About Irene

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Irene Kim Asbury was born in Buffalo, New York in 1974. Her parents were impoverished refugees from post-war Korea who washed dishes and cleaned houses in order to support their families. After obtaining their degrees, Irene's parents moved to New Jersey in 1978 to follow economic growth and employment opportunities. In addition to her solo law practice, Irene is an active member of the Asian-Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey; is a member of both the Korean American Bar Association and the Hudson County Bar Association; and serves as a court-appointed mediator in Hudson and Passaic Counties. Irene has also volunteered her time as a pro bono attorney with the Mississippi Center for Justice and the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers' Project on the Gulf Coast, representing low-income Hurricane Katrina victims who cannot obtain housing, federal and state disaster assistance, financial counseling, or health care.

For the last three years, Irene has served on the Board of Directors for the Korean American League of Civic Action, mentoring college interns and promoting the civic participation of Asian American and minorities in the public sector. In addition, she volunteers with various local community organizations, such as the Jersey City Neighborhood Watch and JC Fridays and Art House Productions, as well as various local political campaigns. Irene graduated from the Johns Hopkins University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and received her Juris Doctorate from the Seton Hall University School of Law in 1999. She has served her district and her county as a the only Asian American delegate from New Jersey to the Republican National Convention in 2008, as New Jersey's only Asian female Republican State Committeewoman, and as a member of the Hudson County Republican Committee.

Irene has lived in Jersey City for ten years, the last four with her husband, Jacob.