US President Joe Biden has nominated a Pakistani-American Zahid Quraishi as the first Muslim federal judge in United States.
Zahid Quraishi – a Pakistani-American who hails from New Jersey, has been nominated by President Joe Biden as the first ever Muslim to serve as a federal judge in a US district court.
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Zahid has been serving as United States Magistrate Judge for the District of New Jersey in the Trenton Vicinage since June 3rd 2019, making him the Asian-American to serve on the federal bench in New Jersey.
The American-Pakistani Public Affairs Committee has expressed gratitude to President Joe Biden for nominating Zahid Quraishi for the post of federal judge.
Phil Murphy – Governor New Jersey, has termed President Biden’s nomination as ‘historic.
I congratulate both Magistrate Judge Zahid Quraishi and Julien Neals on their nominations to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. With these historic nominations, @POTUS is proving his commitment to ensuring that our bench is more diverse. pic.twitter.com/vusSEOWm6N
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) March 30, 2021
“I congratulate both Magistrate Judge Quraishi and Mr Neals on their nominations, and I congratulate President Biden on these historic choices,” he said.
Who Is Zahid Quraishi?
Zahid N. Quraishi – a Pakistani-American holds a law degree from Rutgers Law School and was appointed as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of New Jersey in the Trenton Vicinage on June 3, 2019. Prior to his appointment, he was Chair of Riker Danzig’s White Collar Criminal Defense and Investigations Group and his firm’s first Chief Diversity Officer. His practice focused on white collar criminal defense, internal corporate investigations, and complex civil litigation.
He has also served as head of Riker Danzig’s White Collar Criminal Defense and Investigations Group and his firm’s first Chief Diversity Officer.
Quraishi has extensive experience representing clients with government enforcement and compliance issues involving potential criminal charges.
Before joining Riker, Zahid served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey for over five years. He tried numerous federal criminal cases involving public corruption, financial fraud, perjury, firearms and narcotics offenses within the Special Prosecutions Division and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and Government Fraud Units of the Criminal Division.
Earlier in his career, Zahid worked as a litigation associate at LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, LLP and clerked for the Honorable Edwin H. Stern, Presiding Judge, Superior Court of New Jersey – Appellate Division (retired).
He also served s a trustee of several prominent organizations to include the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey, the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey, and the United States Attorney’s Office Alumni Association (DNJ).
Zahid Quraishi has been recognized by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as one of the country’s leading white collar lawyers, Best Lawyers in America®, a peer review of U.S. lawyers, and “Super Lawyers” by Thomson Reuters.
In 2019 received APALA-NJ’s Professional Achievement Award, SABA-NJ’s Standing Ovation Award, and NJMLA’s Trailblazer of the Year Award.
