Karen Lin is the first woman of East Asian descent to be elected to the bench in Queens County. In over 25 years of working in the public sector, she has served as a judge in the New York City Housing Court, Court Attorney-Referee in Kings County Surrogate’s Court, and Principal Law Clerk in New York County Supreme Court. She previously served as District Counsel and Chief of Staff to the late New York State Senator Catherine Abate and worked as a litigation associate in a civil rights and family law practice. She has volunteered as a pro bono attorney at the Center of Constitutional Rights, where she was an Ella Baker intern and Co-Chair of the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee of the Asian American Bar Association of New York. She immigrated to Queens at a young age and is a proud graduate of the New York City public schools and the State University of New York.
Lin is an Adjunct Professor teaching “Asian Americans and the Law” at St. John’s University School of Law.