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MEDIA ADVISORY: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 CONTACT: John Brown at (202) 857-6359 | Caroline
Nguyen at (202) 663-6079
Washington, D.C.—The
Vietnamese American Bar Association of the Greater Washington, D.C. Area
(“VABA-DC”) today announced that the Hon. Jacqueline Nguyen of the U.S.
District Court for the Central District of California will be the keynote
speaker at VABA-DC’s Second Annual Scholarship Dinner on March 18, 2010. The theme of this year’s Scholarship Dinner
is “Inspiring New Voices of Justice.”
On December 1, 2009, Judge Nguyen became the first Article
III judge of Vietnamese descent, after the United States Senate confirmed her
by a unanimous vote. Judge Nguyen is
only the third-ever Asian American female Article III judge.
“We are
honored that Judge Nguyen will join us as the Keynote Speaker at this year’s
Scholarship Dinner,” said Caroline T. Nguyen, president of VABA-DC. “Her appointment to the federal bench is an
important step forward in judicial diversity and is not only a testament to the
inspiring promise of the American dream but also a milestone for the Vietnamese
American community.”
President
Barack Obama nominated Judge Nguyen for appointment to the federal bench on
July 31, 2009. Prior to her nomination,
she had served for more than seven years as a judge with the California
Superior Court. Previously, Judge Nguyen
was also an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division in Los
Angeles, later becoming Deputy Chief of the General Crimes Section in that same
office, and was an attorney with
Musick, Peeler & Garrett in Los Angeles, where she handled commercial,
intellectual property and construction cases.
VABA-DC is the only Vietnamese American Bar Association on
the East Coast. Its mission is to
promote the professional growth and advancement of Vietnamese American
attorneys, encourage and facilitate the entry of Vietnamese American students
into the legal profession, contribute to the public interest by serving as a
voice for the local Vietnamese American community and assist community members
with legal concerns.
As part of that mission, VABA-DC awards scholarships
annually to two D.C.-area
law students who have demonstrated leadership potential and a strong commitment
to serving the Vietnamese American community. This year’s Scholarship Dinner will take
place on Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. at WilmerHale in Washington
D.C. For more information, please visit www.vabadc.com.
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