Indian American judge Amul Thapar has been honored with the National Asia Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award. He will be honoured at a NAPABA convention in New Orleans on November 6.
NAPABA, in a statement released on October 8, congratulated the recipients for paving the way for the advancement of other Asian Pacific American (APA) attorneys.
“NAPABA recognises the demonstrated vision, courage and tenacity, and made substantial and lasting contributions to the APA legal profession, as well as to the broader APA community,” the statement said.
Mr Thapar became first South Asian American Article III judge in the US when country’s senate appointed him in 2007. For the post, former US President George W. Bush nominated him to the US district court.
Thapar was previously the U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Kentucky, during which time he was appointed to the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee. He also chaired the committee’s controlled substances and asset forfeiture subcommittee.
Born in Detroit, Mich., Thapar earned his bachelor’s degree from Boston College and his juris doctor degree from U.C. Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law.