APABA-PA’s Endorsement of Kay Kyungsun Yu, Judicial Candidate for the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas

January 18, 2019

The Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania (“APABA-PA”) is proud to support and endorse Kay Kyungsun Yu’s candidacy for the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. It is our privilege to speak to Kay’s qualifications, character and temperament. We are proud to have this opportunity to endorse a candidate whose commitment to public service and legal skills unquestionably qualify her for the bench, and whose appointment would add some much needed diversity to the Pennsylvania judiciary.

APABA-PA is a non-profit organization founded in 1984 to advance the interests of the Asian Pacific American (“APA”) community as well as APA attorneys and law students in Pennsylvania, Northern Delaware and Southern New Jersey. With respect to judicial matters, in conjunction with the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (“NAPABA”), APABA-PA monitors judicial appointments, promotes diversity on the bench, raises general awareness of the underrepresentation of APAs in the judiciary, and works to recommend qualified APA judicial candidates. APABA-PA is committed to ensuring that the judiciary is strengthened by and reflects the diversity of this state and this nation.

Currently, in the Pennsylvania state judiciary, there are only two active APA judges, both of whom sit on the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia. There are currently no APA judges on any statewide or appellate court in Pennsylvania. The scarcity of APA jurists on the bench is in stark contrast to the APA population. According to 2010 census figures, APAs (those identifying as Asian or as multiracial- Asian) constituted 5.6 percent of the national population, numbering 17.3 million people. In addition, the APA legal community is the fastest growing nationwide (5.3 percent of lawyers at the nation’s largest law firms are APA; 6.3 percent of law students are APA). Kay Yu is a clearly qualified APA lawyer who would strengthen bench of the Court of Common Pleas.

Kay has a proven history of professional achievement, judicial temperament, and an unwavering commitment to public service. These are the qualities demanded by a citizenry in their judges as they are requisite to a judge’s discharge of her constitutional duties.

In her 25 years of law practice, Kay has had a varied and successful career, with a breadth of experience at small and large firms, and in the private and public sectors. As an Associate and Of Counsel at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, Kay developed significant experience in complex ERISA litigation, and handled matters involving pension plans and welfare plans. She further honed her trial and litigation experience as a Partner at Pepper Hamilton, leading teams through all aspects of litigation, including motion practice, discovery and trial.

Mayor Michael Nutter recognized Kay’s legal abilities and problem-solving aptitude when he appointed her to the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations in 2008, and again in 2010 when he elevated her to Chairperson of the Commission. There, Kay dedicated herself to leading the Commission in addressing one of the most significant intergroup conflicts in Philadelphia through a series of public hearings and investigation of racially-motivated violence at South Philadelphia High School. This fact-finding investigation culminated in a lengthy report from the Commission presented to the Philadelphia School District with a comprehensive set of recommendations around resolving, tracking and preventing intergroup conflicts.

In addition to her impressive legal career and service to the Commission, Kay’s dedication to the community has been significant and unwavering, and in fact the examples are too numerous to name in this short letter so only a few will be highlighted here. As a past-President, a 12-year board member of APABA-PA, and a Regional Governor Alternate for the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Kay is an established leader in the APA legal community in both Pennsylvania and nationally. She also served as a Commissioner on the Governor’s Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs.

Her community service extends well beyond just the APA population. Kay is a current board member for both Community Legal Services and Philadelphia Legal Assistance, which provide free legal services for Philadelphians living in poverty. For CLS, she has been a hands-on organizer of several 5k fundraisers, as well as holding leadership positions as Chair of the Nominating Committee and a member of the Strategy Planning and Executive Committees. She has held leadership positions for the Philadelphia Bar Association and the American Bar Association, and is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the ACLU of Greater Philadelphia.

Finally, Kay is clearly qualified to preside over legal matters from the bench. Not only did she preside over several public fact-finding evidentiary hearings as part of her work with the Human Relations Commission, but she is also a certified arbitrator and mediator with the American Arbitration Association, and mediated cases for the EEOC as well as the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

In sum, Kay has impressive legal credentials, trial experience as both an attorney and fact-finder, and a remarkable record of community service. Having known Kay personally for years, APABA-PA’s Board of Directors can say she is also an attorney with unquestionable ethics and a strong drive to ensure that justice is accessible to all and the law applied fairly to everyone. APABA-PA is proud to endorse Kay Kyungsun Yu’s candidacy for the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas.

If you have any questions or need further information, please do not hesitate to contact APABA-PA’s President, Melissa Pang at [email protected].

Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania

Here’s the full letter for distribution.