US senator recommends Fil-Am woman as federal district judge

A United States senator has recommended to President Barack Obama the appointment of a Filipino-American lawyer as federal judge of the Southern District of New York, the news site The FilAm said on Tuesday.   The report, citing an announcement of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), said New York Senator Charles Schumer submitted the name of Lorna Schofield “with a recommendation to appoint her” as federal district court judge.   In a statement, NaFFAA National Chairman Ed Navarra said Schofield, “a second-generation Filipino American,” will make history with the “nomination and confirmation by the Senate… [for her] to serve as a federal judge.”   “Given that Asian Americans are significantly underrepresented in the federal judiciary, Ms. Schofield’s addition will greatly enhance the judiciary’s diversity,” Navarra said.   Civil rights advocate Gloria Caoile said she is confident that Schofield’s experience will inspire and enrich the US District Court. Asian American Justice Center president Karen Narasaki, on the other hand, hoped that Schofield can serve as district judge because she has “the experience, intellectual capacity, integrity, and temperament” to do so.   Named as one of the 50 most influential minority lawyers by National Law Journal in 2008, Schofield served as assistant United States attorney for the Southern District of New York for four years, The FilAm said.   She is currently affiliated with the firm Debevoise and Plimpton LLP as Of Counsel. The company website said she is “focused on litigation in complex commercial matter, particularly the defense of companies and individuals in regulatory and white collar criminal investigations.”   According to The FilAm, Schofield “is the only child of a Filipina who came to the US during the post-World War II reconstruction of the Philippines.”   She attended Indiana University under a full tuition scholarship, then went on to the New York University Law School, where he obtained her law degree. - with Rose-An Jessica Dioquino, VVP, GMA News