Arun Subramanian becomes first Indian-American NY district court judge

With this, Subramanian has become the first South Asian judge to serve on this bench. The Senate confirmed the nomination of Subramanian by a vote of 58-37 on Tuesday evening.

In a tweet, US Senate wrote, “59-37, Senate confirmed the nomination of Arun Subramanian, of New York, to be U.S. District Judge for the Seventh District of New York. Rollcall Vote #45″

After the conformation vote, Senate Majority Leader Senate Chuck Schumer said, “We have confirmed Arun Subramanian as an SDNY (Southern District of New York) judge. He’s a son of Indian immigrants and the 1st South Asian-American judge confirmed to SDNY — which has one of the largest South Asian-American populations in the country. He’s dedicated his career to fighting for people.”

Earlier, in September 2022, US President Joe Biden announced the nomination of Subramanian for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Here’s all you need to know about Arun Subramanian:

Arun Subramanian was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1979. 

His parents immigrated to America from India in the early 1970s and served as a control systems engineer at several companies while his mother worked several jobs, including as a bookkeeper.

Subramanian received his Juris Doctor (J.D) from Columbia Law School in 2004 and his BA in computer science and English from Case Western Reserve University in 2001.

Three years later, he earned his law degree from Columbia Law School as a James Kent & Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He also served as executive articles editor for the Columbia Law Review.

Currently a partner at Susman Godfrey LLP in New York, where he has worked since 2007.

In his career, Arun has successfully redeemed over a billion dollars for public and private entities that were the victims of fraud and other illegal conduct.

Subramanian served as a law clerk for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court of the United States from 2006 to 2007.

As per the official website of Susman Godfrey, Subramaniam also worked for Judge Gerard E. Lynch on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York from 2005 to 2006, and Judge Dennis Jacobs on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 2004 to 2005.

The website also states, Subramanian currently serves as Chairperson of Susman Godfrey’s 2022 Pro Bono Committee and is also a longtime Director of the Columbia Law Review, one of the Nation’s pre-eminent legal journals. 

The Indian-origin attorney has taken up the cause of public entities in False Claims Act cases, victims of trafficking in child pornography, consumers and individuals injured by unfair means.

Arun also contributes to the legal community by taking on pro bono cases outside of the courtroom and has served for years on the pro bono panel for the United States Court of Appeals for the second circuit.

A steadfast consumer protection expert, he also defended victims of trafficking in child pornography, Schumer said.

Among his victories include securing more than USD400 million for state and federal governments through a lawsuit connected to Novartis Pharmaceuticals; gaining USD590 million in settlements from LIBOR in an ongoing price-fixing class action; and achieving a USD100 million judgment in a federal residential mortgage-backed securities case against Flagstar Bank after the crisis of 2008.

“He was also appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts to serve on the court’s Advisory Committee for the Federal Rules of Evidence,” Schumer said.

(With inputs from agencies)