Biden nominates Indian origin judge to US Court for Eastern District of New York

Washington: President Joe Biden has nominated Indian-origin judge Sanket Jayshukh Bulsara, an expert in securities, contract, bankruptcy, and regulatory matters, for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

A child of immigrants from India and Kenya, Bulsara, 46, has been a US Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York since 2017. He was the first South Asian American federal judge to serve on any court in the Second Circuit when he was appointed as a Magistrate Judge.

The White House announced Bulsara's nomination on Thursday as Biden named the 45th round of judicial nominees, which included four individuals to federal district courts. All of them are extraordinarily qualified, experienced, and devoted to the rule of law and the Constitution, a media statement said.

“These choices also continue to fulfill the President’s promise to ensure that the nation’s courts reflect the diversity that is one of our greatest assets as a country—both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds,” the White House said.

From January 2017 to May 2017, Bulsara served as the Acting General Counsel of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, where he had been the Deputy General Counsel for Appellate Litigation, Adjudication, and Enforcement since 2015.

Before that, he worked at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP as an associate from 2005 to 2008, a counsel from 2009 to 2011, and a partner from 2012 to 2015.

For six months between 2007 and 2008, he served as a Special Assistant District Attorney at the Kings County (Brooklyn) District Attorney’s Office and he worked as an associate at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in Los Angeles, California from 2003 to 2004.

Bulsara served as a law clerk for Judge John G Koeltl on the US District Court for the Southern District of New York from 2002 to 2003. He received his JD from Harvard Law School, cum laude, in 2002 and his AB, magna cum laude, from Harvard College in 1998.

Bulsara was born in the Bronx before moving to New Rochelle and later Edgemont, New York. His parents immigrated over 50 years ago. His father worked for the City of New York as an engineer and his mother was a dedicated nurse. Bulsara lives in Long Island City with his wife, Christine DeLorenzo.

The nomination was based on the strong recommendation from Senate Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer.

“Sanket Bulsara is a first-rate legal mind and a dedicated, talented public servant, who is currently serving as a Magistrate Judge in the Eastern District of New York. Judge Bulsara was General Counsel for the Securities and Exchange Commission where he worked to protect investors and the country’s financial markets.

'He is an expert in securities, contract, bankruptcy, and regulatory matters, but his experience also extends to representing the incarcerated, victims of domestic violence, and individuals on death row in pro bono cases,” Schumer said.

Bulsara is the 'epitome of the American Dream and a history maker: the child of hard-working immigrants from both India and Kenya, and the first South Asian American federal judge to serve on any court in the Second Circuit when he was appointed as a Magistrate Judge,” he said.