News

APABA-DC strongly condemns the use of the term "Chinaman" by Georgetown Law Professor Franz Werro in referring to a student in his class whose name he could not recall. (See here.)

The use of racial slurs diminishes the collective efforts of our community to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in our profession. APABA-DC remains committed to promoting diversity and inclusion across the legal profession in the DC area, and stands ready to work with law firms, legal departments, and law schools in achieving this vision.

In this critical moment as the U.S. Senate faces the opportunity to pass landmark civil rights legislation, APABA-DC joined AAPI organizations in sending a clear message to the U.S. Senate that voting rights are fundamental to a healthy democracy and must be protected. The full text of the letter is below.

The U.S. Capitol
The United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator:

We, the undersigned organizations, are calling on you not only to debate but to move to final passage of H.R. 5746, the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act. This bill will ensure that voters can safely and freely cast their ballots, protect against election sabotage, stop partisan gerrymandering, and make Election Day a holiday so that people do not have to miss work to cast their ballots. This legislation is critical to ensure that the voices Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs), are heard at the ballot box. We protect democracy by ensuring that as many citizens as possible participate in elections. Democracy is diminished when such access is limited. 

The attacks on voter access have only increased; nineteen states enacted 34 new laws that restrict access to the ballot box in 2021 alone and more are under consideration today. We saw from the 2020 presidential election and the regional elections in 2021 that AAPIs went to the polls in record numbers. And we saw how an increasing number of us prefer to vote early and vote by mail. The Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act will address our key concerns around voter protection and ensure the ability for every American to participate in safe, accessible, and transparent elections. 

H.R. 5746 combines the provisions from the Freedom to Vote Act with the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and represents the most comprehensive voting reform in decades. This bill represents fundamentals that AAPI communities have been supporting for decades. During those years, voting rights legislation has always been passed with strong bipartisan support and for those who believe in democracy’s bedrock principle of the right to vote, the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act must be passed now.

Yesterday, the White House announced the nomination of the Honorable Errol Rajesh Arthur to serve as Associate Judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, where he currently serves as Presiding Magistrate Judge and on the Chief Judge's Judicial Leadership team.  Judge Arthur is a longstanding and active supporter of APABA-DC, which endorsed his candidacy. Since 2010, Judge Arthur has been a Magistrate Judge in the Criminal Division, Domestic Violence Division, and Family Court.  Previously, he worked in private practice, representing clients in criminal, family, and civil matters, as a staff attorney at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, and as a clerk for the Honorable Mary A. Gooden Terrell of the D.C. Superior Court.  He received his J.D. from the Howard University School of Law and his B.A. from the University of Maryland.

Judge Arthur's nomination is pending confirmation by the U.S. Senate.  The White House press release can be found here. Please join us in congratulating Judge Arthur! 

Congratulations to Tara K. Ramchandani on being recommended by the D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission to the White House for consideration for a judicial vacancy on the D.C. Superior Court created by the anticipated retirement of the Honorable Judith A. Smith.  Tara is a Partner at Relman Colfax, a plaintiffs’ side civil rights law firm based in D.C. APABA-DC is proud to have endorsed Tara in her candidacy.  Please join us in congratulating Tara!

Congratulations to the Honorable Florence Y. Pan, currently an Associate Judge on the D.C. Superior Court, on being confirmed yesterday by the United States Senate to fill a judicial vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia!  APABA-DC is proud to have endorsed Judge Pan’s candidacy for this position.  Judge Pan has demonstrated an impressive longstanding commitment to APABA-DC, the AAPI community, and the larger DC community. 

We are thrilled to see many AAPI candidates nominated for DC and federal judgeships and applaud President Biden for continuing to ensure that our judiciary reflects the diversity of our country. 

Please join us in congratulating all these judicial candidates! 

Congratulations to Loren L. AliKhan, currently the Solicitor General for the District of Columbia since 2018, on her nomination to fill a judicial vacancy on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals!  APABA-DC is proud to have endorsed Ms. AliKhan’s candidacy for this position. The White House announcement can be found here.

APABA-DC also congratulates Judge John H. Chun for his nomination to the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, which would make him the first AAPI man to serve as a federal judge in that district; Mr. Dale E. Ho for his nomination for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York; and Judge Jinsook Ohta, for her nomination for the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, making her the first AAPI woman to serve as a federal judge in that district.  

We are thrilled to see many AAPI candidates nominated for DC and federal judgeships and applaud President Biden for continuing to ensure that our judiciary reflects the diversity of our country. 

Please join us in congratulating all these judicial candidates! 

APABA-DC is honored to be the 2021 recipient of NAPABA’s Affiliate of the Year Award! This award recognizes outstanding NAPABA affiliates for their best practices and accomplishments in their local communities.

We are thrilled to receive this award in our 40th year of service to the APA community in the Nation’s Capitol. In response to the unique challenges our community has faced during the pandemic, APABA-DC redoubled our efforts to realize our mission: to raise awareness of the critical issues facing the DC APA legal community, foster the professional growth and advancement of our members, and collaborate with community organizations to serve the community at large. Over the last year, APABA-DC led 20 diverse bar associations, APA legal student associations, and prominent legal organizations in the DC area in issuing a joint statement condemning the hate crimes and acts of discrimination targeting APAs, and helped persuade local leaders to take action to meaningfully address them.  In the weeks following the horrific Atlanta shooting, APABA-DC worked swiftly to organize a series of panels focused on how the federal, state, and local governments can combat anti-APA hate and extremism. 

In addition to addressing these important issues, APABA-DC brought our community together to create a safe space for all of us to connect and reflect together. Even in a virtual environment, we found time to laugh, create, and relax together through our holiday-themed murder mystery party, lunar new year magic show, musical performances, comedy show, cooking and fitness classes, local APA brewery and boozy milkshake tastings for in-house counsel, informal “Lawyers in Sweatpants” coffee hours, and many other programs. 

On behalf of the APABA-DC Board, we thank you for your support and contributions to APABA-DC’s mission. The strength of our board, members, and community made this award possible.

For Immediate Release

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate passed S. 937, the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, that would expedite the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) review of hate crimes and would designate a top DOJ official to oversee the effort. The bill also requires the DOJ to issue guidance for state and local law enforcement agencies on how to establish online hate crime reporting processes in multiple languages, and how to expand culturally competent education campaigns. Additionally, the bill requires the DOJ and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to issue guidance on best practices for mitigating racially discriminatory language in describing the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The legislation, which was introduced by Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), sends a powerful message to the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community that the U.S. government will take action to meaningfully address the drastic increase in violence and discrimination targeting our community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

APABA-DC continues to denounce crimes and acts of discrimination driven by hate and xenophobia and to call on our nation’s leaders to take action to combat AAPI hate.  We are heartened that the Senate acted on a bipartisan basis in passing the bill by a 94-1 margin.  We now urge the U.S. House of Representatives to act swiftly to pass the bill and President Biden to sign the legislation into law. 

For Immediate Release

APABA-DC offers its warmest congratulations to Vanita Gupta, who was confirmed yesterday as Associate Attorney General, the third-highest post in the U.S. Department of Justice.  Born in the U.S., she is the daughter of Indian immigrants, former head of the Civil Rights Division, and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. 

Having an AAPI woman among the Department’s senior ranks—especially one who has championed our community and other communities of color and marginalized communities’ civil rights, language access, and right to vote, and worked to reform the criminal justice system—is especially critical now, as our AAPI community continues to be the target of a shocking wave of hate crimes and acts of discrimination across the country. Please join us in congratulating Vanita Gupta! 

For Immediate Release

Congratulations to the Honorable Florence Y. Pan, currently a judge on the D.C. Superior Court, on her nomination to fill a judicial vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia!  APABA-DC is proud to have endorsed Judge Pan’s candidacy for this position.  Judge Pan has demonstrated an impressive longstanding commitment to APABA-DC, the AAPI community, and the larger DC community.  The White House announcement can be found here. 

APABA-DC also congratulates Administrative Judge Rupa Ranga Puttagunta for her nomination to the D.C. Superior Court; U.S. Magistrate Judge Zahid N. Quraishi for his nomination to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, which would make him the first Muslim American to serve on a federal district court; and WilmerHale partner Regina M. Rodriguez for her nomination to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.  We are thrilled to see many AAPI candidates nominated for DC and federal judgeships. 

We applaud President Biden for putting up a diverse slate of judicial candidates, including four Black women attorneys from the DC area for vacancies on the federal courts:  U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia; Perkins Coie LLP partner Tiffany P. Cunningham for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; Zuckerman Spaeder LLP partner Candace Jackson-Akiwumi for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; and U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Lydia Griggsby for the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Please join us in congratulating all these judicial candidates!