John H. Chun

John Hyungseung Chun (born 1970) is an American lawyer from Washington who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. He served as a judge of the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division One from 2018 to 2022.

The child of South Korean immigrants, Chun was raised in the Pacific Northwest and graduated from the Catlin Gabel School in Portland, Oregon. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in 1991 and his Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School in 1994. He served as an associate editor and a note editor on the Cornell Law Review. [1]

Chun served as a law clerk for Judge Eugene Allen Wright of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1994 to 1995. He worked at the firm of Mundt MacGregor LLP from 1995 to 2005, becoming a partner in 2002. In 2005, he became a partner at Preston, Gates & Ellis LLP (now K&L Gates), and in 2006, became a member with the Summit Law Group P.L.L.C. He remained at Summit until 2013, where his practice focused on complex commercial and employment litigation. He also served as a member of the American Arbitration Association's Commercial and Employment panels from 2004 to 2014.

State judicial service

In December 2013, Chun was appointed by Governor Jay Inslee to serve as a Judge of the King County Superior Court. He took office the following February, and served as a trial judge for civil, criminal, and family law cases until 2018.

In 2018, Governor Inslee appointed Chun to serve as a Judge on the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division One. He ran unopposed to retain his seat in November 2019. His state court service terminated when he was commissioned as a federal judge.

Federal judicial service

On September 30, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Chun to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. President Biden nominated Chun to the seat vacated by Judge James Robart, who assumedsenior status on June 28, 2016. On November 17, 2021, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. During his confirmation hearing, Chun was questioned about his stance on Grutter v. Bollinger. Chun had submitted an amicus brief in the lawsuit supporting the ability of universities to have race-sensitive admissions processes. On December 16, 2021, his nomination was reported out of committee. On January 3, 2022, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate; he was later renominated the same day. On January 20, 2022, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. On March 16, 2022, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 50–45 vote. On March 23, 2022, his nomination was confirmed by a 49–47 vote. He received his judicial commission on March 30, 2022. He was sworn into office by Chief Judge Ricardo S. Martinez on April 11, 2022. Chun is the first Asian American man to serve as a judge of the court and the second Asian American (with District Judge Tana Lin being the first).