November 19, 2024

ASU Law faculty member a top contender for a spot on the highest court in the state

From Army greens to possibly a seat on the highest court in the state, Ann Ching has a long list of experience under her belt that she hopes will get her to the Arizona Supreme Court.

Ching is a clinical professor of law at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. Along with 16 other judges and attorneys, Ching submitted her application to become the first justice appointed by Gov. Katie Hobbs.

What makes Ching a contender for a position like this?

Could it be the nearly 12 years she spent serving as a lawyer in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG)? Her work with the State Bar of Arizona providing confidential ethics advice to thousands of lawyers and promoting greater transparency? Her five years as an educator teaching the lawyers of tomorrow at ASU Law? The list goes on.

While Ching was a lawyer for JAG, her responsibilities included providing legal assistance and advice for military members and serving as a trial defense counsel where she represented criminal defendants in courts-martial and respondents in administrative boards. She was also a prosecutor and chief of military justice at the U.S. Military Academy.

After leaving the military, Ching taught at Pepperdine Law School before spending a few years working at the State Bar of Arizona, where, alongside her ethics work, she revised the State Bar’s Rules for Fee Arbitration. She also helped draft its public records and public meeting policies.

Her most recent work, however, is at ASU Law. There, she teaches legal writing, appellate advocacy and professional responsibility.

Ching’s entire life has been devoted to implementing the law. Her work isn't just for a paycheck but for something more.

Her volunteer work proves that. She has volunteered with the State Bar of Arizona Ethics Advisory Group, providing confidential ethics advice to lawyers. She also serves as vice chair of the Arizona Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Committee, where she has authored rule petitions and ethics opinions. Ching has also performed pro bono work for veterans.

The next step for Ching, as she says, is to hold a seat among other prominent members of the Arizona Supreme Court.

“Being at the law school has given me more of an opportunity to interact with state judges and get a better idea of what they do. The Supreme Court plays a huge part in regulating the practice of law,” Ching explained. “This is a time in my career where I felt I had enough experience to be a judge. The time is right.”

Ching is the only law professor applying for the current open seat. On Nov. 22, a nonpartisan commission of lawyers and non-lawyers will vote on which applications will move to the next step of the process

Written by Crystal Jimenez