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March 10, 2014

PRESS RELEASE: NAPABA Celebrates Confirmation of Vince Chhabria to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 5, 2014

Contact: Emily Chatterjee (202) 775-9555

NAPABA Celebrates Confirmation of Vince Chhabria
to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

WASHINGTON — On March 5, 2014, the Senate confirmed Vince Chhabria by a 58-41 vote to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. He is the first person of South Asian descent to serve as an Article III judge in California’s history, and only the third South Asian American federal district court judge nationwide.

“NAPABA congratulates Vince Chhabria on his historic confirmation and is proud to have supported him in the nomination and confirmation process,” said William J. Simonitsch, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). “We applaud President Obama, Senator Boxer, and Senator Feinstein for their continued commitment to diversity on the federal judiciary, and their support of this nomination.”

Since 2005, Judge Chhabria has served as a deputy city attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, where he is the co-chief of appellate litigation. Prior to public service, Judge Chhabria spent several years working in the private sector in San Francisco. After law school, he clerked at all three levels of the federal courts, including clerkships with Judge Charles R. Breyer on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Judge James R. Browning on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and for Justice Stephen Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Chhabria has distinguished himself during his career, receiving honors from the California Daily Journal, the International Municipal Lawyers Association, and NAPABA. He is a longstanding member of SABA-NC, an affiliate of NAPABA, which has strongly supported Chhabria’s nomination.

Judge Chhabria’s confirmation increases the number of active Asian Pacific American Article III judges to 22 nationwide: 4 federal appellate court judges and 18 federal district court judges.

Three more Asian Pacific American Article III judicial nominees are pending in the U.S. Senate: Manish Shah, nominee for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois; Indira Talwani, nominee for the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts; and Theodore Chuang, nominee for the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. NAPABA urges the Senate to move quickly to confirm these well- qualified individuals.

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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 over 40,000 attorneys and 67 national, state, and local Asian Pacific American bar associations. Its members include solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal service 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.

February 4, 2013December 4, 2018

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On January 31, AABANY’s Judiciary Committee co-organized a community celebration in New York’s Chinatown in honor of the Hon. Randall T. Eng to recognize his historic elevation to Presiding Justice, Appellate Division, Second Department, the first Asian American to be appointed to this position. About 250 attendees filled Delight 28 located at 28 Pell Street in Manhattan’s Chinatown, next door to the building that Presiding Justice Eng and his family first moved into upon arriving in the United States from Hong Kong.

Many AABANY members were present, including President Jean Lee, Immediate Past President Linda Lin and past presidents James Chou, Vincent Chang, Yang Chen and Glenn Lau-Kee. The Prosecutors’ Committee also turned out in force, having honored Presiding Justice Eng as a trailblazer in 2011. Rosemary Yu, ADA from the New York County DA’s office, was one of the organizers of the event, together with Mark Fang, who came to know Justice Eng through the JAG Corp.

Presiding Justice Eng’s parents, wife, sister and in-laws also came out to celebrate along with many community members and leaders, not just in Chinatown but from Westchester as well.

We thank everyone who attended for making this a truly memorable and special occasion.

December 14, 2012

Press Release: AABANY WELCOMES AND APPLAUDS THE CONFIRMATION OF LORNA G. SCHOFIELD TO THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Yang Chen, Executive Director, (718) 228-7206

NEW YORK – December 14, 2012 – The Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) welcomes and applauds the historic confirmation of Lorna G. Schofield to the Southern District of New York. On December 13, the United States Senate confirmed Lorna Schofield by a 91-0 vote to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. She is the first person of Filipino descent to serve as an Article III judge in American history.

“AABANY congratulates Ms. Schofield on her historic confirmation as a federal judge for the Southern District of New York and is proud to have supported her candidacy,” said Jean Lee, President of the Asian American Bar Association of New York. “We applaud President Obama and Senator Schumer for nominating such a highly-qualified jurist and continuing their commitment to a well-qualified and diverse federal bench.” Ms. Schofield’s life story is the epitome of the “American Dream.” Growing up in New Haven, Indiana, she was the only child of a Filipina war bride who married an American service man. She was raised by her mother, who came to the United States and became a pharmacist, stressing hard work, achievement, independence and self-sufficiency. Ms. Schofield lived in a predominantly Caucasian and blue collar community, where there was little ethnic diversity. Despite the odds against her, Ms. Schofield went on to graduate Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from Indiana University. Thereafter, she graduated from New York University School of Law, where she was an editor of the Law Review and a Pomeroy Scholar. Ms. Schofield’s achievements clearly did not stop there.

Prior to joining the bench, Judge Schofield practiced at the New York law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton for over 20 years. In 1991, she became the firm’s first partner of color, and, for the past year, has served as Of Counsel to the firm. Before joining Debevoise, she served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (Criminal Division) for four years. Ms. Schofield was also the first Asian Pacific American to chair the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association, and she previously served as a member of the ABA’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. In 2008, the National Law Journal named Ms. Schofield one of the nation’s 50 most influential minority lawyers.

“With her confirmation, Ms. Schofield joins the growing number of distinguished Asian Pacific Americans who have been recognized for service on our federal courts,” said Theodore K. Cheng, Co-chair of AABANY’s Judiciary Committee. “Although Asian Pacific Americans remain significantly under-represented at all levels in the Federal Judiciary, President Barack Obama should be commended for his tireless dedication to increasing diversity on the federal bench, and we thank Senator Charles E. Schumer for recommending her to the President.”

Judge Schofield is only the second Asian Pacific American to serve on the Southern District bench, and she will join Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto of the Eastern District of New York as the only Article III judges of Asian descent serving anywhere in the federal district courts of New York. While Asian Pacific Americans make up approximately 14 percent of New York City’s population, only two of the over 90 active and senior Article III judges currently serving in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York are Asian Pacific Americans. The nomination of another well-qualified Asian Pacific American, Pamela K. Chen, awaits a vote on the floor of the United States Senate. Senator Schumer recommended Ms. Chen for a seat on the Eastern District of New York, and President Obama nominated her in August 2012.

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The Asian American Bar Association of New York was formed in 1989 as a not-for-profit corporation to represent the interests of New York Asian-American attorneys, judges, law professors, legal professionals, paralegals and law students. The mission of AABANY is to improve the study and practice of law, and the fair administration of justice for all by ensuring the meaningful participation of Asian Americans in the legal profession.