U.S. Attorney Debra Yang 4/4 | Asian American Personalities | <meta http-equiv="Pragma" Content="no-cache"> <meta http-equiv=expire content=now> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html"> <meta name="description" content="U.S. Attorney Debra Yang 4/4 | Asian American Personalities | GOLDSEA"> <meta name="keywords" content="U.S. Attorney Debra Yang Asian American Personalities | GOLDSEA"> <link rel=stylesheet href=/index.css type=text/css> </head> <body> <link REL="SHORTCUT ICon" HREF="/Graphics/g_28.gif"> <img src=http://goldsea.com/Graphics/people.jpg usemap=#profilesmap alt="Imagemap" width=950 height=50 border=0 vspace=0> <map name=profilesmap> <area shape=rect href=http://goldsea.com/ coords="0, 0, 112, 50"> <area shape=rect href=http://goldsea.com/Features/features.html coords="271,0, 363,22"> <area shape=rect href=http://goldsea.com/Video/ coords="271, 23, 363, 50"> <area shape=rect href=http://goldsea.com/Text/index.php?id=2223 coords="364, 0, 462,22"> <area shape=rect href=http://goldsea.com/Text/index.php?id=79 coords="364, 23, 462, 50"> <area shape=rect href=http://asiams.net/ coords="463, 0, 570, 22"> <area shape=rect href=http://goldsea.com/Banners/ coords="463, 23, 570, 50"> <area shape=rect coords="113, 0, 270, 50" href=http://goldsea.com/Text/index.php?id=2325> </map> <br> <table width=950 border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr> <td width=160 valign=top>  <ins data-revive-zoneid="252" data-revive-id="fe42daf737bb1b0d1aaecba8499318f1"></ins> <script async src="//amgs5.com/AS/www/delivery/asyncjs.php"></script> <p class=dek> </p> <p class=byline> </p> <div id=blue> <p class=navhead> Asian American Profiles </p> <p class=navitem> <a href=https://goldsea.com/Personalities/Inspiring/inspiring.html> The 130 Most Inspiring Asian Americans of All Time</a> </p> <p class=navitem> <a href=https://goldsea.com/Personalities/Ox/ox.html> Famous Asian American Oxen</a> </p> <p class=navitem> <a href=https://goldsea.com/Personalities/Brilliant/brilliant.html> 12 Most Brilliant Asian Americans</a> </p> <p class=navitem> <a href=https://business.goldsea.com/Corporate/corporate.html> Asian American Corporate Superstars</a> </p> <p class=navitem> <a href=https://goldsea.com/Personalities/Heroes/heroes.html> Greatest Asian American War Heroes</a> </p> <p class=navitem> <a href=https://goldsea.com/Innovators/Digital/digital.html> Asian American Digital Pioneers</a> </p> <p class=navitem> <a href=https://goldsea.com/Imagemakers/imagemakers.html> New Asian American Imagemakers</a> </p> <p class=navitem> <a href=https://goldsea.com/Innovators/innovators.html> Asian American Innovators</a> </p> <p class=navitem> <a href=https://goldsea.com/Personalities/Athletes/athletes.html> The 20 Most Inspiring Asian Sports Stars</a> </p> <p class=navitem> <a href=https://goldsea.com/Personalities/Daring/daring.html> 5 Most Daring Asian Americans</a> </p> <p class=navitem> <a href=https://goldsea.com/Personalities/Surprising/surprising.html> Surprising Superstars</a> </p> <p class=navitem> <a href=https://hot.goldsea.com/> 100 Hottest Asian American People, Places & Things</a> </p> <p class=navitem> <a href=https://goldsea.com/Personalities/TV/tv.html> TV's Hottest Asians</a> </p> <p class=navitem> <a href=https://goldsea.com/Personalities/Rats/rats.html> Famous Asian American Rats</a> </p> <p class=navitem> <a href=https://goldsea.com/Personalities/Pigs/pigs.html> Famous Asian American Pigs</a> </p> <p class=navitem> <a href=https://goldsea.com/Profiles/100/100.html> 100 Greatest Asian American Entrepreneurs</a> </p> <p class=navitem> <a href=https://goldsea.com/WW/index.html> Asian American Wonder Women</a> </p> <p class=navitem> <a href=https://goldsea.com/RTR/index.html> Greatest Asian American Rags-to-Riches Stories</a> </p> <p class=navitem> <a href=https://goldsea.com/Text/index.php?id=2457> Notable Asian American Professionals</a> </p> </div> </td> <td width=8 valign=top> </td> <td width=1 valign=top bgcolor=#996725> </td> <td width=11 valign=top> </td> <td width=770 valign=top>  <ins data-revive-zoneid="3" data-revive-id="74fc6fd638807399977eb1eeebe89de8"></ins> <script async src="//asianmedia.com/MS3/www/delivery/asyncjs.php"></script> <br> <table width=770 border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr> <td width=404 valign=top> <p align=center> <font size=1 face=arial> <a href=/index.html> GOLDSEA</a> | <a href=https://asiams.net/index.html> ASIAMS.NET</a> | <a href=/Personalities/personalities.html> ASIAN AMERICAN PERSONALITIES</a> </font> </p> <p align=center> <a href=https://goldsea.com/Personalities/Inspiring/inspiring.html> <font size=3 face=Arial color=#996725> THE 130 MOST <font color=#ff0000>INSPIRING</font> ASIAN AMERICANS <br>OF <font color=#ff0000>ALL</font> TIME </font></a> </p> <h1> U.S. Attorney Debra Yang: <span class=red>Legally </span>Renowned </h1> <p class=page> PAGE 4 OF 4 </p> <p> <b>GS:</b> You liked the gamesmanship part of it as well as the public speaking part of it? <br> <b>DY:</b> Right. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> You spent a year at Greenberg Glusker. What made you go to a firm like that? Isn't it basically an entertainment, corporate-type firm? <br> <b>DY:</b> I actually thought I would be able to get my own trials faster there because they had smaller type of clients and one of the things I wanted to do was get more trial experience. That's ultimately why I left there and came to the U.S. Attorney's office because I wanted trial experience. I realized as a young lawyer, as a litigator, you have to be able to try cases and that in a large law firm you're often going to be the third or the second chair and the client wasn't going to hire the person who didn't have trial experience. So it was ultimately catch-22. You could never get to be the main chair because you didn't have the trial experience and you could never get that trial experience cause you're always going to be the second or third chair. I wanted to be able to truncate that. I knew I wanted to be able to get cases, to get clients in the future, so I knew I needed trial experience if I stayed in litigation. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> Did you go to Greenberg right after your clerkship with Judge Lew? <br> <b>DY:</b> I did. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> What made you clerk for Judge Lew after practicing with two civil firms? Most of the time people do that right out of law school before starting their lawyering careers. Because I was practicing in Los Angeles, then moved to Chicago. When I moved back to Los Angeles I wasn't sure I wanted to go right back into another firm. I looked around at different opportunities. I actually looked at the U.S. Attorney's office but they had a hiring freeze. I found out that Judge Lew had an opening because they were still looking for a law clerk. And I had another judge come talk to me about how it would be good opportunity, so I pursued it. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> What was the firm in Santa Monica? <br> <b>DY:</b> Haight Dickson Brown & Bonesteel. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> You went there because you wanted to try cases? <br> <b>DY:</b> No, that was just my first firm. I went there because they were going to pay me lots of money and they were a block or two blocks away from the ocean. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> When did you work there? <br> <b>DY:</b> I went there as a summer clerk in 1984, went back as an associate in 1985 and left in 1987. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> Why did you leave there? <br> <b>DY:</b> I moved to Chicago. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> The other firm you practiced in was in Chicago? <br> <b>DY:</b> Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon. It's a trial firm. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> Why did you move to Chicago? <br> <b>DY:</b> I was dating somebody who lived there. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> Is that the man who became your husband? <br> <b>DY:</b> No, it's not. [Laughs] <br><br> <b>GS:</b> The relationship ended and you returned to L.A.? <br> <b>DY:</b> While I was there I helped start an Asian Bar organization. I worked with Paul Igasaki. He was head of the EEOC under President Clinton. Another woman I met there is Sandra Yamata who was a Harvard-grad lawyer but is now a publisher of children's books geared toward Asian issues. Her first book was called <i>Char Siu Bao Boy</i>. It was a story about young boy who would take char siu baos to school. She wrote it, she published it. I hooked up wth them and we started the Asian Bar Association of Chicago. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> Then you came back, clerked and went to Greenberg. Why Greenberg? Why not the U.S. Attorney's office? <br> <b>DY:</b> For personal reasons. At the time I wasn't sure where my husband was going to get a job. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> You married while you were clerking? <br> <b>DY:</b> Married right after the clerkship. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> You met someone while you were a clerk? <br> <b>DY:</b> Right. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> Can you tell us who he is or what he does? <br> <b>DY:</b> Not even relevant because I'm getting a divorce. [Laughs] <br><br> <b>GS:</b> Can we assume he's an attorney? <br> <b>DY:</b> No, he's a physican. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> Is there someone else in the wings? <br> <b>DY:</b> That I'm going to marry? [Laughs] Not today! <br><br> <b>GS:</b> Is there someone else in the wings? <br> <b>DY:</b> I have no plans to remarry. I'm married to my children now. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> Putting three kids to bed must be pretty difficult. <br> <b>DY:</b> I would love to fall asleep with them but I can't. I keep telling everyone that after I finish this job, I'm going to take a four-month hiatus. That's how tired I'll be. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> Do you have any specifics about what you might want to do after you finish here? <br> <b>DY:</b> No, I don't. The nice thing about this job is that a number of opportunities always present themselves. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> After you were at Greenberg for a year, you were appointed to the Santa Monica Superior Court? <br> <b>DY:</b> No, actually I went onto Los Angeles Municipal Court. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> Downtown? <br> <b>DY:</b> Back then there was a Municipal Court. I was first appointed to that, then the courts merged so I became part of the Superior Court. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> Did you jump at the chance to be a judge? <br> <b>DY:</b> I jumped at the chance. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> Why? <br> <b>DY:</b> Because I was 37 years old. It's a job I always felt would be terrific to have. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> What's so terrific about being a judge? <br> <b>DY:</b> You get to be fair, you're well respected, it's intellectually challenging. I like being in court. You're in court all the time. I actually like litigation. I've taught trial advocacy at USC Law School. I like trials as an art form. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> Did you think you looked good in a black judge's robe? <br> <b>DY:</b> No. [Laughs] No, no no no. But I was young -- 37 years old. What a phenomenal opportunity! So I liked the judging part. After a year on the bench I was selected to be the supervising judge of a small courthouse, the Hollywood Courthouse. I got some tremendous opportunities from the court system early on, and I'm grateful. It's really helped me in this job. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> Then you moved to the Santa Monica Superior Court in 2000. <br> <b>DY:</b> Right. That was a great position. Good judges, good cases. I had great colleagues there and I really liked the cases. The cases were very interesting to me. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> The business cases? <br> <b>DY:</b> The business cases, the kind of litigation they had out there. They had big construction cases, tons of environmental cases, breach of contract cases. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> I know you don't have much spare time, but what do you do for fun? <br> <b>DY:</b> What do I do for fun? I like to ski, I like to read... <br><br> <b>GS:</b> What type of books? <br> <b>DY:</b> Oh gosh, everything. I read fiction. I read some historical books. I used to be the president of the Chinese American museum here so there's a part of me that's interested in Asian history. I needlepoint. I scrapbook. I stamp cards. <p align=center> <font size=1 face=arial color=#ff0000> CONTINUED BELOW </font> </p> <hr size=1 color=#aa7530> <table width=auto align=center cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td width=100% align=center>  <ins data-revive-zoneid="250" data-revive-id="fe42daf737bb1b0d1aaecba8499318f1"></ins> <script async src="//amgs5.com/AS/www/delivery/asyncjs.php"></script> </td></tr></table> <hr size=1 color=#aa7530> <p> <br> <b>GS:</b> What do you do for exercise? <br> <b>DY:</b> I run. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> Every day? <br> <b>DY:</b> Hardly! [Laughs] Are you kidding? That would be a lie. I run twice a week. I wouldn't say I'm in the best physical shape but it's enough to keep me going. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> We know we're running past our alotted time, but just one more question: Would you want your kids to become U.S. attorney? <br> <b>DY:</b> Absolutely. It is the best job I've ever had. <br><br> <b>GS:</b> Thanks for taking the time to speak with us. We feel even guiltier now that you've told us your schedule. <br> <b>DY:</b> Yeah, I know. [Laughs] One time I went to Washington D.C. and had a bunch of lawyers from my office with me. One of the lawyers who was with me, he flew out with me and rode the cab with me and had dinner with me, and I spent some time with him. He said to me, "Oh god, I can't even breathe." He said, "Is your life always like this?" Because the minute I landed my beeper went off, my cellphone went off and I had 19 messages waiting for me. I said, "Not always." He said, "What percentage of the time is it like this?" I said, "About 75!" </p> <p class=page> <a href=yangdebra.html>Page 1</a> | <a href=yangdebra2.html>2</a> | <a href=yangdebra3.html>3</a> | <a href=yangdebra4.html>4</a> </p> <br><br> <center> <font face=arial size=2 color=#aa7530> <a href=/Personalities/Inspiring/inspiring.html> Back To Main Page </a> </font> </center> </td> <td width=8 valign=top> </td> <td width=1 valign=top bgcolor=#996725> </td> <td width=8 valign=top> </td> <td width=345 valign=top> <img src=/Graphics/pixel345.gif width=345 height=1> <table width=320 border=0 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 bgcolor=#ffffee><tr> <td width=160 valign=top>  </td> <td width=160 valign=top>  </td> </tr> <tr> <td width=160 valign=top>  </td> <td width=160 valign=top>  </td></tr> </table> <br> <br>  <table width=306 border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0><tr> <td valign=top> <img src=debra4.jpg width=300 height=287 align=right alt="Debra Yang"> <p class=caption> <span class=ap> </span> </p> </td></tr></table> <br>  <ins data-revive-zoneid="250" data-revive-id="fe42daf737bb1b0d1aaecba8499318f1"></ins> <script async src="//amgs5.com/AS/www/delivery/asyncjs.php"></script> <br>  <table width=250 bgcolor=#ffffee border=0 cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0><tr> <td align=top> <p class=pull> “I run twice a week. I wouldn't say I'm in the best physical shape but it's enough to keep me going.” </p> </td></tr></table> <br>  <br> <table width=340 border=0 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 bgcolor=#ffffee><tr> <td width=165 valign=top>  <script type='text/javascript'></script> </td> <td width=10> </td> <td width=165 valign=top>  <script type='text/javascript'></script> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width=165 valign=top>  <script type='text/javascript'></script> </td> <td width=10> </td> <td width=165 valign=top>  <script type='text/javascript'></script> </td> </tr></table> <hr size=1 color=#aa7530> <table width=340 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td colspan=2> <a href=http://goldsea.com/Video/> <p class=feature> Asian American Videos </p> </a> </td></tr> <tr><td width=130 valign=top> <p class=cover> <a href=http://www.goldsea.com/Video//categories/2/Music> <img src=http://www.goldsea.com/Video/chimg/2.jpg width=120 height=83 border=0></a> <br> <a href=http://www.goldsea.com/Video//categories/2/Music> Music Channel </a> </p> <p class=cover> <a href=http://www.goldsea.com/Video//categories/4/Humor> <img src=http://www.goldsea.com/Video/chimg/4.jpg width=120 height=83 border=0></a> <br> <a href=http://www.goldsea.com/Video//categories/4/Humor> Humor Channel </a> </p> <p class=cover> <a href=http://www.goldsea.com/Video//categories/1/People> <img src=http://www.goldsea.com/Video/chimg/1.jpg width=120 height=83 border=0></a> <br> <a href=http://www.goldsea.com/Video//categories/1/People> People Channel </a> </p> </td> <td width=2> </td> <td width=1 bgcolor=#996725> </td> <td width=27> </td> <td width=130 valign=top> <p class=cover> <a href=http://www.goldsea.com/Video//categories/5/Sports> <img src=http://www.goldsea.com/Video/chimg/5.jpg width=120 height=83 border=0></a> <br> <a href=http://www.goldsea.com/Video//categories/5/Sports> Sports Channel </a> </p> <p class=cover> <a href=http://www.goldsea.com/Video//categories/6/Dance--Stage> <img src=http://www.goldsea.com/Video/chimg/6.jpg width=120 height=83 border=0></a> <br> <a href=http://www.goldsea.com/Video//categories/6/Dance--Stage> Dance & Stage Channel </a> </p> <p class=cover> <a href=http://www.goldsea.com/Video//categories/7/Travel> <img src=http://www.goldsea.com/Video/chimg/7.jpg width=120 height=83 border=0></a> <br> <a href=http://www.goldsea.com/Video//categories/7/Travel> Travel Channel </a> </p> </td></tr></table> <br> <p align=center> <font size=1 face=arial> <span class=slug7> <a href=https://asianmedia.com/contact/> CONTACT US</a> | <a href=https://asianmedia.com> ADVERTISING INFO</a> <br><br> © 1996-2013 Asian Media Group Inc <br>No part of the contents of this site may be reproduced without prior written permission. </span> </font> </p> </td> </tr></table> </td></tr></table> </body> </HTML>