Letter to Hon. Joe Biden, President - Candidate Recommendations for U.S. District Court for the District Court of Colorado

Letter

Dear President Biden:

We write to you regarding the upcoming vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of
Colorado. Last month, District Court Judge Christine Arguello announced that she will step
down as an active judge and take senior status, effective July 15, 2022. We recommend the
following three candidates to serve on the Court. Due to their compassion, intellect and
temperament, all three candidates would make excellent jurists and serve the people of Colorado
with integrity.

Gordon Gallagher

Since 2012, Judge Gallagher has served as a magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the
District of Colorado. He was unanimously re-appointed to the position in 2016 and 2020. Earlier
in his career, Mr. Gallagher served as a Deputy District Attorney for the 21st Judicial District
(Mesa County) from 1997-2000. In 2000, he began a criminal defense practice focusing on state
court litigation in western Colorado. Mr. Gallagher served as a member of the Grand Valley
Task Force's criminal justice working group where he worked to address systemic bias in the
community. Mr. Gallagher also works to provide rehabilitative resources for the Southern Ute
and Ute Mountain Ute Tribes. In addition, he has worked for over a decade to provide legal
representation to indigent defendants as part of the Alternate Defense Counsel (ADC) and served
as Chair of the Pro Se Working Group to "investigate and consider how [the District] court can
best facilitate pro se access to the court and how pro se cases can be handled in the most efficient
and economical fashion." He graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1991
and obtained his J.D. at the University of Denver College of Law in 1996.

Kenzo Kawanabe

Mr. Kawanabe is a partner in the Denver law firm of Davis Graham & Stubbs where he focuses
on litigation and intellectual property law. He has also served as Pro Bono Partner and
represented underfunded school districts and families in a Constitutional education finance case
and refugees from Africa. Mr. Kawanabe's extensive contributions to the community include
serving as a board advisor or board member of the Institute for the Advancement of the
American Legal System, Colorado Legal Services, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice. He
was the first-ever General Counsel of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. Mr.
Kawanabe clerked for former Chief Justice Mary J. Mullarkey of the Colorado Supreme Court
and is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. He obtained his BA from the
University of Colorado and his JD from Georgetown University Law Center. Mr. Kawanabe is a
fourth generation Coloradan who grew up in the San Luis Valley, and his grandparents endured
after being sent to a Japanese-American internment camp during World War II.

Nina Wang

Since 2015, Judge Wang has served as a magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the
District of Colorado. In that capacity, she has presided over civil trials, criminal felony matters,
and criminal misdemeanor trials. In addition, she has managed the pretrial process including
discovery, and motions practice for Article III judges. Previously, Judge Wang worked in private
practice where she specialized in intellectual property law. She also served in the civil division of
the U.S. Attorney's office in Colorado. Earlier in her career, Judge Wang clerked for the
Honorable Peter Messitte on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. She has taught
patent litigation and trial advocacy at the University of Colorado School of Law. She cofounded
the Colorado Pro Bono Patent Initiative, previously served as President of the Asian Pacific
American Bar Association of Colorado, and is the 2015 recipient of the Minoru Yasui
Community Service Award. After immigrating from Taiwan as a young child, Judge Wang
obtained her A.B. from Washington University and her JD from Harvard Law School.
We are pleased to recommend these outstanding candidates to serve on the U.S. District Court.
As the process moves forward, please do not hesitate to follow up with us if you have any
questions.

Sincerely,

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