The Appellate Division, Second Department honored three prominent Asian-American legal and political figures in recognition of Asian-American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
The court held a ceremony for Hon. Randall T. Eng Award on May 14 to celebrate the contributions and achievements of Asian Americans in the courts and beyond. The recipients of the award include New York Court of Claims and Acting State Supreme Court Justice Anar R. Patel, Unified Court System Lieutenant Mido Mary Wu and State Senator Stephen T. Chan of Brooklyn’s District 17.
Patel was appointed to the New York State Court of Claims by Governor Kathy Hochul in June 2022, and was designated as an Acting Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York. Patel’s parents are from India and Uganda and she is a first-generation American. In her former role as an attorney with Simpson Thacher Bartlett, she specialized in commercial litigation. Since last year Patel has been sitting in New York County Supreme Court’s premier Commercial Division in Manhattan.
Wu was the first Asian American woman within the court system to achieve the rank of lieutenant. She was born in China and grew up in Queens. She began her court career as a junior court analyst in Brooklyn Treatment Court and has been a court officer since 2014.
Chan was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to the United States at the age of 11, where he grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. He served as a U.S. Marine, worked for the NYPD and operated a flower shop in Sunset Park before being elected to the state senate.
The award is named after Judge Eng who is a native of China, was the first Asian American appointed to the New York City Criminal Court bench in 1983 before he became Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department. Eng now serves as counsel to Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein.
He was among the presenters at this year’s awards program, held at the Second Department’s Brooklyn courthouse, which acknowledged the recipients for gumption, integrity and public service.
Eng’s successor, Presiding Justice Hector D. LaSalle and Second Department Associate Justice Lillian Wan made remarks at the awards ceremony. Second Department associate justices Wan and Phillip Hom also presented the awards. Benjamin C. Hsing, President of the Asian American Bar Association of New York, provided closing remarks.
