AEF’s Fireside Chats
AEF hosts a series of Fireside Chats to further connect students with leading legal professionals in the Greater Washington, D.C. area. These fireside chats offer students insights into speaker experiences and provide them with best-practice tips for navigating law school and the legal industry. Topics range from kickstarting law school to what it’s like being a first-generation law student and attorney.
A Portrait of Asian Americans in the Law 2.0: A Fireside Chat with the Honorable Goodwin Liu and Eric Chung
In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month, the Honorable Goodwin Liu, Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court and Eric Chung, Senior Counsel, CHIPS, U.S. Department of Commerce, discussed their contributions to “A Portrait of Asian Americans in the Law 2.0," which explores the reasons for, and potential solutions to, the current challenges facing the Asian American legal community.
The event was held virtually and in-person at Covington & Burling LLP (D.C. office). Co-sponsors: Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Greater Washington DC Area, Asian Pacific American Bar Association Educational Fund (AEF), National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
Road to the Robe: A Fireside Chat with the Honorable Zia M. Faruqui and the Honorable Peggy Kuo
Moderator: Madeline Dang, AEF At-Large Board Member
The Honorable Zia M. Faruqui, Federal Magistrate Judge for the District of Columbia
Judge Faruqui has been serving as a federal magistrate judge for the District of Columbia since September 2020. Prior to his appointment, he was a federal prosecutor, first in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri and then in the District of Columbia. In his twelve years of federal service as an AUSA, he prosecuted criminal cases, serving as the lead prosecutor for crimes involving terrorists’ use of cryptocurrency, nuclear weapons proliferation, darknet sites dedicated to child exploitation, and antiquities theft. Judge Faruqui also worked at a corporate law firm where he focused on government investigations and commercial litigation. Judge Faruqui is a board member for Jobs for Homeless People. He has served as a Muslim-outreach coordinator for the Department of Justice. He received his J.D. and undergraduate degree from Georgetown University.
The Honorable Peggy Kuo, Federal Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York
Peggy Kuo was sworn in as United States Magistrate Judge in the Eastern District of New York in 2015. Her multi-faceted legal career includes positions as Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel of the New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings; Chief Hearing Officer for the New York Stock Exchange; counsel with the law firm of WilmerHale, and law clerk to the Honorable Judith W. Rogers on the D.C. Court of Appeals. She also served for twelve years as a prosecutor: as an Assistant United States Attorney in Washington, DC., with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Criminal Section, and at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, where she prosecuted the first international war crimes trial focused on mass rape and slavery as crimes against humanity. Judge Kuo has a B.A. from Yale University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Generating Your Path
As A First-Generation Law Student: A Fireside Chat With Jessie K. Liu
Moderator: Huy Le, AEF Director
Embarking on a legal career can be challenging, especially for those who are first-generation law students. Please join us for our fireside chat with Jessie K. Liu, Skadden partner and former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Jessie will share her experience as a first-generation attorney and in both the public and private sectors, and will discuss how to foster mentor-mentee relationships during a pandemic. For more information about Jessie, please see her bio here.
If you missed the AEF's Fireside Chat with Jessie K. Liu, please find the recording! Thank you to all of those who attended this great event. Special shoutout to Jessie for taking the time to talk about her experiences as a first-generation attorney!
Kickstart Your Legal Education: A Fireside Chat with Cathy Hwang
Moderator: Adam Tsao, AEF President
Starting law school can be challenging. To learn how to kickstart your legal education, please join us for our fireside chat with Cathy Hwang, a UVA Law Professor and former Skadden attorney. Topics to include: what to expect during 1L year, how to maximize your legal education, how to structure your time during law school, what life after law school looks like, and what it's like to be an Asian Pacific American attorney. For more information about Cathy, please see her bio here.
