Welcome HBA-DC's New President

This month, Wiley Rein special counsel Edgar Class was sworn in as president of the Hispanic Bar Association of DC. (The immediate past president is Juan Sempertegui.) We joined a group of well-wishers at Wiley Rein celebrating Edgar's new post. Here's Edgar (second from left) with Tonio Burgos & Associates president Max Trujillo, Wiley Rein chairman emeritus Dick Wiley, and Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis appellate group head and Federal Communications Bar Association president Chris Wright.

Edgar, who deals with communications law and policy, has been on the HBA-DC board since 2013 and serves as chair of Wiley Rein’s Latino Lawyers Affinity Group. He let us know his two priorities as HBA-DC president: help the HBA advance diversity in the legal industry (for instance, through discussions with employers about diversity in hiring and retention); and provide greater support for law students, including financial support and mentorship programs.

One of Edgar's mentors may be part of the reason he's now with the firm: while working at the FCC, he got to know then-FCC Commissioner Henry Rivera, who later joined Wiley Rein. We snapped Edgar with two other telecom stars, wireless practice chair Nancy Victory and telecom practice and unmanned aircraft systems practice chair Mike Senkowski.

Nearby, we spotted US District Court for DC Judge Rudy Contreras and DC Superior Court Judge Hiram Puig-Lugo. Judge Puig-Lugo, a Clinton appointee, is a past winner of the HBA-DC Lifetime Achievement Award named after US District Court Judge Ricardo Urbina. (Here's coverage of the award ceremony, and a one-on-one interview with Judge Urbina soon after his retirement.) Judge Contreras filled Urbina's spot on the court when he retired.

Last February at Wiley Rein, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Judge Jimmie Reyna discussed his path to the bench. He's also a Judge Ricardo M. Urbina Lifetime Achievement Award winner and a former Hispanic National Bar Association president.