NAPABA Applauds the Nomination of Judge Sanket J. Bulsara to the U.S. District Court

For Immediate Release: 
Date: February 7, 2024 
ContactRahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director for Policy 

WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden nominated Judge Sanket J. Bulsara to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. 

“NAPABA congratulates Judge Sanket J. Bulsara on his nomination to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He is an experienced jurist and has served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge on the court since 2017,” said Anna Mercado Clark, President of NAPABA. “A native New Yorker and active member of the Asian American Bar Association of New York, Judge Bulsara, who was – at the time that he was appointed a U.S. Magistrate Judge – the first South Asian American to serve as a judge within the Second Circuit, is exceptionally well qualified.  We are proud to support his nomination.”

“The South Asian population is one of the fastest growing in New York City, representing four percent of the population,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA. “President Biden’s nomination and Senator Schumer and Gillibrand’s recommendation of Judge Bulsara recognize the importance of having a judiciary representative of the community.”

Judge Sanket J. Bulsara has been a United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York since 2017. From January 2017 to May 2017, Judge Bulsara served as the Acting General Counsel of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, where he had been the Deputy General Counsel for Appellate Litigation, Adjudication, and Enforcement since 2015. Prior to that, Judge Bulsara worked at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr L.L.P. as an associate from 2005 to 2008, a counsel from 2009 to 2011, and a partner from 2012 to 2015. For six months between 2007 and 2008, he served as a Special Assistant District Attorney at the Kings County (Brooklyn) District Attorney’s Office, and he worked as an associate at Munger, Tolles & Olson L.L.P. in Los Angeles, California from 2003 to 2004. Judge Bulsara served as a law clerk for Judge John G. Koeltl on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York from 2002 to 2003. He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, cum laude, in 2002 and his A.B., magna cum laude, from Harvard College in 1998.

NAPABA thanks President Biden for nominating Judge Bulsara and Senators Schumer and Gillibrand for supporting his 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.

Asian American Bar Association of New York and South Asian Bar Association of New York Congratulate Sanket Bulsara on his Appointment as U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 30, 2017

Contact: Yang Chen, Executive Director

(212) 332-2478

NEW YORK — August 30, 2017. The Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) and the South Asian Bar Association of New York (SABANY) applaud the Honorable Sanket J. Bulsara on his historic appointment to serve as a United States Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Asian Pacific Americans are significantly under-represented in the federal judiciary, including in New York.  Upon his appointment, Judge Bulsara became the first South Asian American to serve as a judge within the Second Circuit.

Judge Bulsara was born in the Bronx but has been a resident and an active community member of Queens, where his parents first lived upon immigrating to the United States from India.  He began his legal career by serving as a law clerk for the Honorable John G. Koeltl of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Judge Bulsara then worked as an associate at the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olsen LLP in Los Angeles, California, before returning to New York in 2004, where he worked as a Manager of Planning and Data Analysis for the New York City Department of Education.

In 2005, Judge Bulsara joined the law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP as an associate and was elevated to partner in 2012, becoming the first Asian Pacific American litigation partner in the firm’s New York office.  At WilmerHale, he developed a trial-centered practice, while also developing the firm’s pro bono practice.  His trial experience included a secondment from 2007 to 2008, when he worked as a Special Assistant District Attorney in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, for which he received an Outstanding Service Award.

Prior to his appointment, he worked at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, serving as the Acting General Counsel and the Deputy General Counsel for Appellate Litigation, Adjudication and Enforcement.

“AABANY congratulates Judge Bulsara on his appointment and commends the Eastern District of New York for not only appointing a highly qualified candidate to this important position but also recognizing a continuing commitment to a bench reflecting the diversity of the general population,” states AABANY President Dwight Yoo. “Judge Bulsara follows in the path blazed by Judge Go, Judge Kuo, Judge Matsumoto and Judge Chen in the EDNY and blazes his own trail by being the first South Asian judge in the Second Circuit. We are proud to count Judge Bulsara among the most distinguished of our members and look forward to continuing to work with him in his new role at the EDNY.”

“SABANY is proud to congratulate Judge Bulsara as he enters the judiciary,“ states SABANY President Mahesh Parlikad. "Judge Bulsara exemplifies what it means to be a public servant, and as the first South Asian judge in the Second Circuit, his appointment resonates with a growing South Asian population in New York and across the nation. He is a role model for SABANY members and beyond. We are excited by the significance of an increasingly diverse EDNY bench at this time, particularly when other federal judicial nominations are lacking in diversity, and we are eager to continue to work with Judge Bulsara to serve our communities.”

For more information, please contact Yang Chen, AABANY Executive Director, at (212) 332-2478, or direct any inquiries to [email protected].