The KCBA is pleased to announce Robert Chang as the winner of the “Friend of the Legal Profession” Award. This award was created to recognize distinguished and meritorious service to the legal profession and justice system. Professor Chang graduated cum laude from Princeton University and then went on to get his masters in philosophy and J.D. at Duke University. He has devoted his career to research and advocacy in the area of race and interethnic relations. He founded the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality in 2009.
The Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality is regarded as one of the premier racial justice centers in the country. The vision of the Korematsu Center to promote civil rights in legal education was Bob Chang’s alone when he first came to SU in 2009. When he began the Center, he was honored to receive the blessing and support of Fred Korematsu’s wife and daughter, who granted him the privilege of using Fred’s name for this new center for civil rights advocacy and education. The naming of the Korematsu center for one of the Asian American giants in our history, who challenged the abuse of power and racial discrimination by our government during WWII, by incarcerating Americans of Japanese descent, set a high bar for Bob’s work in bringing the mission of the Center to life. Professor Chang continues to fulfill the legacy of Fred Korematsu.
Professor Chang’s creation and development of the Korematsu Center, to use clinical education, legal research, and litigation advocacy to achieve lasting social change for racial equity and social justice, has been nationally recognized. Korematsu Center Assistant Director Jessica Levin notes that Professor Chang “has pushed for courts to acknowledge the operation of racism and advocated for interventions to ensure fair process, in cases that range from the death penalty to employment discrimination.” The briefs of the Center in many state and federal cases have been often mentioned in court rulings on a range of civil rights and discrimination cases. A recent Washington Court of Appeals case, for example, mentioned, for the first time ever in any reported case here or in any state, the concept of “adultification bias” of sentencing juveniles of color, which the Korematsu Center raised in its brief. In re Pers. Restraint of Miller, 21 Wash. App. 2d 257, 505 P.3d 585 (2022). We all know that a footnote today may become the court’s holding tomorrow.
This nomination celebrates the 15th anniversary of the Korematsu center and Professor Chang’s tenure at Seattle University School of Law. The impact that Professor Chang has had on our community, and to the next generation of attorneys, has been enormous. Professor Chang has set the gold standard in legal education with his exceptional civil rights advocacy through impact litigation, locally and throughout the country, his scholarship in racial justice, and his clinical education of law students. Korematsu Center Assistant Director Melissa Lee states, “Professor Chang is a visionary who has translated his deep scholarly expertise into legal practice. His influence in the way Washington courts approach issues of racial bias will be felt for years to come.” Professor Chang and the Center will soon be moving to the University of California at Irvine in July 2024. Our legal community is so grateful for the 15 years the Center and Professor Chang invested here. Professor Chang — the KCBA is grateful for your service to our legal community and is delighted to present you with the Friend of the Legal Profession award.
Emily Gause of Gause Law Offices is a member of the KCBA Board of Trustees and the Awards Committee.
