L. Song Richardson Named UCI Law School Dean, Becomes Only Woman of Color Dean of a Top-30 Law School

By Jenn Fang. Cross-Posted from Reappropriate



Earlier today, the UC Irvine School of Law -- ranked within the top 30 of the nation's law schools by US News & World Reports, and ranked 10th among public universities -- announced that Professor L. Song Richardson has been named the school's newest dean, succeeding UCI Law's founding dean, renowned constitutional law scholar Erwin Chemerinsky.

Community activist gets law license 63 years after his death

California Supreme Court grants posthumous bar admission to Sei Fujii, who was denied because of his race.



Law school is no joke. Imagine busting your ass, making it through and graduating from law school, only to learn that you are ineligible to practice law because you're not white.

That's what happened to Sei Fujii, a Japanese immigrant who was denied a license to practice law in California in 1911 because of his race. He received his license this week from the California Supreme Court -- over sixty years after his death.

Fujii immigrated to the United States in 1903 and received a law degree from the University of Southern California. At the time, California law barred legal licenses for immigrants who were ineligible for citizenship, and naturalization, according to federal law, was limited to "free white person" and those of African descent.

Lynn Nakamoto appointed to Oregon Supreme Court

She will be the first Asian American to sit on the state's highest bench.



This week in Oregon, Governor Kate Brown announced that Lynn Nakamoto has been appointed to serve on the Oregon Supreme Court. She will be the first Asian American to serve on the state's highest bench.

Oregon Governor Announces 'Historic' Supreme Court Appointment

Nakamoto, who has served on the Oregon Court of Appeals since 2011, will replace Judge Virginia L. Lander, who is stepping down from the Oregon Supreme Court at the end of the year.

Nakamoto first began practicing law in Oregon more than 30 years ago:

Kentucky prosecutor fired for derogatory remarks

Attorney's history of "inappropriate and unprofessional" behavior came to light after "greedy foreigners" remark.



Remember that Kentucky prosecutor who got in trouble for sending a racially inflammatory letter regarding the Asian American owners of a local martial arts school? It's official: he's been fired. Good riddance.

Controversial prosecutor Karl Price fired after incendiary comments

After a monthlong investigation, the Jefferson County Attorneys Office terminated local prosecutor Karl Price last week for his unprofessional behavior, as well as his deliberate refusal to take responsibility for his actions.

It all started in May when Price, while working a civil case in his private practice, sent a letter to the attorney representing the owners of Hwang's Martial Arts Academy, calling the Hwang family, among other things, "greedy foreigners." Later, Price doubled down and defended his comments, saying the Hwangs could be "illegal aliens" due to their "broken English." He was subsequently disciplined for his remarks.

Kentucky attorney suspended for derogatory comments

Karl Price's history of "disturbing" behavior comes to light after "greedy foreigners" remark.



Well. Not long after Kentucky lawyer Karl Price received a teeny slap on the wrist for making racist, derogatory remarks in a letter to an attorney representing Asian American business owners, calling them "greedy foreigners," a little digging into his past has revealed a checkered history of shitty, racist -- and publicly documented -- behavior. And it has come back to bite him in the ass.

Attorney Doubles Down on Racist, Offensive Comments

In light of new evidence brought to light by The Courier-Journal, the Jefferson County Attorney's Office has reportedly suspended Price without pay pending an investigation. The internet does not forget, Mr. Price!

Prosecutor "disciplined" for calling Asian American business owners "greedy foreigners"

Kentucky attorney gets a reprimand and sensitivity training for making derogatory comments.



In Kentucky, the Louisville prosecutor who made racially insensitive and derogatory comments about the Asian American owners of a martial arts school, calling them "greedy foreigners," has been reprimanded and ordered to attend sensitivity training by the Jefferson County Attorney's Office. Seriously, that's it?

Prosecutor punished for referring to Asian-American business owners as 'greedy foreigners'

Assistant County Attorney Karl Price, while working a civil case in his private practice, sent a letter to the attorney representing the owners of Hwang's Martial Arts Academy, calling the Hwang family, among other things, "greedy foreigners who simply did not understand simple contract relations." Price's client is in the middle of litigation with the Hwangs over a dispute about martial arts lessons.

Price's letter also said that the Hwangs, who are Korean American, were "relying on some ancient Asian principle" by refusing to agree on a settlement figure in the case.

"This is a case of greedy foreigners..."

Kentucky attorney's letter uses racist, inflammatory language regarding Asian American business owners.



In Kentucky, an assistant county attorney is under fire for sending a letter containing racially insensitive and inflammatory language to the lawyer representing the Asian American owners of a martial arts school.

County Attorney's office reviewing prosecutor's inflammatory letter

Karl Price, a prosecutor with the Jefferson County Attorney's Office, sent a letter -- through his private practice -- to the attorney representing Hwang's Martial Arts Academy, which operations three locations in Louisville. Price's client is in the middle of litigation with the Hwangs over a dispute about martial arts lessons.

The letter repeatedly refers to the Hwangs, who are Korean American, as "foreigners" and claims they are "relying on some ancient Asian principle" by refusing to agree on a settlement figure in the case.

APALJ 2015 Symposium: Under the Radar

Saturday, April 18 at UCLA School of Law



Hey, Los Angeles. The UCLA Asian Pacific American Law Journal's annual symposium is on Saturday, April 18, 2015. This year's theme, "Under the Radar," will discuss Asian Americans and the criminal justice system, affirmative action, and the Affordable Care Act. Here's more information, including the day's schedule:

Chinese attorney granted posthumous law license

Hong Yen Chang was denied the right to practice law in California in 1890 be­cause of his race.



This is awesome. On Monday, the California Supreme Court decided unanimously to grant a posthumous law license to a Chinese immigrant whose application was denied 125 years ago solely because of his race.

Chinese immigrant, denied law license in 1890, gets one posthumously

In 1890, Hong Yen Chang came to San Francisco and applied for a license to practice law to help his fellow Chinese immigrants. But the state Supreme Court said Chang, despite his New York state law license, was ineligible for the California bar because of "persons of the Mongolian race" were not entitled to citizenship.

This week, in a nine-page ruling, the state court -- which includes three Asian American justices -- repudiated the 1890 decision. While the court said the ruling could not undo history, it was "past time to acknowledge that the discriminatory exclusion of Chang from the State Bar of California was a grievous wrong."

See Mindy Kaling's hilarious Harvard commencement speech

"Most of you will go on to the noblest pursuits, like helping a cable company acquire a telecom company."



On Wednesday at Harvard Law School's commencement ceremony, graduates were given an inspirational address from one of our nation's top legal minds: Mindy Kaling. Okay, so not quite a lawyer. She doesn't even play one on television! But Kaling, writer/producer/star of The Mindy Project, took to the podium anyway. While she was short on wise words ("Celebrities give too much advice...") she made it up with humor and charm.

Mindy Kaling Plugs AMC Antiheroes, Candy Crush and Her Book in Hilarious Harvard Law Speech

As she started her address, Kaling was faced with the disappointing truth she would not be receiving an honorary legal degree ("So apparently, there's a little miscommunication...") but she powered through. Her remarks included shout outs to everyone from Harvard Law alumni Barack Obama and Elle Woods to her own Indian immigrants parents and fellow speaker -- and fellow Desi -- U.S. attorney Preet Bharara.

Check out the video (her speech begins at the three-minute mark):

Law students seek posthumous admission of Chinese lawyer to California State Bar

Hong Yen Chang was denied a license to practice law in California in 1890



A group of law students at UC Davis are fighting for the rights of an Asian American attorney who was denied the opportunity to practice law in California due to discrimination more than a century ago.

Law students seek to right historic wrong with posthumous California Bar admission of Chinese lawyer

Students with the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA) at UC Davis are pushing for the posthumous admission of Hong Yen Chang to the California State Bar. Chang was denied a license to practice law in California in 1890. Because, in case you didn't know, California laws were f*cking racist in 1890.

Chang, who earned his law degree from Columbia Law School in 1886, was admitted to the New York state bar in 1886 -- the first Chinese immigrant admitted to any bar in the United States. But when he moved to California to practice in San Francisco, exclusionary laws barred him from earning his law license in the state.

Asian Redefined: New Voices in a New Era

Saturday, February 8 at University of Pennsylvania Law School



If you're in the Philadelphia area, the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association at the University of Pennsylvania Law School invites you to its 13th annual conference, Asian Redefined: New Voices in a New Era, celebrating the past, present and future of Asian Americans in the legal profession and beyond.

This year's conference, happening Saturday, February 8 at Penn Law, focuses the future, and the next wave of Asian Americans forging new paths and breaking barriers for our community. The keynote speaker is the Honorable Pamela Chen, the first openly gay Asian American to serve on the federal bench.

I'll be participating on the morning panel, "A Seat at the Table: APA Inclusion in the Legal Profession and Beyond," with Nermeen Arastu and Bruce I. Yamashita. Hope to see you there.

For the full the schedule, and registration information, visit the Penn APALSA website.

UCLA Asian Pacific American Law Journal Symposium: Only We Can Free Ourselves, April 6

Hey, Los Angeles. This Saturday, April 6, the UCLA Law Asian Pacific American Law Journal presents the 2013 Asian Pacific American Law Journal Symposium. This year's symposium is titled "Only We Can Free Ourselves" and is themed around the works of Professor Mari Matsuda, the first tenured Asian American female law professor in the United States. Professor Matsuda is also the keynote speaker. The event is free and open to the public. Here's more info:

Asian American organizations urge Supreme Court to strike down Arizona's discriminatory voter registration law

This week, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund filed an amici curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, challenging the legality of Proposition 200, Arizona's new restrictive voter registration law. According to AALDEF, Proposition 200 will unfairly burden naturalized citizens, who make up almost 40% of the state's Asian American population.

The brief was filed with twelve other Asian American organizations that conduct voter registration drives in states with laws similar to Arizona's, or whose state legislatures are considering such laws -- laws that will make voter registration more burdensome for Asian American voters and will impair the ability of grassroots groups to register Asian American voters.

Here's more info from AALDEF's press release:

UC Hastings names Frank H. Wu as Chancellor and Dean

Big news... Yesterday, the Board of Directors of UC Hastings College of Law in San Francisco announced that after a nationwide search, it has selected Frank H. Wu as the school's new Chancellor and Dean: Hastings picks civil rights scholar as new dean.

Wu is Professor of Law at Howard University and the former dean at Wayne State University Law School, where he was the nation's youngest law school Dean. He will step up as dean of UC Hastings next July. Here's the press release from the school: