Tag: Daniel K. Inouye

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ABA Names Justice Maryka Omatsu and Judge Holly Fujie as Recipients of the 2025 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award

For Immediate Release:
Date: April 29, 2025

WASHINGTON – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is proud to announce that this week, the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession has named NAPABA members Justice Maryka Omatsu and Judge Holly Fujie as recipients of the 2025 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award. Each year, the Commission honors up to five outstanding women lawyers who have achieved professional excellence and paved the way for other women in the legal profession.

Justice Maryka Omatsu is an icon of the Asian Canadian bar who, in 1993, set the stage for others to follow in her footsteps as the first Canadian woman of East Asian descent to be appointed as a judge in the entire country. She began her legal career in the 1970s as a human rights and environmental rights attorney who represented First Nations communities and held numerous prestigious appointments, including as Chair of the Ontario Boards of Inquiry and later Chair of the Ontario Human Rights Appeals Tribunal.

A third generation Japanese Canadian born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Justice Omatsu’s parents were incarcerated by Canadian authorities during the Second World War in a manner similar to the Japanese American experience. Justice Omatsu rose to nationwide prominence as a key leader of, and counsel for, the National Association of Japanese Canadians Redress negotiating team, who helped secure an historic human rights settlement between the Canadian Government and affected Japanese Canadians for their mistreatment during the war. In early 2006, Justice Omatsu set forth a vision for a Canadian analog to NAPABA and led the creation of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (FACL). In 2013, NAPABA conferred Justice Omatsu with its Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award.

“Justice Maryka Omatsu continues to inspire and open doors for women in the legal profession and to do so across the largest land border in the world–serving as a role model for lawyers in both Canada and the United States,” said NAPABA President Thy Bui. “Through her distinguished career, towering achievements, and tenacious and proactive advocacy, she has secured lasting, systemic positive change for Canadian women on the bench, in the legal profession, and beyond.”

For over four decades, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Holly Fujie has been a strong, vocal, and effective champion for, and mentor to, countless women and minorities in the legal profession.

Judge Fujie was only the third woman and the first Asian American to serve as the President of the State Bar of California. Prior to joining the bench, she was a renowned litigator, handling complex litigation for a variety of clients, primarily in the financial services industry. Judge Fujie broke barriers as one of the first Asian American women elected to equity partnership at major Los Angeles firm at a time when there were nearly no other Asian American women attorneys becoming law firm partners in California.

She is Vice President of NAPABA’s Judicial Council and Co-Chair of the Multicultural Bar Alliance of Southern California. She serves on the Boards of the Asian Pacific American Women Lawyers Alliance, the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, and the California Judges Foundation, and previously chaired Senator Dianne Feinstein’s Judicial Advisory Committee for the Central District of California. In 2010, NAPABA bestowed its Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award on Judge Fujie.

Throughout her career, Judge Fujie has individually mentored numerous women seeking to join and advance in the legal profession. But she believes that it is not merely enough to give advice to mentees but to actively do all she can to help them achieve success.

“Judge Holly Fujie continues to inspire and mentor so many in the California bar and across the country,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA. “Her commitment to opening doors for women in the profession is matched only by her passion and dedication on a deeply personal level to ensuring that as many can succeed as possible.”

Also receiving the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award this year are:

  • Anita S. Earls; Senior Associate Justice, North Carolina Supreme Court, Durham, NC
  • Bridget Marsh; Executive Vice President and General Counsel, LSTA, Inc., New York, NY
  • Jami Wintz McKeon; Chair, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, Philadelphia, PA

NAPABA congratulates all the recipients who will be honored during the ABA’s Annual Meeting in Toronto on August 10.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of over 80,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, 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 all backgrounds in the legal profession.

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AABANY Congratulates Andy Hahn on Receiving of the 2021 NAPABA Trailblazer Award

The Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award, NAPABA’s premier lifetime honor, recognizes Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) attorneys who have spent their careers advocating for AAPIs within the legal profession, becoming pioneers in their field of practice.  This year, Andrew (“Andy”) T. Hahn Sr., one of the 2021 Trailblazer Award recipients, will join the ranks of those distinguished for their contributions.  

For Andy Hahn, leadership and service have always been integral components of his career path.  Andy has accumulated a plethora of impressive accolades and achievements over his career spanning more than three decades, such as: US Army JAG officer, successful commercial litigator, and President of NAPABA, AABANY, and KALAGNY.  

Andy has continually had to prove, both to himself and to others, that, as a son of Korean American immigrants, he could succeed in his career and find a place within American society as an Asian American.  

“Growing up as a kid…I stuck out like a sore thumb,” Andy recalls.  “I was subject to a lot of bullying and bigotry.”  

It was this resentment of ostracization (as well as a fascination with guns and explosives in his youth) that motivated Andy to enlist in the military.  He quickly found his niche in the armed forces, graduating as a Distinguished Military Graduate from Cornell University, with ambitions to pursue a full-time military career in the Special Forces.  Andy’s mother, disagreeing with his choice, instead encouraged him to aim for a career in law.  Fortunately, becoming a lawyer was Andy’s additional career interest.  After being granted a deferment from active duty, Andy completed his legal studies at Cornell Law School.

With a desire to meet more Asian lawyers with similar backgrounds as himself, Andy discovered AABANY early in his career.  As an AABANY member, he met Chris Chang, one of the founding members of AABANY and a former chair of the Judiciary Committee.  Chris became a valuable mentor to Andy as he explored the workings of the New York court system.

In the past, many Asian Americans practiced law within the transactional fields, such as corporate law and real estate law, and as Andy noted, “none of [the fields] which involved the adversarial process.”  In Andy’s view, language barriers and improved career prospects in transactional law contributed to the lack of Asian Americans within litigation.  As he gained litigation experience, Andy continued to stand out in becoming one of the first waves of AAPI attorneys to attain partnership at a big law firm in New York City.  

Andy remains a firm believer in the power of mentorship and guidance for those just starting out in their careers.  Recalling his experience meeting and mentoring law school students and graduates, Andy observed that many Asian Americans remain as “first generation Asian lawyers” within their families; these students or graduates could point to no one in their family who had been involved in the legal profession.  At a time when Asian American interest in law is increasing, creating more opportunities for mentorship becomes even more critical. 

Andy believes that anti-Asian hate remains the single greatest threat to the AAPI community and AAPI legal professionals today.  Until the onset of the pandemic Andy has never seen a high prevalence of anti-Asian hate during his decades of involvement with AABANY and NAPABA, but he notes that there always has been an “undercurrent” of perceiving Asian Americans as foreign.  Despite the widespread social movements that have catapulted issues of race and diversity into the national spotlight, Andy feels that big law firm and corporate commitments to diversity and inclusion remain “a lot of lip service.”   

“If you look at … the statistics, [attorneys of color] within law firms have not improved in the last two decades…. By the time you get to the leadership positions, it’s pretty much all white people.”  For Andy, who serves as Chief Diversity Officer at Hawkins, Delafield, and Wood LLP, his formula for maintaining diversity at his own law firm is simple: recruitment, retention, and promotion.  It’s a formula that organizations, such as AABANY, continue to advocate for.

In light of the challenges Asian Americans face, Andy observes positive changes within the Asian American community: “If there is any silver lining with some of this anti-Asian hate, it brings our community together…. We’ve learned … how to stand up for ourselves.”  Certainly, through his career as a litigator, leader, and advocate, Andy has never ceased to stand up for himself, the legal profession, and the Asian American community.  His achievements and accomplishments demonstrate his endless “vision, courage, and tenacity” needed to become a pioneer, as well as his willingness to break barriers and stereotypes in his career path.  

NAPABA will hold a reception on Friday evening, December 10, for all the Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award honorees at the Convention in Washington, D.C., and the awards will be presented at the Gala Dinner on Saturday evening. Please join AABANY in congratulating Andy Hahn on this well-deserved honor and recognition!

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PRESS RELEASE | NAPABA Announces 2016 Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award Recipients – National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

PRESS RELEASE | NAPABA Announces 2016 Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award Recipients – National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

NAPABA Announces 2016 Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award Recipients

For Immediate Release
Oct. 12, 2016

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

WASHINGTON — The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) has selected six exceptional attorneys to receive NAPABA’s highest honor — the Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award. This award recognizes the outstanding achievements, commitment, and leadership of lawyers who have paved the way for the advancement of other Asian Pacific American attorneys. These Trailblazers have demonstrated vision, courage, and tenacity, and made substantial and lasting contributions to the Asian Pacific American legal profession, as well as to the broader Asian Pacific American community.

The 2016 Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Awards will be presented on Nov. 4, 2016, at a special ceremony during the 2016 NAPABA Convention in San Diego, to the following recipients:

  • Honorable Gail Chang Bohr
  • Honorable Randall T. Eng
  • Janice Fukai
  • Honorable Laura C. Liu (awarded posthumously)
  • Honorable Sri Srinivasan
  • Honorable Mary I. Yu

The 2016 Trailblazers class is represented by a diverse and impressive group. In 2008, Jamaican-born Gail Chang Bohr was elected Ramsey County’s (Minnesota) first Asian American judge. She is now a senior judge and also consults with the National Center for State Courts Trinidad and Tobago Juvenile Court Project. With degrees from Wellesley College and Simmons School of Social Work, Bohr had a 19+ year career as clinical social worker serving children and families in the U.S. and Hong Kong. With a J.D. from William Mitchell, Bohr clerked for the Chief Justice, Minnesota Supreme Court, and was an associate at Faegre & Benson (now Faegre Baker Daniels). As founding executive director of Children’s Law Center of Minnesota, she has trained 270+ volunteer lawyers and initiated award-winning programs for foster children.

Justice Eng is the presiding justice of the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department, State of New York — the first Asian American to hold that position. In 1973, Justice Eng was appointed an assistant district attorney in Queens County, becoming the first Asian American to become an assistant prosecutor in New York State history. Justice Eng became the first Asian American to become a judge in New York State, when he was appointed to the Criminal Court of the City of New York in September 1983 by Mayor Edward I. Koch. In 1990 and 2004, he was elected and re-elected to full 14-year terms as a justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.

Ms. Fukai is the first Asian American woman to serve as department head in Los Angeles County’s history, where she employs over 300 lawyers and support staff. Under her leadership, 20 alternate public defenders have been appointed to the bench; a testament to the high caliber of her legal staff. After earning her bachelor degree and J.D. from University of Southern California, Ms. Fukai served as judicial law clerk for the late District Judge Robert Takasugi, whom she describes as her mentor and advisor. Her work as a public defender is featured in the book, “Public Defender, Lawyer for the People,” by Joan Hewitt.

Justice Liu became the first Asian American justice to serve on the Illinois Appellate Court. She was the first Chinese American elected to public office in Chicago and Cook County (Illinois) and the first Chinese American woman judge in Illinois history. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Justice Liu chaired the Illinois Supreme Court’s Language Access Committee to ensure the court system was navigable to those whose first language was not English. Sadly, Justice Liu passed away from breast cancer on April 15, 2016. The Illinois Asian American Bar Association established an annual scholarship in Justice Liu’s honor to be awarded to a deserving law student dedicated to community service.

Judge Srinivasan was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2013. Prior to his confirmation, he served as the Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the U.S. and chaired O’Melveny & Myers’ Supreme Court and Appellate practice. During his career as a litigator, he argued 25 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He has also co-taught a course on appellate advocacy at Harvard Law School, as well as a seminar on civil rights statutes and the Supreme Court at Georgetown University Law Center. Judge Srinivasan was born in Chandigarh, India, and raised in Lawrence, Kansas.

Justice Yu was appointed to the Washington Supreme Court in 2014, and subsequently elected for the remainder of a two-year term and is currently up for election for a full six-year term. Justice Yu joined the Court after more than 14 years as an accomplished trial court judge in King County (Washington) Superior Court where she presided over a wide variety of criminal, civil, juvenile, and family law matters. As a justice, she is known for writing clear, easy-to-read decisions and she has been rated “Exceptionally Well Qualified” by eight bar associations. The daughter of immigrant parents, she is the first in her family to receive a college education, as well as the first Latina, the first Asian, and first member of the LGBTQ community to serve on the Washington Supreme Court.

NAPABA congratulates the 2016 Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award recipients and thanks them for paving the way for Asian Pacific American attorneys.

For more information, the media may contact Brett Schuster, NAPABA communications manager, at202-775-9555 or [email protected].

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NAPABA ANNOUNCES 2014 DANIEL K. INOUYE TRAILBLAZER AWARD RECIPIENTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 14, 2014

Contact: Tina Matsuoka
(202) 775-9555

WASHINGTON – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) has selected five exceptional attorneys to receive NAPABA’s highest honor, the Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award. This award recognizes the outstanding achievements, commitment, and leadership of lawyers who have paved the way for the advancement of other Asian Pacific American attorneys. Trailblazers have demonstrated vision, courage, and tenacity, and made substantial and lasting contributions to the Asian Pacific American legal profession, as well as to the broader Asian Pacific American community. The 2014 Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazers Awards will be presented on November 9, 2014, at a special ceremony during the 2014 NAPABA Annual Convention in Scottsdale, Arizona, to the following recipients:

  • Emilia “Mimi” R. Castillo, Castillo Mediation and Arbitration Services
  • The Honorable Lance A. Ito, Superior Court of California, Los Angeles Country
  • Julie A. Su, Labor Commissioner, State of California
  • Bruce I. Yamashita, Partner, Law Office of Bruce I. Yamashita, PLLC
  • Marian M. Yim, Shareholder, Wong Fujii Carter, PC

This year’s Trailblazer Award recipients are a diverse and impressive group. Ms. Castillo has had a successful legal career including over 25 years over as a solo practitioner and participated in the founding of NAPABA, as well as several other local and national Asian Pacific American bar associations. During Judge Ito’s long career in public service, he has presided over a number of high profile cases, including the O.J. Simpson trial, while making time to train other judges about the importance of foreign language interpreters and to mentor Asian Pacific American judicial candidates. Ms. Su successfully advocated for the rights of poor and disenfranchised workers, consumers, students, and, in particular, the Asian Pacific American immigrant community, before becoming the first Asian Pacific American Labor Commissioner for the state of California. Mr. Yamashita fought back against the anti-Asian bias he faced in the U.S. Marine Corps Officer Candidate School and changed the way the military handles allegations of racial discrimination. Before becoming a shareholder in Arizona’s first Asian majority owned law firm, Ms. Yim served as an Arizona Assistant Attorney General, Counsel to the Mayor of Phoenix, and founding president of the Arizona Asian American Bar Association.

NAPABA congratulates the 2014 Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award recipients and thanks them for paving the way for Asian Pacific American attorneys.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American (APA) attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of over 40,000 attorneys and approximately 70 national, state, and local 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 engages in legislative and policy advocacy, promotes APA political leadership and political appointments, and builds coalitions within the legal profession and the community at large. NAPABA also serves as a resource for government agencies, members of Congress, and public service organizations about APAs in the legal profession, civil rights, and diversity in the courts.

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NAPABA AWARDS DEADLINE EXTENDED — JUNE 23

The nomination deadline for the following NAPABA awards has been extended to June 23, 2014!

Nomination forms can be found here. Completed nomination forms must be emailed to [email protected] by 5:00 pm ET on June 23, 2014. All emails will be acknowledged with a reply.

We look forward to receiving your nominations and seeing you all at the 2014 NAPABA Convention where the award recipients will be honored.

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NAPABA Mourns the Death of Senator Daniel Inouye

Washington – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) mourns the death of Senator Daniel K. Inouye, the second-longest serving member of the United States Senate and the highest ranking Asian Pacific American in the nation. He was the first Japanese American to serve in Congress and a lifelong champion of civil liberties for all Americans.

Read the full press release here.

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