On March 23, 2022, the U.S. Senate confirmed Washington Court of Appeals Judge John H. Chun to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, establishing him as the first Korean American and first male Asian American Article III judge to preside in the state of Washington. 

A Pacific Northwest native and the son of South Korean immigrants, Judge Chun graduated from Columbia University with a bachelor's degree in English. He then graduated from Cornell Law School, becoming the first in his family to earn a law degree. While there, he served as a note editor on the Cornell Law Review.

Judge Chun started his career as a law clerk to the Honorable Eugene A. Wright of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He then entered private practice and focused on complex commercial and employment litigation for more than 18 years.  While in private practice, Judge Chun received recognition from various organizations, including recognition as a top Washington “Super Lawyer.”

Judge Chun’s judicial service began in 2014, presiding in the King County Superior Court.  In 2018, he began serving on the Washington Court of Appeals, Division I.  President Biden nominated Judge Chun for a judgeship at the Western District of Washington in September 2021.

Judge Chun previously served as the President of the Korean American Bar Association of Washington (“KABA”), receiving KABA’s Community Leadership Award. Judge Chun is a long-time member of ABAW and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (“NAPABA”).  He currently serves as a Board Member At Large for the Asian Bar Association of Washington’s Student Scholarship Foundation (“ABAWSSF”).  Judge Chun has also served as a mentor to many attorneys and law students. 

ABAW is extremely proud of Judge Chun’s historic confirmation and extends its thanks to President Biden and Senators Murray and Cantwell for their support.

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For ABAW's full announcement, please click here. 

The Asian Bar Association of Washington is excited to announce the return of the Spring Blossom Fellowship for 2022!

The fellowship will provide one grant of up to $5,000 to a JD student attending a law school in the State of Washington (Gonzaga, SU, or UW) and who will be working with a public interest/service organization during Summer of 2022 and whose work advances the rights of women and/or immigrants.  Applicants must contact a potential employer himself/herself/themselves and arrange for a position in order to qualify for the fellowship.  Thus, applicants should start the process of seeking a summer position as soon as possible. 

Funding for the fellowship is made possible by a generous donation from Hon. Lorraine Lee and John Felleisen, in partnership with the Asian Bar Association of Washington Student Scholarship Foundation, in the name of and in honor and memory of, Chun Lan “Spring Blossom” Ng Woo, 1918-2008, an immigrant woman from China who lived her life with integrity, courage, and resilience. 

While the fellowship was inspired by the pressing needs of immigrant women, the criteria for award of the fellowship is broader. The fellowship is available to JD students working with a public interest/service organization and whose work advances the rights of women and/or immigrants; the organization does not need to “specialize” in or solely address issues related to the rights of women and/or immigrants.  Further, an applicant need not work only on projects related to the rights of women and/or immigrants during the term of the fellowship, as long as some of the applicant’s work will help advance such rights.  The extent to which the work advances the rights of women and/or immigrants will be just one factor in awarding the fellowship.  

Completed application packets must be submitted by email to David Tran, ABAW Scholarship Co-Coordinator, at dltran@live.com no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 8, 2022.  Applicants selected for the interview phase of the selection process will be notified on Tuesday, April 12, 2022 for the interview phase.

For more information and to obtain application materials, please contact David Tran, ABAW Scholarship Co-Chair, at dltran@live.com.

To view the ABAW 2020 Summary Video, please click here.

To view the Message from President-Elect John Fetters, please click here.

January 8, 2021 from 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.

For more information, please click here.

The Washington State Supreme Court Interpreter Commission is seeking applicants to join its membership and become involved in its committees. The Commission is seeking an individual who is actively engaged with various ethnic and minority communities for whom English is a second language.   The Community Member Representative is expected to serve as a liaison for the many ethnic language communities in our state and convey their needs and challenges to the Commission in order to improve language access across our state courts.

Please see the attached document for additional information about the Commission and opportunities for involvement.   Application materials are due by November 20, 2020.

Please direct any questions to: 

Robert Lichtenberg 

AOC Language Access Program                                                                                                    

Washington State Supreme Court Interpreter Commission 

(360) 350-5373 
Robert.lichtenberg@courts.wa.gov

ADL is an organization working to fight antisemitism and all forms of hate and securing fair and just treatment for all people. I wanted to share an opportunity that might interest young attorneys in your network, a young leadership program ADL runs called the Glass Leadership Institute (GLI).

This program is designed for young professionals in their 20’s through early 40’s passionate about fighting hate and pursuing social justice. For the first year ever, ADL will have a class in both Seattle and Portland, allowing for relationship building across the Pacific Northwest.

Due to COVID, the program will begin virtually in January 2021 and consist of monthly evening sessions through August 2021. Each interactive session will give participants exposure to pressing issues at the center of ADL’s work, including the rise of online hate, civil rights advocacy, domestic extremism, and building bridges with diverse communities. Sessions will feature a range of speakers, including ADL national and local experts and community leaders.

This is a great opportunity for young attorneys to build their networks, explore current civil rights issue, and gain valuable leadership skills.

For more information about program requirements and to apply, please visit https://seattle.adl.org/gli/. Applications will be accepted now through November 8.

In July, the Washington Supreme Court reversed its 1916 decision in State v. Towessnute, which upheld criminal charges for multiple violations of state fishing law against Alec Towessnute, a member of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. Along with doing so, the Court in its 1916 opinion dismissed the Yakama Nation's treaty rights and filled its opinion with racist invective about indigenous people and their sovereignty.

, Attorney-at-Law, Towtnuk Law Offices, Ltd. and Sacred Ground Legal Services, Inc.

To register:  http://getinvolved.acslaw.org/component/events/event/707

Interested in a volunteer opportunity that provides litigation experience and lets you use your skills to help jobless workers? If the answer is yes, we invite you to an upcoming training for pro bono volunteers of the Unemployment Law Project.

Hosted by Washington Women Lawyers and pending CLE credits - see the below links for more information and to register.

She Ran WWL CLE Flyer.jpg

She Ran WWL CLE Agenda.pdf

WPTL Listen In: COVID-19 - Discrimination and Hate Speech

Please join the World Peace through Law Section for our second "listen in" session, which will focus on COVID-19 and discrimination and hate speech targeting minority communities in the US and around the globe. Our diverse panel will be exploring this issue from different perspectives, including ways that all of us can assist others in ending these types of acts.

Scheduled Speakers:

Anne Watanabe, Chair-Elect, World Peace through Law Section
John C. Yang, Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice
Dr. Leslie Korn, Founder, Leslie Korn Institute for Integrative Medicine
Dr. Mohammad Habib Ullah, Arakan Rohingya National Organisation

Please join in and listen to this conversation that will give listeners a different perspective that is being overlooked with regards to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This Listen In session will be recorded to be shared on the WPTL website (www.wsba.org/peace) for three month. For attendees, please keep your camera and microphone off. Thank you!

Registration is now open - feel free to share widely with your networks and people who may be interested in this issue. Capacity is limited to 100 people. 

https://wsba.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMsd-6srjMrHdFS58c2bdfwx4xdYgMHPOeK  

If you missed our Listen In on Black Lives Matter  - you can listen to it here: www.wsba.org./peace