WASHINGTON – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) condemns the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s use of certain irresponsible and potentially dangerous promotions for a new tipline for reporting suspected commercial driver’s license fraud. The federal government has chosen to advance this initiative by, among other things, calling on the public to “report illegal aliens on American roads” and using racist imagery that targets the Sikh community and those of Asian descent. These actions invite turning a government tipline into a vehicle for racial profiling.
NAPABA has long and unequivocally opposed racial profiling and actions that cast suspicion on entire communities because of their race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. The federal government should be working to prevent such discrimination, not creating conditions that invite it. The South Asian and broader Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities should not have to fear being reported to federal authorities, investigated, or harassed simply because of who they are, how they look, or where someone assumes they are from. The government ought to immediately cease this stigmatizing campaign and ensure that its actions do not amount to impermissible racial and national origin profiling.
The Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award is NAPABA’s highest honor, celebrating the outstanding achievements of lawyers whose leadership and dedication have left a profound mark on both the legal profession and the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community. This lifetime achievement award recognizes those whose vision, courage, and commitment have opened doors and paved the way for future generations of attorneys.
Trailblazers are leaders who have not only excelled in their practice but have also made enduring contributions to advancing equity, opportunity, and justice within the legal community and beyond.
NAPABA is honored to celebrate the 2026 Trailblazer Award recipients and their extraordinary impact at this year’s NAPABA Convention in Los Angeles.
Alicia Garrido Limtiaco, Esq. Former Attorney General of Guam & U.S. Attorney for Guam and NMI, NAPABA At-Large Board Member, ABA Representative to UN ECOSOC
Alicia Limtiaco’s distinguished career in public service has been marked by historic firsts and an enduring commitment to justice, representation, and the communities she serves. She made history as the first woman elected Attorney General of Guam and later as the first woman appointed United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Throughout her career, Alicia has championed protections for vulnerable communities, including efforts addressing family violence, human trafficking, child exploitation, civil rights, and public safety. Her leadership has also brought the experiences and perspectives of Pacific and Indigenous communities to national and international forums. Within the AANHPI legal community, Alicia broke another barrier as the first Pacific Islander and first attorney from Guam to serve on NAPABA’s Board of Governors, helping ensure that Pacific Islander voices have a place in national legal leadership.
The Honorable Elwood Lui Administrative Presiding Justice, California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District
Justice Elwood Lui’s more than five decades of service have left an enduring mark on California’s judiciary and AANHPI legal community, opening doors and building institutions for generations of attorneys and judges. In 1981, he became the first Chinese American appellate judge in California and later became the first Asian American to serve as Administrative Presiding Justice of any California Court of Appeal. His influence extends well beyond his own historic appointments. Justice Lui co-founded the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association in 1975 and founded the California Asian Pacific American Judges Association in 1981, creating institutions that have supported and connected generations of AANHPI attorneys and judicial officers. Throughout his career on the bench, in private practice, in public service, and as an educator and mentor, Justice Lui has consistently opened doors that were previously closed to Asian American attorneys and judges and helped build the infrastructure for future generations to lead.
Hugh H. Mo Founder & Principal, The Law Firm of Hugh H. Mo, P.C. (“Mo Law”) Hugh H. Mo has spent nearly five decades shaping Asian American representation in law, government, and civic life through a career marked by historic firsts, institution-building, and service to his community. He broke significant barriers as the first Asian American Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and later as the first Asian American Deputy Commissioner in Charge of Trials for the New York City Police Department, becoming, at the time, the highest-ranking Asian American official in New York City government. Just as significant has been his commitment to creating opportunities and institutions for those who followed. Hugh co-founded the Asian American Bar Association of New York, the Chinatown Health Clinic, now the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, and the NYPD Asian American Police Executives Council. Throughout his career, he has paired professional achievement with sustained civic leadership, mentorship, and advocacy, leaving an enduring legacy within New York’s AANHPI legal community and beyond.
On June 24th, 2026, Glenn D. Magpantay, a Commissioner on the United States Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR), was honored at Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. ‘s Annual Pride Month Celebration at Queens Borough Hall. Glenn is the first openly LGBTQ and Asian American commissioner in the USCCR since its founding in 1957. Glenn is a longtime member and leader at AABANY and a current Board Director. Recently, we took this opportunity to meet with Glenn to interview him about his lifelong work as a civil rights attorney and an LGBTQ rights activist.
In a distinguished and storied career, Glenn has been recognized with a variety of awards, including NAPABA’s Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Lifetime Achievement Award and the AALAM Community Service Award. However, Glenn reflects that his award from BP Richards feels different because of the incredible support he has received from others in the local community. Being a Queens native—a borough bursting with diversity—Glenn has experienced firsthand how important diversity within communities is. For Glenn, the community recognition is what makes this honor deeply personal and truly special.
In his acceptance remarks, Glenn reflected on the difficulties of coming out as a gay man during the peak of the HIV epidemic. He extended deep gratitude to his family and supporters in both the LGBTQ and legal communities, noting that their unwavering support was vital during this challenging period of his life and the successes he achieved throughout his career. He also highlighted his impactful advocacy on the USCCR, including his efforts to ensure that the Commission acknowledges violence against transgender women of color. Glenn called upon those in attendance to persistently speak out and advocate for justice. As his remarks drew to a close, he extended his sincere thanks to the community for offering their continuous support throughout his journey.
“I would have never achieved all of this, were it not for so many of you who are here in the audience today. You all have supported me and have given me poise. You have lifted me up, even though I know I’m a little heavy,” he quipped. Click here to listen to Glenn’s speech.
Glenn is a Co-Founder of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), an organization that aims to create a world where queer and trans Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) people can flourish. Through this work, underrepresented communities continue to tackle ever-changing political and societal issues. Glenn claims that the changes the new administration implemented—the dismantling of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and cutbacks on transgender healthcare and services for the poor—have affected millions of minority populations across the U.S., including AANHPI and LGBTQ communities.
Glenn credits affirmative action for his success as an LGBTQ Asian American. Following the government rollback of the policies supporting underrepresented communities, many feel the current legal and political landscape is stacked against them. Faced with these issues, Glenn shares how individuals and organizations can navigate this shifting landscape:
Vote in every election
Protest injustice
Engage with your community
Cultivate allies from those not in your communities
Be more open-minded to diverse perspectives
To achieve meaningful progress, according to Glenn, it is essential to transform hearts and minds. For many AANHPI and LGBTQ individuals, this transformation begins at home and involves finding a healthy balance between traditional expectations of family duty and the fundamental right to live authentically. Glenn observes a distinct tension between traditional, collectivist, and conformist Asian values and the emphasis on individualism in America, leading to the conflict that arises between parents and their second-generation children.
Glenn maintains that such cultural tenacity served as a way of survival for previous generations. It remains equally essential for navigating today’s challenges. While this cultural friction often causes painful divides, bridging these two worlds requires a slow, empathetic dialogue. “Coming out in Asian cultures is a process, not an event,” Glenn stated. “Parents have struggled and sacrificed for us. We should honor and respect them with patience.”
As a parent himself, Glenn states that his choices are guided by a desire to provide the very best for his child—similar to his own parents and many other Asian parents in America. American interactions are often transactional, while Asian interactions are deliberate and transformative—something AANHPI and LGBTQ youth must be mindful of while balancing their identities. “Unfortunately, everything that is beautiful and fulfilling in this world is a struggle to get to,” Glenn declared.
Teaching has also played a significant part in Glenn’s life. His teaching journey began when his friend, the late Professor Gary Okihiro, professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University, suggested that he teach, recognizing the unique insights the Commissioner had to share with students. Glenn chose to begin teaching as a personal mission to give back to the community with the ultimate goal of showing that students from underserved communities can also become accomplished lawyers. Many of them—first–generation immigrants or poor—have never met a brown gay attorney before. They thought that all the successful lawyers were white, male, and Jewish.
He hopes that he can help his students find a potential greater than they have ever imagined for themselves. The mentor and mentee relationships that teaching has enabled him to form motivate him to continue. He imparts his personal knowledge while the students keep him updated on current social media lingo, allowing them to form meaningful and relevant connections. Although Glenn no longer teaches, he hopes to return to the classroom sometime in the future. He is beloved and admired by his students, as his “Rate My Professor” reviews show.
Ultimately, Glenn intends to continue leveraging his role in the USCCR and his position as an LGBTQ and Asian American civil rights pioneer to help underrepresented communities achieve their fullest potential.
Please join AABANY in congratulating Glenn on his most recent recognition from Queens BP Richards during the Annual Pride Month Celebration in June.
On Tuesday, July 28, 2026, the Asian Employee Resource Group of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, in partnership with AABANY and the Center on Asian Americans and the Law at Fordham Law School, hosted the trial reenactment, Building Our Legacy: The Murder of Vincent Chin, at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York at 500 Pearl Street in Manhattan. The 1982 homicide of Vincent Chin, a young Chinese American, is considered a pivotal moment in the Asian American civil rights movement. This reenactment was covered by 星島日報 (Sing Tao Daily).
The article, published on July 30, 2026, covers the specifics of this case, including how racial tensions played an instrumental role in it. According to Sing Tao Daily, at the time of Vincent Chin’s murder, anti-Japanese sentiment was high due to intense economic anxiety from inflation and nationwide unemployment in industrial fields. This sentiment was especially acute in Detroit because of the city’s heavy reliance on the auto industry. The court testimony revealed that two white auto workers, Ronald Ebens and his stepson Michael Nitz, continuously verbally abused Chin, saying, “We lost our jobs because of you motherfuckers.” This verbal abuse ultimately ended in the chase and murder of Vincent Chin with a baseball bat.
The article described the post-reenactment discussion, which featured Hon. Denny Chin, United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit, and Kathy Hirata Chin, who both spoke about AABANY’s trial reenactments project. AABANY Executive Director Yang Chen spoke about the work of AABANY’s Anti-Asian Violence Task Force.
A relative of Vincent Chin, Annie Tan, also participated in the post-reenactment discussion. She was quoted by Sing Tao Daily, stating, “We cannot remain silent; instead, we must continue to tell Vincent Chin’s story and speak out bravely,” expressing the hope that—just as Lily Chin wished during her lifetime—no other mother would ever have to endure such suffering.
WASHINGTON – As we commemorate the 61st anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey (APALA-NJ), the South Asian Bar Association of New Jersey (SABA-NJ), and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) applaud the recent enactment of the John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act of New Jersey. As one of the most comprehensive state-level voting rights laws in the country, the Act strengthens and enhances language access rights for all New Jersey voters, which includes a large and growing Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) population.
As we collectively noted in our written testimony to the New Jersey Legislature, New Jersey is one of the most diverse states in the country, which is due in large part to the AANHPI communities in the state. AANHPIs—the fastest growing demographic group in the country—make up more than 11% of the state’s residents. New Jersey is home to the nation’s fourth largest Asian American population, accounting for an 83% share of the state’s overall growth over the past two decades.
Barriers to voting, however, persist for the Asian American population. Approximately one third of all Asian Americans in this country are limited English proficient, with over 100 distinct languages and dialects spoken amongst over 50 AANHPI ethnic groups.
The Act, which builds on the language access provisions of Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, strengthens and enhances language rights for Asian American communities in New Jersey. It represents one of the strongest language access protections for voters in the country. At a time when the federal government has removed certain language access guarantees in the delivery of critical federal services, New Jersey’s choice to improve meaningful access to the ballot box for limited English proficient voters is a welcome action for the AANHPI communities that we serve.
We thank Governor Mikie Sherrill for signing the Act into law. We also thank the New Jersey Legislature for passing the legislation ahead of this year’s midterm elections along with all of the sponsors and champions of the law.
The Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) is excited to share that in June 2026, James Chou, former AABANY President of AABANY (2009) and long-time AABANY member began his tenure as the new Managing Partner of Saul Ewing‘s New York City office.
James came to law by way of a detour: he started at NYU, intent on majoring in biochemistry and chasing his family’s expectations. His grandmother, one of the few women of her generation to earn a medical degree, had instilled in all her children and grandchildren, that it was her wish for them to follow in her and her late husband’s footsteps as medical doctors. James’ distaste for organic chemistry and frustration with the confining nature of the hard sciences convinced him otherwise. The breadth of a liberal arts education with its exposure to a wide array of fields and focus on critical thought, analysis, and communication provided a more attractive alternative. In his words, “the questions felt bigger, more interesting, and practically impactful.” He graduated magna cum laude from NYU and went on to Georgetown Law, where he served on the Journal of Legal Ethics and also tried his first case as a student advocate.
After a brief stint at Schulte Roth & Zabel, James spent seventeen years at Akin Gump, where he cut his teeth as a lawyer, handling all manner of complex commercial disputes. Those years were highly significant to his professional development, and he remains deeply grateful for his training and mentors there.
In 2015, he left Big Law and took a bet on himself to help build the New York office of a Long-Island-based firm, Moritt Hock & Hamroff, spending nine years there enhancing the firm’s Manhattan presence and brand in the New York market before making a returning to a broader platform at Saul Ewing in July 2024.
In May 2026, he was named the New York Office Managing Partner, effective June 1. In his new role, James is responsible for helping to develop and implement the office’s strategic vision to enhance its market position within the New York legal market and key practice areas and industries, build strategic client relationships, attract and develop top talent, and drive revenue growth and profitability. He takes on this role while maintaining a very active litigation practice as well as serving on the Board of the New York City Bar Association and as Chair of its Council on Judicial Administration.
When asked whether his Asian American identity presented a structural obstacle in his career, James replied that rather than encountering structural obstacles, he did think his cultural sensibilities—humility, deference, and polite restraint rather than aggressive self-promotion—prevented him from succeeding earlier in his career than he did. But James sees no value in dwelling on setbacks, and he views each challenge as an opportunity for growth and development. In this regard, he practices “the discipline of gratitude”—an intentional, regular practice of prioritizing thankfulness as a steady habit of mind and spirit, built on stoicism’s premise that we will all cease to exist, as well as a recognition that every experience in our life journey shapes who we are today.
Over the course of his long career, two cases stand out, both of which were pro bono. The first was in the mid-2000s, when James and his colleagues represented the New York County Democratic Committee in defending New York’s judicial convention—the system by which political parties nominate candidates for the New York State Supreme Court—against a constitutional challenge. In New York State Board of Elections v. López Torres, the Democratic Committee argued that the First Amendment protects a political party’s right to determine how it selects its own nominees, and in 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed, with a 9–0 decision. The second was in in 2012, when James represented an Angolan asylum seeker who had been wrongly linked to a violent independence movement and a high-profile 2010 attack he had no part in. The man’s only tie to the group was a membership card he received after attending a single meeting of the group in which they were promoting basic social services. Working alongside the New York Legal Assistance Group, James secured the man’s asylum in February 2012 and eventually reunited him with his wife and young son.
James shared that Saul Ewing prides itself in being a “people-first firm,” which is not just a mantra, but a core value manifest across the Firm’s platform. Consistent with that ethos, his vision as New York managing partner is to invest in people and cultivate a collaborative environment where they can maximize their potential, which, in turn, is essential to excellent client service. His message for AABANY’s members is that your reputation will be built not by the cases you win, but by the trust you earn, the people you develop, and the institutions you leave stronger than when you found it, so make sure to invest in those things.
Please join AABANY in congratulating James on this milestone achievement in his career and wishing him further success as he takes on leadership of Saul Ewing’s New York City office.
Karis Consulting Group is now hiring for their Fall Internship Program. This program will run from September 8, 2026, to November 25, 2026.
Karis Consulting Group empowers community voices and organizational capacity by providing community organizing, strategic advising, and coalition-building support for leaders and organizations within Asian American, Pacific Islander, and other communities of color.
Interns will provide support for client work in a variety of sectors, gaining valuable community organizing skills and building relationships with top leaders in the nonprofit and government sectors. Other benefits include working with a small, collaborative team and flexible hours.
High school graduates, college students, and graduate students of all ethnicities and backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be based in the United States. This is a remote position, with a preference for candidates located in New York or Washington, D.C., where occasional in-person collaboration opportunities are available. This is a paid internship.
On June 10, the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) hosted an installment of its Dumplings & Discussion event series featuring Sandra Leung, independent Board Member of Bausch Health Companies, retired General Counsel for biopharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb, and past President of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). Over delicious dumplings and other dim sum dishes, Sandra shared her extensive career experiences with a captivated audience.
In addition to her 18 years as General Counsel at Bristol Myers Squibb—the first Asian American and the first woman to serve as their General Counsel—Sandra is also the 2025 recipient of NAPABA’s highest honor, the Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award. In her illustrious career, Sandra was also the first Asian American woman to serve as an Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. Her board service includes serving on the boards of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF). Furthermore, she was a founding member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD).
Sandra shared her journey in conversation with moderator and event organizer Jeffrey Mok, Principal at Fish & Richardson, AABANY Board Director, and Co-Chair of AABANY’s Intellectual Property Committee. The audience learned about Sandra’s favorite type of dumpling (homemade veggie dumplings) before launching into Sandra’s career path.
Sandra offered advice for the many young lawyers present, focusing on the path to in-house work and the importance of loving the work you do. The room was spellbound by her compelling storytelling and wealth of experiences and advice, ranging from tales of microaggression to humorous stories to accounts of stressful experiences.
While winding down the discussion and taking questions, Sandra offered cogent advice to the audience to put yourself out there: “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”
Sandra’s work ethic, charisma, and initiative left a strong impression on attendees, who continued mingling at the networking reception after the discussion.
AABANY is grateful to Sandra Leung for her warmth and openness and to Fish & Richardson P.C. for graciously hosting the event. Thank you to all our attendees for joining and being part of a memorable evening!
See here to read about past Dumplings & Discussion chats.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the fundamental constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship. In Trump v. Barbara, the Court found that Executive Order 14160, which sought to limit the scope of birthright citizenship, did not comply with the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) applauds the Court’s decision. It upheld what NAPABA has emphasized throughout the litigation: a constitutional right that the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community has understood and relied upon for nearly 130 years—ever since a young Chinese American fought for his birthright citizenship in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898). The Fourteenth Amendment promises every person equal treatment under the law and includes an equal claim of citizenship for persons born in the United States, regardless of the circumstances of their parents. EO 14160 attempted to upend that promise, and we are grateful that the Court invalidated it.
In three federal courts of appeals and in the Supreme Court, NAPABA led a nationwide coalition of its affiliates and national associates to defend birthright citizenship in this litigation. We underscored the significance of Wong Kim Ark, the crucial role of Asian Americans in shaping our nation’s immigration and civil rights jurisprudence, and the disproportionate impacts that EO 14160 would have on AANHPI communities. NAPABA highlighted how the congressional debates over the Fourteenth Amendment contemplated that the children of Chinese migrants, despite being heavily despised and vilified, would receive birthright citizenship. Lastly, we maintained that the federal government distorted the holding of Wong Kim Ark and created a faulty legal and historical analogy that Chinese migrants in the late 19th century were akin to today’s lawful permanent residents (i.e., green card holders).
NAPABA is thankful to its legal team for their exemplary work: Rahat N. Babar, who serves as NAPABA’s Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel, Edgar Chen, who serves as NAPABA’s Special Policy Advisor, Chris M. Kwok, who formerly served as co-chair of NAPABA’s Dispute Resolution Committee, and Seyfarth Shaw LLP (Wendy M. Feng, Owen Wolfe, and Lori Chen).
Don’t Miss Your Opportunity to Advance Your Career!
The ADR Institute is a two-day career and skills development program designed to provide participants with both a broad overview of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and substantive, hands-on training for careers in mediation and arbitration. Led by experts in the mediation and arbitration field, the program seeks to diversify the pool of mediators and arbitrators in the United States and expand the use of ADR among program participants.
Dates: November 11–12, 2026, in Los Angeles, CA
Cohort Size: Limited to 20–25 participants
Program Fee: $500 for NAPABA members | $750 for non-members
Now is the perfect time to become a member of NAPABA, an organization representing more than 80,000 attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students, along with over 90 affiliated bar associations across the United States, Canada, and U.S. territories. As a powerful convenor, connector, and professional development home, NAPABA advances opportunity, strengthens relationships, and cultivates leadership across the legal profession. NAPABA welcomes everyone committed to advancing the interests of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities in the legal profession and beyond to join us as members.
Become a NAPABA member and enjoy savings that go beyond the cost of membership!
