Confirmed! This week, the Senate unanimously confirmed Raymond T. Chen to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: Welcome Judge Chen.For those keep score, Chen's 97-0 confirmation makes him the first Asian Pacific American to serve on the Federal Circuit in more than 25 years.
Chen, who was nominated to the court by President Obama back in February, currently serves as the Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law and Solicitor for the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Here's some more on his background:
Raymond Chen currently serves as the deputy general counsel for intellectual property law and solicitor at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He began his career at the USPTO as an Associate Solicitor in 1998. Mr. Chen has received numerous awards for his service, including: the Gold Medal Award, U.S. Department of Commerce (2011); the Bronze Medal Award, U.S. Department of Commerce (2005); and Attorney of the Year, Office of the Solicitor (2002). He previously worked as a technical assistant at the Federal Circuit from 1996 to 1998, and as a scientist at Hecker & Harriman in Los Angeles. Chen is a graduate of New York University School of Law and the University of California, Los Angeles.Chen is the fifth Asian Pacific American nominated to the Appellate courts by President Obama. However, we still remain significantly underrepresented in the federal judiciary. If the number of Asian American and Pacific Islander judges reflected the general population, there would be a dozen AAPI federal appellate court judges out of the over 180 that are active.
More here: Advancing Justice-AAJC Applauds Chen Confirmation to the Federal Circuit.
And here: CAPAC Applauds Confirmation of Raymond T. Chen to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.