Prior to her reappointment in Civil Court, Ambekar has served as a senior legislative attorney and counsel to the Committee on Public Safety. Judge Deepa Ambekar was the second Indian origin woman to be appointed as judge in the City in 2018 when she was made the interim Civil Court Judge, after Chennai-born Judge Raja Rajeswari became the first Indian-origin woman judge to be appointed in the Criminal Court in April 2015. A graduate of Vassar College, Rao has received her Juris Doctor (JD) degree from Fordham University school of Law. She had also served in the Domestic Violence Unit and the Welfare Fraud Unit, according to a bio on the Asian Women in Business which had her on its list of ‘Asian Women Prosecutors and the Pursuit of Justice: in 2013’. Before this she had been serving in several bureaus with the New York County District Attorney’s Office for 17 years where her last post was as bureau chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau. Judge Archana Rao was first appointed as an interim Civil court Judge in January 2019 and has been appointed as a Judge in Criminal Court. “Their work is essential in ensuring that we are creating a fairer city for all.” “These appointees will represent New Yorkers proudly and work tirelessly to provide oversight of our courts,” said mayor de Blasio. Among them are Archana Rao and Deepa Ambekar, two Indian origin attorneys appointed as judges to the Criminal Court and Civil Court respectively effective January 1. New York City mayor Bill de Blasio with the beginning of the year has made 28 judicial appointments and reappointments in family, civil and criminal courts.