APABA Celebrates Founding Member Dolly M. Gee Becoming the First Chinese American Woman Federal Judge
December 24, 2009
For immediate release: December 28, 2009
Contact: Bryant Yang, (213) 892-5898 or byang@mofo.com
Los Angeles, CA – The Asian Pacific American Bar Association (APABA) of Los Angeles (www.apabala.org) celebrates Dolly M. Gee’s historic confirmation to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. On December 24th, the United States Senate unanimously confirmed Ms. Gee, making her the first Chinese American woman federal judge. APABA thanks both California Senator Barbara Boxer for recommending Ms. Gee and President Barack Obama for nominating her.
“APABA strongly believes that Dolly should have been confirmed 10 years ago when former President Bill Clinton nominated her to the federal judiciary. That, however, does not diminish her legal career or her standing as a trailblazer, nor does it lessen our joy at seeing one of our founding members receive the accolades so due her,” said Karin Wang, APABA president. Ms. Gee is a founding member, past Board member, and current Advisory Board member of APABA. She also received APABA’s Public Service Award (1999) and President’s Award (2008).
Ms. Gee, the daughter of immigrants from rural China, was inspired to become an attorney and specialize in employment and labor law because of her mother who worked as a garment worker. She graduated summa cum laude from UCLA and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Ms. Gee then graduated from UCLA School of Law and clerked for Hon. Milton L. Schwartz, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of California.
After her clerkship, she joined Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dohrmann & Sommers LLP to represent working class Americans, and eventually became a managing partner of that firm. She brings to the federal bench much experience as a mediator and arbitrator in disputes between federal agencies and labor unions. Ms. Gee also served as a Central District lawyer representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference and as a member of the Ninth Circuit Advisory Board. She has consistently been named each year since 2004 as a “Southern California Super Lawyer” by Los Angeles Magazine.
“Dolly’s confirmation on Christmas Eve was a wonderful present to the Los Angeles legal community and the federal judiciary. She has been an integral part of the fabric of Los Angeles for so many years; it is hard to talk about our city’s history without mentioning her name. For instance, when the city was rocked by racial riots in 1992, Dolly led efforts to provide legal and monetary aid to those devastated by the loss of life and property. She also helped found the Multicultural Bar Alliance so that attorneys of all backgrounds could come together and rebuild a better city. We are sure Dolly will bring that same level of leadership, commitment to service, and integrity to the federal bench,” stated Bryant Yang, APABA board member.
