in the United States, it is particularly noteworthy that Mr. Srinivasan has made history by becoming the first-ever South Asian American federal appellate court judge. Moreover, the D.C. Circuit long has been recognized as one of the most important courts in the country. The presence of an Asian Pacific American on that court gives testament to the strides made by the Asian Pacific American community in recent years. It is a fitting and momentous way to conclude and celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.”

Mr. Srinivasan is an attorney of exceptional accomplishment and merit who has received highest praise from all segments of the legal community. Numerous federal judges (including Justice Sandra Day O’Connor), former government officials, and professors have lauded Mr. Srinivasan’s legal skills, intellect, and integrity. These individuals include officials and judges appointed by the Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama Administrations. They invariably have described Srinivasan as “a tremendous lawyer,” “one of the very smartest, most talented,” and “especially gifted.” They all have concluded that Srinivasan will be an “excellent” or “tremendous” appellate court judge. Until his confirmation, he served as the Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States, where he regularly appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court. He previously served as a partner and Chair of the Supreme Court and appellate practice for the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers LLP.

“Sri Srinivasan is an exceptional attorney with a long history of work in civil rights,” said Mee Moua, president and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice. “In private practice he handled some of the most important Supreme Court cases pro bono for AAJC and for the greater civil rights community. We congratulate him on his historic confirmation and look forward to his tenure on the D.C. Circuit.”

Mr. Srinivasan is Indian by birth, Kansan at heart, and all American in story. He was born in Chandigarh, India, and immigrated to the United States as a child with his parents and two younger sisters. Mr. Srinivasan grew up in Lawrence, Kansas, where his father was a professor of mathematics at the University of Kansas, and his mother taught at the Kansas City Art Institute. Throughout his upbringing, Mr. Srinivasan attended public schools in Kansas. In high school, he was very active in sports and music, including playing on the high school varsity basketball team. He became, and to this day remains, a die-hard University of Kansas basketball fan.

With Mr. Srinivasan’s confirmation, three Asian Pacific Americans will sit as federal appellate court judges out of approximately 175 nationwide. All three have been nominated and confirmed in the last four years. One additional Asian Pacific American federal appellate court nominee remains pending before the U.S. Senate at this time – Raymond Chen, who has been nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

NAPABA and AAJC are proud to have supported Mr. Srinivasan. We thank President Obama for nominating Mr. Srinivasan, and commend the U.S. Senate for the noteworthy bipartisan support that he received during the confirmation process.