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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Yang Chen, Executive Director May 25, 2018 (212) 332-2478

NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL BARBARA UNDERWOOD TO BE KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT ASIAN AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK’S 2018 JUDGES’ RECEPTION

NEW YORK – May 25, 2018. The Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) is pleased to announce that New York State Attorney General Barbara Underwood will be the keynote speaker at AABANY’s Annual Judges’ Reception to be held on May 31, 2018 at the United States Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, New York, NY, starting at 6 pm.

This year marks the second consecutive year that AABANY has honored newly inducted, elevated and retired judges of Asian Pacific American (APA) descent at its Judges’ Reception. This year, AABANY is proud to honor:

Hon. Randall T. Eng

Justice Eng is the former Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department of the New York State Supreme Court. He is the first and only Asian American to be appointed as Presiding Justice of any Appellate Division in New York State. Born in Canton, China, Justice Eng was raised in and attended public school here before going to college at SUNY Buffalo and onto law school at St. John’s. From 1970 to 2004, he proudly served his country as a member of the New York Army National Guard, retiring as State Judge Advocate with the rank of colonel. Justice Eng began his long and esteemed career in public service as an assistant district attorney in and continued in top leadership positions at the New York City Department of Corrections. He first took the bench in New York City Criminal Court in 1983. In 1991, he was elected to the New York Supreme Court and rose through the ranks to serve as Administrative Judge in Queens County. In 2008, he was elevated to the Appellate Division and chosen to lead the Second Department in 2012.

Hon. George T. Chew

Judge Chew recently retired from the New York City Immigration Court where he was appointed as an Immigration Judge in September 1995. He received his Bachelor of Arts from City College of New York in 1972, and Juris Doctorate from Antioch School of Law in 1979. From 1985 to 1995, Judge Chew was in private practice in New York. From 1981 to 1984, he was a partner with the Law Offices of Wong & Chew, also in New York. Judge Chew served as a trial attorney for the former Immigration and Naturalization Service in New York from 1979 to 1981.

Hon. Laurie L. Lau

Judge Lau recently retired from the Housing Court bench where she served as Housing Court judge since her appointment in 1993. At that time, she was only the third APA in New York either appointed or elected to judicial office and the first APA woman appointed to the Housing Court. Prior to her appointment, Judge Lau was associated with Marcus Rosenberg & Diamond, a firm that specializes in real estate law. Judge Lau is a graduate of New York Law School. Judge Lau is enjoying her retirement in the state of Hawaii.

Hon. Deepa Ambekar

Judge Ambekar was appointed by Mayor de Blasio to the New York City Civil Court and is serving in the Criminal Court. Prior to her appointment, she served with the New York City Council for three years as Senior Legislative Attorney and Counsel to the Committee on Public Safety. Prior to that, she was a Staff Attorney at the Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Division, and a litigation associate at a private firm. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and her law degree from Rutgers Law School.

Hon. Sanket J. Bulsara

Judge Bulsara was appointed to serve as a United States Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Judge Bulsara is the first South Asian American to serve as a judge in any federal court within the jurisdiction of the Second Circuit. Judge Bulsara began his legal career as law clerk to the Honorable John G. Koeltl, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Thereafter, he was an associate at Munger Tolles & Olson in Los Angeles and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr in New York, where he worked from 2005 to 2015, including as a partner of the firm. In 2015, he was appointed Deputy General Counsel for Appellate Litigation, Adjudication, and Enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, DC. Judge Bulsara served as Acting General Counsel of the SEC prior to his appointment to the bench. Judge Bulsara received an A.B. degree magna cum laude in 1998 from Harvard College, and a J.D. degree cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2002.

Hon. Phillip Hom

Judge Hom was elected to the Civil Court in Queens County in November 2017. A native New Yorker and alumnus of SUNY Binghamton and the University of Minnesota Law School, Judge Hom began his legal career in 1995 as an attorney for Owen & Davis, a commercial litigation law firm. Judge Hom entered public service as an Agency Attorney for the New York City Human Resources Administration in 1997. In 2002, Judge Hom served as Councilmember John Liu’s Chief of Staff. Judge Hom was appointed Legislative Counsel for the New York City Council's Committee on Transportation in 2005 and later promoted to Assistant Director of the New York City Council's Legislative Division. In 2011, Judge Hom became a Deputy General Counsel in the New York City Comptroller’s Office. Judge Hom re-entered private practice as Special Counsel with the law firm of Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP in 2014 before his election to the bench.

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Hon. Charlie Y.J. Liu (posthumously)

Judge Liu was appointed to the Housing Court, Bronx County in February 2017. Prior to his ascension to the bench, Judge Liu served as an Associate Court Attorney, assisting Housing Court judges with all aspects of case resolution, including negotiating settlements, drafting decisions, providing procedural information to litigants, and advising judges on facts and issues on matters before the Court. Prior to that, Liu advocated on behalf of clients on housing issues within the Asian American community and on behalf of low income tenants. Judge Liu received his undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Albany and his law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Hon. Jeffrey K. Oing

Justice Oing was recently appointed to the Appellate Division, First Department of the New York State Supreme Court. Prior to his appointment, Justice Oing served as Judge in the Civil and Supreme Courts for fourteen years, including an assignment to the prestigious Commercial Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York. Prior to the bench, he also served as Deputy General Counsel to the New York City Council in 2002 and 2003, and also served as Deputy Director of the New York City Districting Commission. Justice Oing is a graduate of Columbia College and New York University School of Law.

Hon. Anil C. Singh

Justice Singh was recently appointed to the Appellate Division, First Department of the New York State Supreme Court. He is the first Indian-American appointed to this court. Prior to his appointment, he served as a judge for over a decade in the Civil and Supreme Courts, including an assignment to the prestigious Commercial Division of the New York Supreme Court. He was born in India in 1958 and immigrated to the United States in 1976. Justice Singh is a graduate of Lawrence University and the Antioch School of Law.

Hon. Jonathan H. Shim

Judge Shim was appointed by Mayor de Blasio to the Civil Court and is serving in the Family Court. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Shim worked in private practice at several law firms before opening his own practice specializing in family and matrimonial law. Judge Shim received his undergraduate degree from SUNY at Albany and his law degree from Albany Law School. Judge Shim is appointed to Civil Court and will be serving in Family Court.

Hon. Richard A. Tsai

Judge Tsai was recently elected to the New York City Civil Court, New York County. Before his election, Judge Tsai served as the Principal Court Attorney for the Honorable Michael Stallman of the Civil Branch of the Supreme Court of New York, New York County. Richard is a graduate of Stanford University and holds a joint degree in American and French law from Cornell Law School and the Université de Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne.

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Hon. Ona T. Wang

Judge Wang was recently appointed United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of New York. Judge Wang is the first Asian American to be appointed a magistrate judge in the Southern District of New York. Prior to the bench, Judge Wang served as a partner in Baker Hostetler’s litigation group for 11 years, focusing her practice on civil, criminal and regulatory issues. Judge Wang received an A.B. cum laude from Harvard-Radcliffe Colleges, a Ph.D. in zoology from Duke University, and a J.D. cum laude from the New York University School of Law, where she served as a Staff Editor and Executive Editor for the N.Y.U. Review of Law & Social Change. Judge Wang commenced her legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable Deborah A. Batts in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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

The Asian American Bar Association of New York is a professional membership organization of attorneys concerned with issues affecting the Asian Pacific American community. Incorporated in 1989, AABANY seeks not only to encourage the professional growth of its members but also to advocate for the Asian Pacific American community as a whole. AABANY is the New York regional affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).

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