AABANY Hosts 2025 Annual Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street 

On May 29, 2025, the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) hosted its 36th Anniversary Annual Dinner at the elegant Cipriani Wall Street, under the theme: “Together We Thrive: The Power of Us!” Held once again during Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, the event welcomed approximately 750 guests, including attorneys, judges, prosecutors, in-house counsel, government officials, and community leaders.

The evening began with an invitation-only General Counsel Reception, attended by nearly 50 General Counsels and many invited guests. We extend our deepest thanks to the General Counsel Reception sponsor, Groombridge, Wu, Baughman & Stone, for helping us launch the evening on a high note.

Simultaneously, guests gathered in the West Ballroom for the Cocktail Reception, where attendees reconnected, made new connections, and posed for photos at the step-and-repeat.

The program kicked off with a warm welcome by CeFaan Kim, returning as our Master of Ceremonies for the second year. He then invited Immediate Past President Joseph D. Eng Jr. to the stage. In his thoughtful remarks, Joseph reaffirmed AABANY’s commitment to empowering AAPI voices and encouraged the audience to uplift one another, noting, “The brightness of our futures depends not only on how we respond to challenges, but how we lift each other up in the process.”

Honoring Leadership and Service

AABANY proudly presented the 2025 Women’s Leadership Award to Professor Elaine Chiu of St. John’s University School of Law, recognizing her unwavering commitment to advancing inclusion and supporting students from marginalized communities. A moving tribute video chronicled her career and community service, including her leadership of AABANY’s Anti-Asian Violence Task Force and her role in publishing the landmark report, Endless Tide: The Continuous Struggle to Overcome Anti-Asian Hate in New York. In her speech,  Elaine acknowledged how nearly everyone in the room shared a respect for the law since “the law feeds and nourishes our families, but it also feeds and nourishes our beliefs about humanity, our country, and our identity as Americans.” She spoke about how, throughout her formative years and career, she always had wanted to help people and had faith and hope in the rule of law. She urged the audience to hold faith in the legal system and to “show up, stand up, and speak up.”

Next, Executive Director Yang Chen introduced the updated prologue to the documentary Voices Against Anti-Asian Hate, produced by AABANY’s Anti-Asian Violence Task Force. The documentary features interviews with survivors of anti-Asian hate crimes and community supporters. Yang announced that the documentary has been submitted to the Asian American International Film Festival and spoke of the film’s impact in sharing survivor stories and elevating awareness. With that, dinner was served. 

Celebration and Recognition

As guests enjoyed a delicious dinner, they took the opportunity to network and connect with fellow attendees. Yang Chen returned to the stage to recognize the many judges and dignitaries in attendance.

The Law Firm Leadership Award was then presented to Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, in recognition of the firm’s outstanding commitment to cultivating legal talent and building a pipeline of future leaders. Partner Eric Huang accepted the award on behalf of the firm.

The evening’s final honoree, Henry Hadad, received the 2025 AABANY Corporate Leadership Award. A video tribute highlighted his impactful career in intellectual property law and his dedication to promoting diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. In his remarks, Henry honored role models like Sandra Leung and emphasized the role of IP law in the American Dream: The ability to protect your inventions, brands, and artistic creations is part of the American Dream. He closed with a powerful reminder: Whatever your politics, the erosion of the law threatens us all… . We must protect the integrity of our legal system, our government, our courts, our judges, and our colleagues.

Spotlight on the Don H. Liu Scholars

This year’s Don H. Liu Scholars—Chloe Guo, Mikka Vapor, and Teja Kim—were recognized for their achievements and potential. A short film highlighted the legacy of the program, followed by inspiring remarks from past Scholars Jin Kim and Manleen Singh, who shared the program’s lasting impact on their professional journeys.

Presidential Remarks and Closing

AABANY President Benjamin C. Hsing delivered his remarks with warmth and humor, acknowledging those who made the evening possible and recognizing the resilience of the legal profession in these challenging times. He spoke about the importance of providing “first chances”—opportunities that can launch careers and create lasting impact. He declared, Together, through the power of us, we can do that! 

Ben then welcomed President-Elect Varuna Bhattacharyya to close the evening. She encouraged attendees to become members, congratulated the honorees and Don Liu Scholars, and expressed her appreciation to the many sponsors, officers, Board members, and Committee Chairs who made the night possible.

Afterparty and Acknowledgments

The celebration continued at the Mezzanine afterparty, where guests mingled into the night until 11:00 PM.

We thank the 2025 Annual Dinner Planning Committee, all our volunteers, and President Benjamin C. Hsing for their tireless work in making the evening a success.

We are especially grateful to our generous sponsors, whose support enables AABANY to continue its vital work on behalf of the AANHPI legal community and the broader community we serve. Special thank-yous and acknowledgement to our Diamond, GC Reception, Platinum, and Gold Sponsors:

Diamond: Broadridge 

General Counsel Reception: Groombridge, Wu, Baughman & Stone

Platinum: Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer (f/k/a Kramer Levin)

Gold: 

Lastly, we thank everyone who attended the 2025 Annual Dinner for making our 36th anniversary so special and memorable. You can view the photo albums from the 2025 Annual Dinner at the links below.

2025 Annual Dinner Photos by J. McClinton

2025 Annual Dinner Photos by Karen Zhou

2025 Annual Dinner Photos by Gerald Pineda

AABANY Celebrates 2023 Annual Dinner with 900+ Attendees at Cipriani Wall Street

On Tuesday, May 23, 2023, AABANY hosted its 2023 Annual Dinner with the theme “Embracing Wellness and Well-Being: Strengthening the Legal Profession by Investing in Ourselves” at Cipriani Wall Street. Celebrating AABANY’s 34th anniversary, this was our first Annual Dinner during Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Month! The dinner attracted over 900 attorneys, judges, prosecutors, in-house counsel, government officials, and dignitaries and sponsorships from more than 50 law firms and corporations. 

The event commenced with the Pre-Dinner General Counsel Reception, a gathering of GCs from companies representing a wide variety of industries, including biotechnology research, e-commerce, entertainment, fashion, financial services, insurance, internet privacy and security, medical, real estate, and more.

Attendance at the reception was exclusive to sponsors and invited guests, with a successful turnout of more than 55 GC attendees. We thank our Reception sponsor, Kirkland & Ellis, for helping us kick off the night with this well-attended program. For the full list of general counsels who accepted AABANY’s invitation, please click here.

AABANY was proud to honor:

  • Michael Wu, Chief Legal Officer, Bath & Body Works, Inc. with AABANY’s Corporate Leadership Award 
  • Prisca Bae, Chief Partnerships Officer, The Asian American Foundation with AABANY’s Women’s Leadership Award
  • Hon. Charles Ellis Schumer, U.S. Senator of New York with AABANY’s Impact Leadership Award

AABANY Corporate Leadership Award honoree Michael Wu delivered a powerful speech on the importance of resilience. He shared the inspiring story of his mother, a Hong Kong orphan and homeless refugee who overcame adversity to achieve the American dream. If she could do it, Michael declared, then “anyone in America can become a success.”  

Prisca Bae, AABANY’s Women’s Leadership Award honoree, shared her initiatives aimed to uplift our AANHPI community. She emphasized the importance of collective improvement, motivating the audience to “[aspire] to be better” and to “aim to [become] CEOs.” Her heartfelt sentiments served not only as a beacon of encouragement, hope and optimism but also an affirmation of the possibility that our aspirations are attainable.

We were joined by New York Senator Charles Ellis Schumer, AABANY’s Impact Leadership Award recipient, who delivered remarks on the strength of the AANHPI community as we “[embody] what the American dream has always been about, coming to this country, working hard building a better life for yourself and your children.” His speech resonated with those who are paving the way for our families and fellow community members. We thank Senator Schumer for his continuous efforts in providing opportunities and resources for the AANHPI community so we can keep pursuing the American dream.

This year, we had the privilege of having Kate Siahaan-Rigg, a remarkable actress, comedian, and activist, as our Master of Ceremonies (MC). She was our MC during our 2022 Annual Dinner, and we were delighted to have her host this year’s event. To read a post-Annual Dinner letter from our MC, read the blog post here

We were proud to honor Debevoise & Plimpton with the Law Firm Diversity Award for its commitment to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion within the legal profession. To read more about the award, read the press release here.

In addition, we presented the 2023 class of Don H. Liu Scholars: Samuel S. Kim, Kristie-Valerie Hoang, and Emily Yan. Read more about the program here

We extend our sincere gratitude to all those who contributed to our cause and helped us raise more than $20,000 for AABANY-AALFNY’s Turn the Tide (T3) Project to fight anti-Asian hate and violence. Special thanks to MC Kate Siahaan-Rigg for her unwavering humor and compassion in helping us reach our fundraising goal. We also acknowledge the survivors of anti-Asian hate and violence for sharing their stories in the AABANY Anti-Asian Violence Task Force’s “Voices Against Anti-Asian Hate” video, produced by Peter Chin. We were privileged to host survivors of anti-Asian violence, their families and friends at the Annual Dinner.

We thank all of the AABANY 2023 Annual Dinner Planning Committee members and volunteers for their hard work in making this year’s celebration a huge success. Thanks to President Karen Kim for her leadership of the 2023 Annual Dinner Planning Committee which started during her year as President-Elect in the prior fiscal year. In support of AABANY’s theme, Karen announced AABANY’s inaugural Wellness Day, to take place in July, during Minority Mental Health Awareness Month.

We gratefully acknowledge all our sponsors, whose generous contributions allow us to actively pursue our mission of advancing the interests of the AANHPI legal community, as well as the communities we serve. A special thank you to our premier sponsors: After-Party: Morrow Sodali; Diamond: Broadridge; Pre-Dinner GC Reception: Kirkland & Ellis LLP; Platinum: Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Groombridge, Wu, Baughman & Stone LLP, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, Levine Lee LLP, Littler Mendelson P.C., Mayer Brown LLP, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Through their support, our sponsors continue to sustain AABANY’s many activities and signature events held throughout the year.

Lastly, we thank everyone who attended the 2023 Annual Dinner and for helping make it a memorable and momentous celebration. Please save the date for the 2024 Annual Dinner: it will take place on May 22 at Cipriani Wall Street! For now, look back at these photos to reminisce, captured by Karen Zhou and Victor Suwatcharapinun. Videos from the 2023 Annual Dinner can be viewed on the event’s webpage here.

Alan Tse, Global Chief Legal Officer at Jones Lang LaSalle, Will Be Presented with the Corporate Leadership Award at the 2020 AABANY Annual Dinner

AABANY is excited to announce that Alan Tse will be presented with the Corporate Leadership Award at the 2020 Annual Dinner being held on February 26, 2020, at Cipriani Wall Street.

Alan K. Tse is the Global Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary of Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc (NYSE: JLL), the Fortune 200 Real Estate Services Company with 92,000 employees worldwide. Mr. Tse leads a team of 300 plus legal and compliance professionals worldwide and is a member of the global leadership team. In addition to his Legal and Compliance responsibilities, Mr. Tse also oversees Internal Audit and Insurance reports.

Mr. Tse started his career as a business and technology attorney at Brobeck Phleger and Harrison LLP in their Silicon Valley office, representing technology companies and venture capitalists. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Corporate Counsel from 2013-2019 and served as Board Secretary and chaired the Membership Committee and Advocacy Committee during his tenure. Mr. Tse is the co-founder and serves on the Board of the Asian American Legal Foundation and was named one of the best lawyers under 40 by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association in 2005.

Mr. Tse holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned Phi Beta Kappa honors and graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School.

We look forward to seeing you at the Annual Dinner. For more information and tickets, click here on the following link: https://www.aabany.org/events/event_details.asp?legacy=1&id=1223619

Congratulations to APALA-NJ 30th Anniversary Gala Honoree Austin So!

Please join us in congratulating Austin So, recipient of the APALA-NJ 2015 Corporate Leadership Award.

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Austin is the Division General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Heraeus, Inc., a multi-billion dollar company headquartered in Germany with legal operations in Pennsylvania. In addition to his professional success, Austin has been a long time supporter of AABANY and mentor to many attorneys in the Asian American community. He is currently Co-Chair of the AABANY In-House Counsel Committee and Northeast Regional Governor for the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. Austin serves as Executive Director of the Don H. Liu Scholars Program, which seeks to identify and cultivate future Asian American leaders of the legal profession. 

He was also named one of The Legal Intelligencer’s 2015 Diverse Attorneys of the Year. A photo of Austin receiving that award can be found here.

Austin will be presented the 2015 Corporate Leadership Award by the Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey at their 30th Anniversary Awards Ceremony and Installation of Officers on June 30, 2015. For more information on where to purchase tickets for the APALA-NJ 30th Anniversary Gala, click here

Photo by Corky Lee.