FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 4, 2013NAPABA Contact: Emily Chatterjee (202) 775-9555
AAJC Contact: Kimberly Goulart (202) 499-7027NAPABA and AAJC Applaud Confirmation of
Pamela K.M. Chen to the Eastern District of New YorkWASHINGTON – Today, the Senate confirmed Pamela K.M. Chen by a voice vote to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She becomes the first openly gay Asian Pacific American to serve on the federal judiciary.
“NAPABA congratulates Pam Chen on her historic nomination and confirmation and is proud to have supported her in the nomination and confirmation process along with the LGBT community,” said Wendy Shiba, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). “We applaud President Obama and Senator Schumer for their continued commitment to diversifying the federal judiciary.”
For almost 14 years, Judge Chen has served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, where she has served as chief of the Civil Rights Section for more than eight years, and previously as a deputy chief of the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division. She also served as a deputy commissioner for enforcement at the New York State Division of Human Rights, as a trial attorney in the Justice Department in Washington D.C., and in private practice. Judge Chen has won numerous awards for her work, particularly in addressing human trafficking.
“Judge Chen’s confirmation is a step in the right direction,” said Mee Moua, president and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice. “There are more than 40 federal District Court judges in New York City. Judge Chen will become the third Asian Pacific American, bringing APA representation on the bench more in line with our 14 percent share of the city’s population.”
Judge Chen’s confirmation increases the number of active Asian Pacific American Article III judges to 18 nationwide: two federal Appellate Court judges and 16 federal District Court judges. President Obama nominated a record 17 Asian Pacific American to the Article III courts. Three more Asian Pacific American Article III nominees are pending in the Senate: Sri Srinivasan, nominee for the U.S. Circuit Court for the D.C. Circuit; Raymond T. Chen, nominee for the U.S. Circuit Court for the Federal Circuit; and Derrick Kahala Watson, nominee for the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. NAPABA and AAJC urge the Senate to move quickly to confirm these individuals, who are highly qualified for the federal bench.
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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 62 local Asian Pacific American bar associations. Its members represent 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 federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes professional development of minorities in the legal profession.
The Asian American Justice Center (www.advancingequality.org), a member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice (www.advancingjustice.org), works closely with the other Advancing Justice members – the Asian American Institute in Chicago (www.aaichicago.org), the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco (www.asianlawcaucus.org) and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles (www.apalc.org) – to promote a fair and equitable society for all by working for civil and human rights and empowering Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other underserved communities.
NAPABA APPLAUDS U.S. SENATE BIPARTISAN PASSAGE OF THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN REAUTHORIZATION ACT
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
1612 K Street NW, Suite 1400
Washington, DC 20006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2013
Contact: Emily Chatterjee
(202) 775-9555
NAPABA APPLAUDS U.S. SENATE BIPARTISAN PASSAGE
OF THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN REAUTHORIZATION ACT
WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, in a vote of 78-22, the U.S. Senate voted in favor of reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) applauds the expansions made in the Senate legislation, reintroduced by Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) in the new Congress. Some of these expansions include ensuring better access to services for victims of sexual and domestic violence in communities of color, and for the first time extending protections to victims in Native American and LGBT communities.
“NAPABA commends the bipartisan group of senators who voted in support of the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act,” said Wendy Shiba, president of NAPABA. “In the United States, three women die each day because of domestic violence. We can wait no longer for reauthorization of this critical legislation. NAPABA urges the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Senate version of VAWA without any further delay.”
The Senate version of the reauthorization bill no longer includes a NAPABA-supported provision that would have increased the number of U-Visas for immigrant victims of sexual and domestic violence. Last year, members of the U.S. House of Representatives pointed to this provision as a cause for rejecting the bill. Senator Leahy plans to include a similar provision in forthcoming comprehensive immigration reform legislation and NAPABA applauds his continued efforts and commitment to protect immigrant victims of sexual and domestic violence.
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 62 local Asian Pacific American bar associations. Its members represent 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 federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes professional development of people of color in the legal profession.
NAPABA and AAJC Applaud Nomination of Raymond T. Chen
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 7, 2013
NAPABA Contact: Emily Chatterjee (202) 775-9555
AAJC Contact: Kimberly Goulart (202) 499-7027
NAPABA AND AAJC APPLAUD NOMINATION OF
RAYMOND T. CHEN TO THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT
WASHINGTON – Today President Obama nominated Raymond T. Chen to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. If confirmed, he will be the first Asian Pacific American to serve on the Federal Circuit in over 25 years.
“Raymond Chen will be an excellent addition to the Federal Circuit and we are proud to support his nomination,” said Wendy Shiba, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). “His many years of experience at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office together with his temperament and intellect make him an exceptionally well-qualified nominee for this court, and we commend President Obama for nominating him.”
Chen has served as the Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law and Solicitor at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office since 2008. He first joined the office in 1998 as an Associate Solicitor and has received numerous awards for his service, including: the Gold Medal Award, U.S. Department of Commerce (2011); the Bronze Medal Award, U.S. Department of Commerce (2005); and Attorney of the Year, Office of the Solicitor. He previously worked as a technical assistant at the Federal Circuit from 1996 to 1998, as an associate at the law firm Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear from 1994 to 1996, and as a scientist at Hecker & Harriman (now Hecker Law Group) in Los Angeles. Chen is a graduate of the New York University School of Law and the University of California, Los Angeles.
“I have no doubt that Raymond Chen will make an outstanding judge. We applaud President Obama for nominating him,” said Mee Moua, president and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice. “As an Asian American engineer, career civil servant, and top-notch lawyer, he will make a meaningful contribution to the diversity of the Federal Circuit.”
Asian Pacific Americans continue to be significantly underrepresented in the federal judiciary. Today only 2 out of over 180 federal appellate court judges in the entire nation are of Asian Pacific American heritage. NAPABA and AAJC thank President Obama for his continued commitment to nominating well-qualified, diverse nominees to the federal judiciary. Chen is the fifth Asian Pacific American that President Obama has nominated to the appellate courts.
NAPABA IHC Mentoring Program
The NAPABA In-House Counsel Committee’s mentoring program is accepting applications for in-house counsel (including attorneys working for the public sector, academic institutions, and non-profits) to participate as a mentee and/or mentor. The program seeks to foster relationships between NAPABA members who are experienced in-house counsel and NAPABA members who are either (i) new to the in-house position and in need of guidance, including advice on professional development, career goals and transitioning into the in-house position, or (ii) experienced in-house practitioners in need of guidance on how to move forward or position themselves to take advantage of future opportunities. Applications are due to Lusanna Ro at [email protected] and David Kahng at [email protected] by February 15, 2013.
Please encourage your IHC members to participate. More information about the program can be found here: http://napaba.org/napaba/showpage.asp?code=In-HouseCounsel.
NAPABA SUPPORT FOR ABA APPOINTMENTS – FEB. 11 DEADLINE
We need your help and involvement to ensure that Asian Pacific Americans are well represented in the ABA’s leadership ranks. Please consider applying for an appointment or encouraging another NAPABA member to do so.
NAPABA will be recommending candidates for appointments to committees, commissions, and other ABA entities for the upcoming bar year. To be considered for an endorsement, you must submit a request to NAPABA by February 11, 2013, noon EST.
Important steps:
- To apply for an ABA appointment, you must be a member of the ABA. If you are not already a member, click here for membership information.
- You must apply for an appointment online at http://www.abanet.org/appointments by February 25.
- You should seek the support of your friends and colleagues who are already in the ABA leadership ranks or who are leaders in your local/state bar associations.
- To secure NAPABA’s support for an appointment, send an email to Pia Rivera at [email protected] by February 11 with the subject line “ABA Appointments.” You should provide a short bio, identify the particular entities you are interested in serving on, and explain your interest and any relevant experience.
This ABA link in #2 above includes information that may answer any questions you may have. If you have other questions, please email Pia Rivera for assistance.
NAPABA Applauds the Appointment of Judge Carla Wong McMillian To The Georgia Court of Appeals
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal appointed Judge Carla Wong McMillian to be a judge on the Georgia Court of Appeals. Judge McMillian is the first Asian Pacific American state appellate court judge to be appointed in the Southeast Region of the United States.
“We applaud Governor Deal for this historic appointment,” stated Wendy Shiba, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). “Judge McMillian has distinguished herself on the Georgia trial court bench, and we believe that all of Georgia benefits from having a highly qualified and diverse Court of Appeals.”
Judge McMillian has been a state court judge in Fayette County, Georgia since 2010. In 2012, she became the first Asian Pacific American female judge to be elected in Georgia. Prior to Judge McMillian’s appointment to the bench, she was a partner at the law firm of Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan LLP, where she focused on complex litigation. She has been listed as a “Rising Star” in Georgia Super Lawyers in 2007 and 2010. NAPABA recognized her as one of its “Best Lawyers Under 40” in 2012. Judge McMillian is a proud Georgian, whose grandparents immigrated to the United States from China in the 1920s and whose mother is from Hong Kong.
NAPABA congratulates Judge McMillian on her appointment and commends Governor Deal for his initiative in diversifying the judiciary.
Service in the Obama Administration
SERVICE IN THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION
Many NAPABA members have expressed interest in serving in the second term of the Obama Administration. NAPABA has assembled the information below as an introduction to the process, and important information about how to facilitate pursuit of a position is included. Current NAPABA members should submit application materials as outlined below.
Career Versus Non-Career Positions
There are two ways to serve in the Administration: through a career position or through a non-career position. Career positions are civil service positions that have a traditional application process, while non-career or “political” positions are appointed by the president. Some non-career appointments require Senate confirmation while others will not, and there are often considerable delays involved in the Senate confirmation process.
Those who may be interested in career positions should search for vacancies using www.usajobs.gov, where all career civil service positions with the federal government are posted by the Office of Personnel Management. All applicants should follow the instructions contained in each posting of interest to them. Most career positions are not replaced during an administration change and interested individuals may apply for these jobs at any time.
How to Seek a Political Appointment
For those who may be interested in non-career positions, NAPABA strongly recommends that such members carefully and thoughtfully educate themselves about the available positions sought, their qualifications for such positions, and how they intend to navigate through the application, interview, and, if applicable, the Senate confirmation process. It is important to neither oversell nor undersell your qualifications in the process. A good starting point is to review the “Plum Book”, which is available online at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-PLUMBOOK-2008/content-detail.html, and is also available as an app here: http://m.gpo.gov/plumbook/. NAPABA members interested in non-career positions should also review the Council for Excellence in Government’s unofficial guide to selected presidential appointments, which is called the “Prune Book” and available online at www.excellenceintransition.org.
Applications that identify non-career positions of interest with the greatest degree of specificity possible (e.g., “Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative”) are more likely to reach the appropriate decision-makers in the Obama Administration, and to have greater success in the process. Conversely, applications that are not specific in the position sought (e.g. “I want to do something in trade.”) may be at a relative disadvantage in the process. There is no official list available of positions that are currently open or likely to become open. Interested parties should list the positions that they are interested regardless of the availability of this information.
Whether or not assistance from NAPABA is sought, everyone seeking a non-career position with the Obama Administration must visit and follow the application instructions posted on www.whitehouse.gov/blog_post/apply_for_a_job/. As with other competitive opportunities, NAPABA members pursuing positions in the next Administration – especially non-career positions – are highly encouraged to apply early and to promote their applications through all networks available to them, in addition to seeking any desired assistance from NAPABA.
Selection for career positions and appointments for non-career positions is an ongoing process that will continue year-round.
How NAPABA Can Help
NAPABA will try to answer members’ questions about service in the Obama-Biden Administration that were not addressed or not fully addressed by the information provided herein. Questions should be emailed to [email protected], using the subject line “POLITICAL APPOINTMENT APPLICATION QUESTION.”
NAPABA may be able to provide a limited number of current members with mentors who can directly answer questions about pursing political appointments and provide guidance about the appointment process. If you would like to request a mentor, please send an email to [email protected] containing the subject line “POLITICAL APPOINTMENT APPLICATION–MENTOR REQUEST” and a brief description of your needs and why you believe that you would particularly benefit from mentorship. We will try to fulfill as many matches as possible and appropriate. To ensure an accurate mentor match, NAPABA requests that each NAPABA member seeking a mentor to have already reviewed the Plum Book, the Prune Book, and/or usajobs.gov and have narrowed his or her areas of interest based upon the information learned from the Plum Book, the Prune Book, and/or usajobs.com.
Where appropriate, NAPABA may try to facilitate an individual NAPABA member’s application for a position with the Obama Administration. Those interested in this type of assistance should submit their resumes and bios to [email protected] using the subject line “POLITICAL APPOINTMENT APPLICATION MATERIALS.” Resumes and bios should be given filenames based on one’s last name, first name, and type of document. For example, a resume submitted by Pia Rivera would be saved as “Rivera Pia Resume” and her bio would be saved as “Rivera Pia Bio.” Please identify positions of interest using the greatest degree of specificity possible (e.g., “Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative”, “U.S. Attorney, San Francisco”). NAPABA’s direct efforts to facilitate any specific application may be subject to review and approval by the NAPABA board and/or Co-Chairs of the appropriate committees.
Note that although NAPABA may be able to support its members during this process, submitting materials to NAPABA is not an essential component of one’s application. All applications for career or non-career positions with the Obama-Biden Administration can be submitted using only www.usajobs.gov or www.whitehouse.gov, as described above.
NAPABA wishes the best of luck to all applicants!
NAPABA Mourns the Death of Senator Daniel Inouye
Washington – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) mourns the death of Senator Daniel K. Inouye, the second-longest serving member of the United States Senate and the highest ranking Asian Pacific American in the nation. He was the first Japanese American to serve in Congress and a lifelong champion of civil liberties for all Americans.
Read the full press release here.
Press Release: NAPABA AND AAJC APPLAUD LORNA SCHOFIELD’S CONFIRMATION TO THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 13, 2012
NAPABA Contact: Emily Chatterjee (202) 775-9555
AAJC Contact: Kimberly Goulart (202) 499-7027
NAPABA AND AAJC APPLAUD LORNA SCHOFIELD’S CONFIRMATION TO THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
WASHINGTON – Today the United States Senate confirmed Lorna Schofield by a 91-0 vote to a seat on 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.
“NAPABA congratulates Lorna Schofield on her confirmation as a federal district judge on the Southern District of New York and is proud to have supported her nomination and confirmation,” said Wendy Shiba, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). “We applaud President Obama and Senator Schumer for nominating Judge Schofield to this critical court, and continuing their commitment to nominating well-qualified, diverse candidates to the federal bench.”
Prior to joining the bench, Judge Schofield practiced law at the New York law firm 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. Prior to joining Debevoise, she was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (Criminal Division) for four years. Ms. Schofield was 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.
“We congratulate Lorna Schofield on her confirmation and commend President Obama and Senator Schumer for their commitment to diversifying the bench with exceptionally well-qualified judicial nominees,” said Mee Moua, president and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice. “The community is hopeful that our Senate leaders will work to confirm Pamela Chen, President Obama and Senator Schumer’s nominee to the Eastern District of New York this year. Ms. Chen’s confirmation on the heels of the Judge Schofield’s would be celebrated by all in New York City, as well as Asian Americans across the nation.”
With her confirmation today, Judge Schofield will join Judge Kiyo Matsumoto of the Eastern District of New York as the only judges of Asian descent serving on 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 the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York are Asian Pacific Americans. The nomination of another well-qualified Asian Pacific American, Pamela Ki Mai 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 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 64 local Asian Pacific American bar associations. Its members represent 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 federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes professional development of people of color in the legal profession.
The Asian American Justice Center (www.advancingequality.org), a member of Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, works closely with its affiliate organizations – the Asian American Institute in Chicago (www.aaichicago.org), the Asian Law Caucus (www.asianlawcaucus.org) in San Francisco and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (www.apalc.org) in Los Angeles – to promote a fair and equitable society for all by working for civil and human rights and empowering Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other underserved communities.
Hon. Doris Ling-Cohan Re-elected to NAPABA Judicial Council
We received the following update from Monica Cheng, Assistant Law Clerk to the Hon. Doris Ling-Cohan:
At its recent annual meeting of the National APA Judges (NAPABA Judicial Council) held in Washington D.C., Justice Doris Ling Cohan (Supreme Court, New York County) was re-elected President, Judge Denny Chin (2nd Cir. Court of Appeals) was re-elected Treasurer, and Judge Marilyn Go (Magistrate Judge, EDNY) was elected Secretary. Their dinner was hosted by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Supreme Court, at which she did a short program with Hon. Goodwin Liu (Associate Justice, CA Supreme Court), her former law clerk.
Congratulations to the Hon. Doris Ling-Cohan, the Hon. Denny Chin and the Hon. Marilyn Go.