Tag: us senate

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NAPABA Applauds the Confirmation of Lisa Wang to the U.S. Court of International Trade


For Immediate Release: 
Date: February 1, 2024 		Contact: Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director for Policy 

WASHINGTON – Today, the United States Senate confirmed Lisa Wang to serve on the U.S. Court of International Trade. She is the second from the AANHPI community to serve on this Article III court.

“We congratulate Lisa Wang on her confirmation to serve on the U.S. Court of International Trade,” said Anna Mercado Clark, President of NAPABA. “She brings deep experience to the bench having worked in private practice and government service, including at the Department of Commerce and in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.”

The U.S. Court of International Trade, an Article III court, has nationwide jurisdiction over civil actions arising from U.S. customs and international trade laws. Appointments to the U.S. Court of International Trade are lifetime appointments.

“Today, President Biden has appointed 30 AANHPI Article III judges that the U.S. Senate has confirmed. We thank President Biden for nominating Ms. Wang and his continued efforts to extend his record-breaking benchmark of AANHPI judges,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA.

Lisa Wang served as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Enforcement and Compliance, and she was the U.S. Department of Commerce’s delegate on the Interagency Working Group for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. In that role, Assistant Secretary Wang supported the Administration’s whole-of-government agenda to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for AANHPI communities. 

Before her appointment at the Department of Commerce, she was a partner at Picard Kentz & Rowe LLP, where she focused on international trade law matters, including antidumping, countervailing duty litigation, and trade policy issues. Assistant Secretary Wang also served as Senior Attorney with the Office of the Chief Counsel for Trade Enforcement and Compliance at the Department of Commerce, as Assistant General Counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and as Senior Import Administration Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, where she was awarded Commerce’s Bronze Medal Award for Distinguished Performance. She received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2006 and her B.S. from Cornell University.

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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.

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AABANY and NYU APALSA Present A Conversation: Asian Pacific American Engagement in Public Service

From left to right: Yang Chen (Executive Director of AABANY); Chris Kwok (AABANY Board Director and Issues Committee Chair); Prof. Suzanne Kim (Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School and Academic Committee Co-Chair); Josh Hsu (Deputy Chief of Staff to Senator Kamala D. Harris); Marianne Chow (AABANY Board Director and Co-Chair of Professional Development Committee); Kevin Hsi (Co-Chair of Government Service and Public Interest Committee)

On March 15, AABANY and NYU APALSA hosted a conversation with Josh Hsu and Suzanne Kim in Furman Hall at NYU Law School. The discussion focused on Asian Pacific American attorneys’ engagement in public service.

Josh Hsu is the deputy chief of staff for Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA). The discussion was moderated by Suzanne Kim, Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School. Suzanne Kim is also a co-chair of AABANY’s Academic Committee.

Attendees filled a classroom at NYU Law School’s Furman Hall to hear Prof. Suzanne Kim in conversation with Josh Hsu on his experiences as an APA in public service.

Professor Kim interviewed Josh Hsu about various topics, including Hsu’s professional development, Hsu’s experience with working on the Hill and Asian American attorneys’ involvement in public service — mainly the lack thereof. Josh Hsu recounted how he received the clerkship offer from Judge Chin. As a law student, Josh drafted an article entitled “Asian American Judges: Identity, Their Narratives, & Diversity on the Bench” for Professor Mari Matsuda’s class, and to his surprise, he received Judge Chin’s comments on his draft, which is how Josh connected with Judge Chin and later received a clerkship offer from him. This experience made Josh realize that there is more than one way to make connections and enter into public service.

After the conversation, the floor was opened up for mingling. Attendees of the event actively engaged in more intimate and in-depth conversations with each other and with Josh Hsu.

Attendees continued the conversation after Prof. Kim and Josh Hsu concluded their conversation.

We thank Josh Hsu for sharing his insights and knowledge with us as an APA in public service and encouraging others to join him on his path. We wish him best of luck on the Hill. We thank Suzanne Kim for facilitating the conversation and NYU APALSA for co-sponsoring the event. Last but not least, we thank everyone who joined us on a Friday night and for sharing your enthusiasm about APA engagement in public service.

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