Aruna Masih Becomes First Indian and South Asian American Justice on Oregon State High Court
- Although the labor and civil rights attorney was appointed to a seat vacated by Adrienne Nelson, she will have to run for office in May.
Labor and civil rights attorney Aruna Masih has been appointed as a justice on Oregon’s Supreme Court, Gov. Tina Kotek announced Aug. 16. She will be the first Indian American and South Asian American justice on the state’s high court. She takes the seat vacated by Adrienne Nelson, “who was confirmed to the federal bench earlier this year,” Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) reported.
In a statement, the governor said Masih is “a decorated civil rights attorney who has worked on behalf of Oregonians for over twenty-five years in both her career and community service.” In her new role, Kotek said the practicing attorney “will bring direct and recent experience working for people — an invaluable perspective that will strengthen the current Oregon Supreme Court.” She highlighted Masih’s “dedication to public service and passion for equal access to justice” and her “long-time leadership in advancing equity and diversity in the legal field.”
Although she was appointed by the governor’s, Oregon Public Broadcasting notes that Masih will have to run for office in May. “In Oregon, justices and judges are elected to four-year terms,” the report said.
She has been a practicing attorney in Oregon for over 25 years. For most of her career, she has been a partner in the law firm of Bennett Hartman LLP, providing representation in a variety of areas, including employment, labor, appellate, professional licensure, contract, and constitutional law, according to the press release issued by the governor’s office. She has also represented clients at McKanna Bishop Joffe LLP.
She was born in New York to a Punjabi, Indian father and British mother, and was moved to India when she was six-months old when her medical missionary parents went to work at a rural mission hospital in Punjab.
She was born in New York to a Punjabi, Indian father and British mother, and was moved to India when she was six-months old when her medical missionary parents went to work at a rural mission hospital in Punjab. She and her brothers attended Woodstock School, an international boarding school up in the Himalayas. The family returned to the U.S. when Masih was in high school. She attended Wellesley College before earning her law degree from Tulane and Creighton universities.
It was her parents who “modeled the importance of public service, commitment to a larger cause, and equitable access for all,” she says in her profile. “These values have informed my personal and professional life, and I have pursued my labor and employment law practice to help workers collectively protect and advance their own civil rights, wages, benefits, and working conditions.”
Masih told OPB she’s spent time working to diversify the state’s legal community through mentoring and affinity groups. “I’ve really tried to work in the legal community in a variety of ways to try and build the pipeline to our profession and to the bench to make sure that others also have the support that they need and the access to work that they’re passionate about, because I think that in the long run that is what creates a strong and vibrant legal community.”
She’s married to a public defender in Multnomah County. She attends Calvary Presbyterian Church in Portland, and enjoys playing women’s indoor soccer and futsal.
She has served as Chair of the Oregon State Bar’s Advisory Committee for Diversity and Inclusion and as Chair of the Labor and Employment Section. She is a founding member and vice-president of the South Asian Bar Association of Oregon and currently serves on the Board of the Multnomah Bar Association and the Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation. She is also a former board member of the Oregon Women Lawyers and the Oregon Minority Lawyers Association. She is also an advisory board member for the Roseway Recovery Cafe, which serves community members in northeast Portland who have experienced trauma and the results of trauma, such as homelessness, substance use disorder, and addiction.
She has received the Multnomah Bar Association’s Diversity Award and an award of recognition from the Oregon Minority Lawyers Association for her work. She has represented public employees in major Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) cases before the Oregon Supreme Court since 2003.