Wendy Chang Meets With Obama and Sr. Administration Officials on Judicial Vacancies

Wendy Chang, a Los Angeles-based Partner in the Lawyers Professional Liability Group of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, recently represented the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) in talks with President Obama and senior Obama administration officials on the issue of judicial vacancies, and the resulting crisis in the federal courts. Ms. Chang, in her capacity as co-chair of NAPABA’s Judiciary Committee, was one of approximately 150 community and organization leaders invited to attend a White House briefing with top Obama administration officials, including U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Ms. Chang, with a small group of community leaders, later met directly with President Obama to discuss the crisis, with a focus on the issue of the adverse effects of those judicial vacancies at the local level, especially in emergency jurisdictions, including California and the Ninth Circuit.

While in Washington, D.C., Ms. Chang also attended the U.S. Senate vote and confirmation of Judge Jacqueline Nguyen to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and of Judge John Lee to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Judge Nguyen is the first Asian Pacific American woman to serve as a federal appellate judge in U.S. history. Her confirmation also marks the first time in more than 25 years that there have been two active Asian Pacific American appellate federal judges in the U.S.