PRESS RELEASE: NAPABA Recognizes its Civil Rights Committee as its 2015 President’s Award Recipient

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For Immediate Release
Oct. 26, 2015

For More Information, Contact:
Brett Schuster, Communications Manager
[email protected], 202-775-9555

WASHINGTON — The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) will honor its Civil Rights Committee with the 2015 President’s Award during the NAPABA Anniversary Gala and Installation Banquet on Nov. 7, 2015, in New Orleans. This award is given at the discretion of the NAPABA President to individuals or organizations that have made important contributions to NAPABA or the Asian Pacific American (APA) community.

The Civil Rights Committee was formed in 1989, shortly after the founding of NAPABA. The Committee has addressed numerous legislative and policy issues such as Wards Cove cannery workers’ civil rights, the certification of court interpreters, immigrant rights, and affirmative action. The Committee also considers and makes recommendations on resolutions offered by other diverse national bar associations on issues of common interest, which are then used as the basis for lobbying Congress, the White House, and other governmental bodies. The Committee is an important tool for activist lawyers to share experiences and plan civil rights-oriented panels at NAPABA Conventions.

President George Chen and NAPABA thank the Civil Rights Committee for their continued service to the organization and the greater APA community, and would like to recognize each chair – both past and present – who have had a significant impact on the Committee:

  • Brian Cheu
  • Rockwell Chin
  • Juliet K. Choi
  • Dennis Hayashi
  • Meredith Higashi
  • Paul Igasaki
  • Les Jin
  • Tsiwen M. Law
  • Andy Liu
  • Karen K. Narasaki
  • Edwin R. Oshika
  • Myron Quan
  • Patricia Shiu

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of approximately 50,000 attorneys and approximately 75 national, state, and local Asian Pacific American bar associations. Its members include solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal services and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government.

NAPABA continues to be a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network of committees and affiliates, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of color in the legal profession.

To learn more about NAPABA, visit www.napaba.org, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter (@NAPABA).

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Here is a fourth album of photos from the 2015 Fall Conference, Charting New Frontiers, held at Cleary Gottlieb on Saturday, September 19. This album contains photos from the cocktail reception and the committee dinners held by the Real Estate, Tax and In-House Counsel Committees. Thanks to Anna Chen, AABANY Legal Intern, and Simone Nguyen, AABANY Program Associate, for the great photos.

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Here is a third album of photos from the 2015 Fall Conference, Charting New Frontiers, held on Sept. 19 at Cleary, Gottlieb. This set includes shots from the Inaugural Diversity Career Fair and the Cocktail Reception at which Rocky Chin received this year’s Norman Lau Kee Trailblazer Award. Thanks to Pei-Ching Chang for these terrific photos!

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Here’s a slideshow of some additional photos from the 2015 Fall Conference, Charting New Frontiers, held at Cleary Gottlieb on Sept. 19. It proved to be our biggest and best yet, with nearly 400 attendees, including speakers, employers and job seekers for the first Diversity Career Fair, and law students coming for the student-oriented programs. Thanks again to everyone who attended and took part in this year’s Fall Conference. Thanks to Ping Zhou for the wonderful photos. 

PRESS RELEASE: NAPABA Announces Its 2015 Best Lawyers Under 40

For Immediate Release
Sept. 23, 2015

For More Information, Contact:
Brett Schuster, Communications Manager
[email protected], 202-775-9555

NAPABA Announces Its 2015 Best Lawyers Under 40

WASHINGTON — The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) has selected 14 attorneys to receive the 2015 Best Lawyers Under 40 Award (BU40). The BU40 recognizes talented individuals in the Asian Pacific American (APA) legal community who are under the age of 40 and have achieved prominence and distinction in their respective fields while demonstrating a strong commitment to the APA community at relatively early stages in their careers.

The BU40 Award will be presented on Nov. 5, 2015, during the 2015 NAPABA Convention in New Orleans, to the following recipients:

  • Christine Bautista — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
  • Christopher Y. Chan — RedMart Limited
  • Mark J. Furuya — Clark Construction Group LLC
  • Josh M. Hsu — U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Office of Senator Patrick Leahy
  • Miranda L. Lam — McCarthy Tétrault LLP
  • Gloria Lee — Rutan & Tucker LLP
  • Christine Li — Nationwide
  • Sujit Raman — U.S. Department of Justice
  • Darren S. Teshima — Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
  • Stacey H. Wang — Holland & Knight
  • Karen I. Wu — Perlman & Perlman LLP
  • Hli Xyooj — Farmers’ Legal Action Group Inc.
  • Amy Yoshimi Yeung — ZeniMax Media Inc.
  • Gary Zhao — SmithAmundsen LLC

“These distinguished lawyers represent some of the best in their field under the age of 40,” said NAPABA President George C. Chen. “As these 14 men and women continue to make strides in their respective careers, the pipeline for national Asian Pacific American leaders in the legal profession appears bright.”

The 2015 class of honorees continues the BU40 legacy of excellence and leadership in both the legal and APA communities. This year’s BU40 honorees have vast and varied experiences — representing clients in nationwide high-stake and complex business litigation matters, investigating violations of federal securities laws, providing legal services to family and underrepresented farmers, serving as the senior counsel to a ranking member of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and assistant general counsel for one of the nation’s oldest construction firms. NAPABA congratulates the 2015 Best Lawyers Under 40 award winners and looks forward to their future successes.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of over 40,000 attorneys and approximately 75 national, state, and local Asian Pacific American bar associations. Its members include solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal services and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government.

NAPABA continues to be a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network of committees and affiliates, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of color in the legal profession.

To learn more about NAPABA, visit www.napaba.org, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter (@NAPABA).

2015 Fall Conference Sneak Peak

By Marianne Chow
AABANY Vice President of Programs and Operations


On Saturday, September 19, 2015, AABANY will present its Sixth Annual Fall Conference,  Charting New Frontiers, hosted by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.   The Fall Conference consists of a full day of programs in a wide variety of areas of law geared towards promoting knowledge, business and professional development.  Read on for highlights from this year’s Fall Conference.  For more information and to register online, visit us at: conference2015.aabany.org

Inaugural Diversity Career Fair

We are excited to announce our inaugural Diversity Career Fair, where we look forward to featuring selected public sector and corporate sector employers who will host informational sessions, meet and greet interested applicants, and in some instances, conduct first-round on-site interviews.  Attendees will also have an opportunity to meet members of the AABANY Career Placement Committee, receive career advice and learn more about other job openings.  

CLEs and Career Panels

An impressive roster of CLE programs will cover cutting edge topics in areas ranging from tax to intellectual property to international arbitration to civil rights, such as:  

  • Justice for All:  LGBT Civil Rights and the API Community; 
  • Legal Perspectives on the Continuing Evolution of Media; and 
  • Hot Topics in Immigration Law—What is the Current Status of Executive Action, and Other Immigration Measures?

We will also offer several career-focused panels aimed to help APA attorneys advance, whether to equity partner, general counsel or the judiciary, such as: 

  • Business Development and Advancement for Firm Practitioners and In-House Attorneys–What Works and What Doesn’t?; 
  • Exploring In-House Legal and Non-Legal Paths; and 
  • Pathways to the Judiciary.  

Special Programming

This year’s Plenary Lunch Session will feature Kicking Glass: Two Decades and Counting, a follow-up program to a video first presented by AABANY at the 1995 NAPABA Convention. Kicking Glass revisits questions on hurdles faced by APA women in law, the successes they achieved, and what success means to them.  A video screening will be followed by a panel discussion which will aim to assess whether APA women attorneys have finally broken the glass ceiling after 20 years and to identify what challenges remain.  

For current and aspiring litigators, we offer our 4th Annual Trial Advocacy Program (TAP), a full-day program offering participants an opportunity to conduct their own openings, directs, cross-examinations and closings, followed by personalized critique from our distinguished APA faculty members which have included judges and practitioners. This year, we are proud to present as our TAP keynote speaker Hon. Kiyo A. Matsumoto, of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Apply for a slot in our Law Firm Pitch Sessions, which matches law firms and solo practitioners with AABANY’s expanding network of in-house counsel. These sessions allow outside counsel to showcase their services that are relevant to in-house counsel and who have been specifically selected based on in-house counsel’s needs.  

Finally, join us for a Cocktail Reception during which we will launch our 2015-2016 Mentorship Program, which provides support, advice and networking opportunities to aid both mentors and mentees in their professional and personal development.  We encourage AABANY members to apply to be a mentor and/or a mentee at http://www.aabany.org/default.asp?page=542 by no later than August 21, 2015.

Register Today!

To register for the Fall Conference, click here.  A discounted rate is available for AABANY members.  All participants who register on or before September 4, 2015 will receive a further discount on the registration fee.  Attendees may also sign up in advance for one of the Post-Conference Dinners hosted by various AABANY Committees.  Please contact [email protected] if you have any other inquiries regarding the Fall Conference. 


This article was originally published in the Summer 2015, Volume XVI, Issue III of The AABANY Advocate, which can be read in its entirety here. To see all past versions of The AABANY Advocate, click here. To learn more about AABANY’s newsletter, you can email [email protected].

For more information about the Fall Conference, click here. Questions can be directed at [email protected].

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We are pleased to share the 2015 Annual Dinner photographs taken by the talented Corky Lee. Thank you to everyone involved – sponsors, organizers, and all those who attended. You are truly what makes our membership so incredible. We hope you’ll be with us year-round as we chart new frontiers.

To read David Lat’s recap of our night to remember, click here.

To view Karen Zhou’s photos, click here.

To see the previous photo slideshow courtesy of Yang Chen, click here.

Honorees:

Jenny R. Yang
Chair, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
AABANY Women’s Leadership Award

An-Ping Hsieh
Vice President, General Counsel, Hubbell Incorporated
AABANY Corporate Counsel Leadership Award

Preet Bharara
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
AABANY Public Service Leadership Award

These photos are also available on our Facebook page, so feel free to tag yourself and others!

NAPABA Announces 2014-2016 Annual Convention Host Cities

National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

1612 K Street NW, Suite 1400
Washington, DC 20006


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 11, 2013

Contact: Azizah Ahmad

(202) 775-9555

NAPABA ANNOUNCES 2014-2016 ANNUAL CONVENTION HOST CITIES

WASHINGTON, DC – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) has selected its annual convention host cities for 2014-2016. The Annual NAPABA Convention will be held in:

  • 2014: Scottsdale, Arizona
  • 2015: New Orleans, Louisiana
  • 2016: San Diego, California

“We are pleased to announce the host cities for the 2014-2016 Annual Conventions,” said Wendy Shiba, president of NAPABA. “We look forward to expanding NAPABA’s presence, engaging membership, and working with NAPABA’s affiliates and the local communities in these host cities.”

The process for selecting host cities breaks new ground from the bidding process that NAPABA has previously used. Several factors were considered during the selection process, including the presence of emerging Asian Pacific American and legal communities; hotel and convention site capacity of potential host cities; relative cost; and a desire to include regions that have not hosted a NAPABA convention recently or ever. New Orleans and San Diego will be first-time host cities and Scottsdale hosted in 2001.

“We are excited that Arizona will be hosting the NAPABA Convention in 2014,” said Mingyi Kang, president of the Arizona Asian American Bar Association. “We are grateful that NAPABA is changing the way the Convention is being hosted and are positive that this change will enable more local chapters to host the NAPABA Convention, increasing NAPABA’s profile, and encouraging more APAs to join and be more involved in our organizations and in the community in general.”

“On behalf of LAPABA, we are absolutely thrilled to have been chosen to host Convention 2015 in New Orleans! This is an unbelievable opportunity, bringing our entire NAPABA family to our great home city for the first time, ever,” said Christine C. Bruneau, president of the Louisiana Asian Pacific American Bar Association. “We look forward to fantastic speakers and programs, seeing old friends and colleagues and meeting new ones, and some truly amazing food, culture, and history!”

Brian S. Sun, president of the Pan Asian Lawyers of San Diego, one of four NAPABA affiliates in San Diego, said, “Pan Asian Lawyers of San Diego is excited that San Diego was chosen as the host city for NAPABA’s Annual Convention in 2016. We look forward to the opportunity to help the NAPABA convention team in any way we can. I know that everyone will enjoy our wonderful city.”

The 25th Annual NAPABA Convention, Momentum, will be held in Kansas City, Missouri from November 7-10, 2013.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of over 40,000 attorneys and 66 state and local Asian Pacific American bar associations. Its members include solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal service and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government. NAPABA continues to be a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network of committees and affiliates, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of color in the legal profession.