First Black federal appellate judge from Indiana, diversity in Big Law, Avenatti gets 14-year sentence and Giuliani’s attorney misconduct hearing

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???? ?? U.S. Senate confirms first Black federal appellate judge from Indiana

U.S. Magistrate Judge Doris Pryor has become the first Black person from Indiana to serve on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, as Democrats push forward with fulfilling President Joe Biden's pledge to diversify the federal bench.

The Senate voted 60-31?in a bipartisan vote helped by Indiana state's two Republican senators deciding to throw their support behind Pryor. GOP Senators Todd Young and Mike Braun of Indiana?returned "blue slips" in July?allowing Pryor’s nomination to advance.

The vote has marked the 88th confirmation of one of the Democratic president's judicial nominees. More than three-quarters of Biden’s confirmed judicial nominees are women, and a majority are people of color.

"We're making sure our courts reflect the diversity of America."

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said before teeing up votes in the coming days on two other Black female appellate court nominees.

?? More Asian Americans on the federal bench; progress lacking at Big Law

Asian American attorneys continue to be underrepresented in the top echelons of the legal profession even though they are making progress in federal courts, in-house legal departments and law school enrollment, a study has found.

Portrait of Asian Americans in the Law 2.0 has identified the hurdles Asian Americans face in the legal profession, including stereotypes and a lack of mentorship.

The percentage of active federal judges who are Asian American now sits at 6% — up from 3.4% in 2016, the study notes. The number of Asian American general counsel at Fortune 1000 companies went to 45 in 2020 from 19 in 2009. And the number of Asian American and Pacific Islander enrolled law students has been ticking up since hitting a 20-year low in 2017.

But progress has been slow or non-existent in other areas.

The latest survey indicates that Asian American attorneys are increasingly focused on social and political issues, the shift being attributed to a rise in anti-Asian hate during the COVID pandemic and the larger reckoning with racial justice that followed the 2020 killing of George Floyd.

?? Michael Avenatti sentenced to 14 years prison in California fraud case

Michael Avenatti, who represented porn actress Stormy Daniels in litigation against Donald Trump, was sentenced to another 14 years in prison by U.S. District Judge James Selna in Santa Ana, California, after he admitted to cheating four other clients, including a paraplegic, out of millions of dollars.

The sentence imposed is in addition to the five years in prison that Avenatti was?already serving?for two unrelated convictions in Manhattan federal court.

Avenatti, who is not a criminal lawyer but represented himself said he should be sentenced based on his life as a whole, and "not his notoriety; the desire of the government and others to make an example out of him; unbridled vindictiveness; and/or what those in the media, or on social media, may say."

The judge also ordered Avenatti to pay $10.8 million in restitution to the clients and the Internal Revenue Service, as Avenatti obstructed the agency from collecting more than $3 million in payroll taxes from a coffee business he owned.

??? Giuliani 'weaponized his law license' in 2020 election case - ethics counsel

Rudy Giuliani, former lawyer of former U.S. President Donald Trump, is defending his work on a failed election fraud lawsuit, as a Washington, D.C., disciplinary panel hear charges that he violated attorney ethics rules in the case.

Giulani, the former New York City mayor and once the top U.S. prosecutor in Manhattan, "weaponized his law license to bring a frivolous action in an attempt to undermine the Constitution," Hamilton "Phil" Fox of the District of Columbia Office of Disciplinary Counsel told the panel.

Giulani, the first witness called on Monday, described how he began leading the Trump campaign's legal efforts to challenge the 2020 election results, including his work on the Pennsylvania lawsuit.

Giuliani's testimony is expected to conclude today.

Monday marked the start of weeklong arguments before a hearing committee of the D.C. Board on Professional Responsibility, which could recommend suspending Giuliani's D.C. law license or disbarring him. A D.C. court will make the final decision on any discipline.

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