Former Assistant US Attorney Cho named as EDNY magistrate judge

Will be first Korean-American jurist on EDNY bench

April 6, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Hon. James R. Cho, newly named as Brooklyn Federal magistrate judge. Photo courtesy of Asian American Bar Association of New York

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Former Assistant U.S. Attorney James R. Cho has been selected by the Board of Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) in Brooklyn to serve as a magistrate judge for a term of eight years, the court announced on Monday.

Judge Cho will serve on the bench at the Theodore Roosevelt Federal Courthouse at 225 Cadman Plaza East, Downtown Brooklyn, and will be the first Korean-American judge to serve on the EDNY bench.

He previously served for more than 12 years as an assistant U.S. attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, where he litigated a wide range of affirmative and defensive cases on behalf of the government. He most recently served as chief of bankruptcy and immigration litigation in the office’s Civil Division.

Judge Cho also worked as an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law and Brooklyn Law School, where he taught courses in government civil litigation. Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Cho practiced labor and employment law at Seyfarth Shaw in its Chicago and New York offices.

Judge Cho is also the former president of the Asian American Bar Association of New York, one of the largest affinity bar associations in the country, and the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York. He received his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School and his B.A. from the University of Michigan.

“The Board of Judges welcome James Cho to the Eastern District bench,” said Eastern District Chief Judge Margo K. Brodie. “His experience as a seasoned litigator, academic and bar leader will make him an excellent magistrate judge.”

Magistrate judges are appointment by the District Court Judges to eight-year terms. They assist District Court judges with the work of the court by facilitating the disposition of civil and criminal cases.

“I am proud that James Cho has been selected to serve as a Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District Mark Lesko. “James was an excellent AUSA who handled some of our Office’s most difficult and complex cases. I am confident that as a federal judge, James will continue to serve the people of our district with integrity and a keen sense of fairness.”