News

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! 

For Immediate Release

APABA-DC is horrified by last night's mass shooting in Atlanta, Georgia that appears to have targeted AAPI businesses and AAPI individuals, as well as by the steep rise in hate crimes and incidents victimizing AAPIs across the country.  Our deepest condolences to the families of the victims—we grieve alongside them and our hearts are broken.  We continue to denounce irresponsible rhetoric such as referring to the coronavirus as the "Chinese Virus," "Wuhan Virus," or otherwise "foreign" virus, which has fanned further hate towards our community.  This past year alone, over 3,800 hate incidents targeting AAPIs have been reported.  APABA-DC continues to condemn such acts of hate driven by racism and xenophobia.  

We encourage our friends, partners, allies, and communities to join us in taking action, including joining our discussions focused on combating AAPI hate on March 30 with former top federal officials Jessie Liu and Roy Austin, April 7 with DC and NJ Attorney Generals Karl Racine and Gurbir Grewal, and April 12 with Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-3).  Please also check out NAPABA's helpful listing of hate crimes resources.

For Immediate Release

APABA-DC is dismayed by the violence and chaos that erupted yesterday in our home and our nation’s capital. As a community of lawyers and legal professionals, we are committed to respecting the rule of law and condemn violent actions that could harm democracy. We hope that all of you, especially those of you who work or live on the Hill or downtown stay safe.

Pioneer Award:  Chris Lu, Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor

Community Appreciation Award:  Juvaria Khan, Founder, The Appellate Project; &
Charles Yi, Partner, Arnold Porter

Member Appreciation Award:  Phil Olaya, Special Counsel, U.S. Election Assistance Commission; & Shiwali Patel, Director of Justice for Student Survivors & Senior Counsel, National Women’s Law center

Rising Stars Award:  Avi Panth, Deputy Voter Protection Director, Biden Campaign in Virginia;
Linh Ly, Attorney, Pesner Altmiller Melnick & DeMers PLC

For Immediate Release

APABA-DC offers its warmest congratulations to U.S. Senator Kamala Devi Harris, who is the country’s first South Asian, Black, and female Vice President-Elect of the United States. Upon being sworn in as Vice President, she will be the highest ranking Asian Pacific American ever in the presidential line of succession.

The images of Vice President-Elect Harris as a young child with her immigrant parents from India and Jamaica evoke an enormous sense of hope and pride within our community. The election of a biracial daughter of two immigrants to such a significant, representative office, speaks to the greatness of this country and all of its ideals. Her election is an important step towards representing the diversity of the United States in the political process. As fellow lawyers of Asian descent, we congratulate Vice President-Elect Harris on this groundbreaking achievement!

APABA-DC is troubled by efforts to cast diversity-related training of government workers as "demeaning" or "divisive, anti-American propaganda."  We urge our Nation’s leaders to remain committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to take steps to combat systemic and historical injustices. No institution—including the government—is immune from systemic racism. Especially in light of COVID-19-related violence against Asian Americans, the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on diverse communities, and recent events highlighting the painful legacies of injustice wrought on Black lives throughout America’s history, now is the time for our private and public institutions to take meaningful action, and dedicate resources to promote diversity and inclusion across all sectors of our workforce.  

APABA-DC continues to oppose racism and injustice of any kind, stands in solidarity with the Black community,  and reiterates its call for the legal profession to act not only to preserve, but also to build on the significant gains that have been made in retaining and advancing diverse lawyers. 

APABA-DC warmly congratulates Vijay Shanker on his nomination to serve as an Associate Judge on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals! APABA-DC endorsed him for this judgeship. He serves as Senior Litigation Counsel in the United States Department of Justice, Criminal Division, and as Deputy Chief of the Appellate Section. For more details, please see this press release.

Please find a link to the full statement here.