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Asher and Johnson-Asher newest members of FSM Bar

Palikir, POHNPEI (FSM Supreme Court/FSM Information Service): June 13, 2006 - The Supreme Court of the Federated States of Micronesia has admitted two new members to the FSM Bar: Johnson Asher from Kosrae and Lorrie Johnson-Asher from Pohnpei.

On May 31 2006, during a small ceremony at the FSM Supreme Court in Palikir, Chief Justice Andon L. Amaraich inducted Asher and Johnson-Asher as members of the FSM Bar allowed to practice law in the FSM Supreme Court

Asher and Johnson-Asher had passed the FSM written bar examination in March with employments at the Pohnpei State Government. Asher serves as a court attorney for the Pohnpei Supreme Court while Johnson- Asher is currently the legal counsel for the Pohnpei Environmental Protection Agency.

Both new members are 2002 graduates of the University of the South Pacific (USP) Law School in Port Villa, Vanuatu.

Chief Justice Amaraich referenced the increasing flow of alumnae from USP Law School and noted that the FSM Government may need to "re-evaluate its position regarding its membership in the USP."

Asher is a USP graduate with a Cum Laude in the LLB program. He has completed the first three requirements for a Masters of Law in the special legal areas: Law of the Sea, Advanced Pacific Legal Studies and Advance Customary Law. Asher is currently working on a thesis paper for the final requirement of his LLM Degree.

In 1992, Asher received the Valedictorian Award from the U.S. Department of Interior sponsored Micronesian Public Safety Academy. He attended Eastern Arizona College with studies in the field of Administration of Justice. Asher was the Salutatorian of the 1986 Kosrae High School graduating class. He had previous employment stints with the state governments of Kosrae and Pohnpei. From 1992 to 1994, Asher managed the Kosrae Probation Office and had prior to that from 1989 - 1990 he piloted and supervised the Kolonia Town Division of Traffic.

The other bar member, Mrs. Lorrie Johnson-Asher also holds a Law Degree from the LLB program at USP Law School. She is the recipient a 2003 Scholarship from the Government of New Zealand to further pursue her Masters at USP. And like Asher, she has completed the first requirements for USP's Masters Degree, the three specialized areas of: Advanced Pacific Studies, Law of the Sea and Intellectual Property Rights Laws. She is also working on her thesis paper as the final requirements for her LLM degree.

Johnson-Asher holds a Bachelors of Arts in Pre-law from Pensacola Christian College in Florida and an alumni of PICS High School.

In 1997, Mrs. Asher worked for Chief Justice Judah Johnny as an assistant legal researcher for the Pohnpei State Supreme Court.