We’re proud to recognize all of the deserving honorees and the exceptional achievements of our membership with the 2024 NAPABA Awards. The impact honorees have made within the legal and AANHPI communities is inspiring and we’re happy to shine a spotlight on them.
Join us next month in Seattle as we celebrate them at the 2024 NAPABA Convention. You only have until November 3 to take advantage of the Advance Rate. While you’re registering, don’t forget to add our plenary luncheons and gala dinner. There will be no opportunity to purchase after November 3, and you won’t want to miss our amazing sessions and speakers.
Click on the images below to learn more about each of our honorees.
2024 President’s Award
Nancy. P Lee
Priya Purandare
Wendy C. Shiba
2024 INSPIRE Award Don Liu
2024 Military & Veteran Service Award Marty Lorenzo
2024 In-House Counsel Diversity Leadership Award Hannah Kim
2024 In-House Counsel Diversity Leadership Rising Star Stephanie Chu Clausen
2024 Pro Bono Service Award Muhammad Faridi
2024 Public Sector Leadership Award Jin Hee Lee
2024 Women’s Leadership Award Manisha M. Sheth
2024 Affiliate of the Year Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (British Columbia) Society (FACL BC)
2024 APA-Owned Law Firm of the Year Anderson & Associates
2024 Law Firm Diversity Award Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
NAPABA Honors Don Liu with the NAPABA INSPIRE Award
WASHINGTON – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is proud to announce that Don Liu, who recently announced his retirement as Chief Legal and Compliance Officer of Target Corp., will receive the NAPABA INSPIRE Award. The NAPABA INSPIRE Award is presented to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions of national significance towards achieving representation and influence for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) in the legal profession and society. The NAPABA INSPIRE Award has been awarded only twice in NAPABA’s history — the first time to former Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakayue of the California Supreme Court in 2010, and the second to George Takei, actor, author, and activist, in 2016.
Don Liu, a nationally renowned leader and legal counsel for several of the Nation’s most recognized corporations, has made a steadfast, lifelong commitment to ensuring that AANHPI attorneys can thrive and advance to the highest levels of the legal profession. He co-founded NAPABA’s 10X10 Initiative and later the 20X20 Initiative, originally designed as an aspirational “stretch” five-year effort to place 20 AANHPI General Counsels at Fortune 500 companies by 2020. The initiative was so successful that it inspired the current 50X25 Initiative and the development of the Hispanic National Bar Association’s Poder 25 Initiative, for which Don serves as a strategic advisor. Don Liu founded NAPABA’s In-House Counsel (IHC) Network, served as its first chair, spearheaded the creation of NAPABA’s IHC Summit and IHC Mentoring Program and continues to be active in its programs. Under Don’s leadership, the IHC Network has assisted countless AANHPI attorneys in gaining greater professional visibility and helped promote countless AANHPI lawyers into senior in-house counsel positions.
“Don Liu recognized early on his career that the barriers he faced as a young attorney can be overcome, and he helped build an entire infrastructure to steer and guide AANHPI lawyers on a path to success,” said Anna Mercado Clark, President of NAPABA. “The NAPABA INSPIRE Award is a testament to Don’s dedication to increasing diversity in the profession, his courage in standing up for a more just society, creativity and vision, and his relentless dedication in mentoring hundreds of young attorneys.”
The NAPABA INSPIRE Award also recognizes Don Liu’s contributions towards improving our community on a national scale. Responding to the overwhelming need to deliver legal services to victims, Don Liu, together with several Asian American leaders within the legal profession, founded the Alliance for Asian American Justice. The Alliance brought together the collective power of both large law firms and legal departments to form a pro bono legal services network dedicated to ensuring that victims of hate would receive the legal assistance that they need. It provided opportunities not only for firms, but also for corporations to join the collective effort opposing anti-Asian hate. For these reasons and many more, NAPABA is privileged to recognize the incredible work and dedication of Don Liu with the NAPABA INSPIRE Award.
NAPABA will formally present the award during the Gala at the 2024 NAPABA Convention in Seattle on Saturday, November 9.
### 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.
Ascend Leadership, one of the largest professional membership organizations that represent the interests of Asian American/Pacific Islander professionals within North America, has featured Don Liu in its #TheOtherSide campaign.
Don Liu currently serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Legal and Risk Officer at Target Corporation. Despite his notable successes, Mr. Liu’s career path demonstrates the prevalence of discrimination in Asian American professional life.
Don, a graduate of Columbia Law School, was one of many Asian American business and professional leaders invited to discuss their perspectives on Asian Americans and the workplace as part of Ascend Leadership’s #TheOtherSide campaign. Mr. Liu reflected on his encounters with racial stereotyping during his extensive and distinguished legal career.
In his first year of practice, Mr. Liu was exposed to others’ characterization of him as the “stereotyped Asian American worker bee.” He was assigned to work on a large case simply because of the false impression that he “would never miss a typo.”
“I guess I should be thankful, but on the other hand, that’s so unlike me,” Mr. Liu notes. “I’m a big thinker, strategic thinker. I think that’s my strength. I was not going to wind up being that stereotyped Asian American worker bee.”
To watch Don Liu’s interview for the #TheOtherSide campaign, click here.
To learn more about the #TheOtherSide campaign, click here.
To help ensure that future leaders in the legal profession do not succumb to the same stereotyping that Don faced, two Past Presidents of AABANY, Jean Lee and Mike Huang, founded the Don H. Liu Scholars Program in 2014. The Program seeks to identify, cultivate and inspire future Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) leaders within the legal profession to address the single most important reality facing AAPI professionals today: the barrier to advancement.
To support emerging AAPI leaders, the Program continues to award each of three Scholars a financial scholarship of $15,000. The Scholars also receive mentorship and assistance with their career development from leading AAPI lawyers from across AABANY’s network. The deadline for consideration for the 2021 Don H. Liu Scholarship is November 15, 2021. For more information as well as application information, click here.
On Thursday, January 24, 2019, Don Liu was featured as the Keynote Speaker at the Fourth Annual Alumni of Color Event of Columbia Law School. The event took place at the Intercontinental Barclay Hotel in Manhattan and was attended by over 200 Columbia Law School Alumnae.
Don spoke of the challenges of being an APA Attorney and In House General Counsel. He praised all of the pioneering efforts of NAPABA and AABANY to support and encourage the future careers of many APA law students and attorneys.
Of greater importance was
how he inspired the audience with what Diversity and Inclusion meant to
him and how important it was to embrace it.
We thank Margaret Ling, AABANY’s Director of Development and Co-Chair of AABANY’s Real Estate Committee, for providing the photos and write up for this post.
Don H. Liu, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary of Target Corp., was the subject of an in-house counsel profile in the March 27 issue of the National Law Journal. Here is an excerpt (thanks to Advisory Committee member Carol Lee):
Though Liu went to law school to be a civil rights lawyer, his path after included a year as a clerk at the New Jersey Supreme Court and then about five years in private practice specializing in securities and M&A.
Liu began his in-house career at Aetna Inc. and then moved on to Toll Brothers Inc. and Xerox Corp. before landing at Target in August 2016. “I honestly went in-house without a lot of information about how my role would change [compared to my role at a firm],” he said. “Every aspect of the trade I learned through practice.”
For the full article follow the link in the title (subscription required).
Please join us in congratulating the new Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Target and long-time AABANY friend Don Liu.
Don continues to inspire a younger generation of attorneys through his unparalleled accomplishments in the legal industry. We are proud to have had his leadership and mentorship. We thank him for his many years of service as a leader and friend and wish him the utmost luck in his new role at Target.
See below or click on the link above to see Target’s press release.
MINNEAPOLIS – July 14, 2016
Liu replaces Tim Baer who will retire July 2017
Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) today announced Don Liu as executive vice president, chief legal officer and general counsel, effective August 22, 2016. Liu will oversee all legal, corporate governance and government affairs matters for the company. He will report to chairman and chief executive officer Brian Cornell and serve as a member of Target’s leadership team.
Liu replaces Tim Baer who will be retiring in July 2017 after 23 years with the company. Baer joined Dayton Hudson as assistant general counsel in 1994. He will serve in an advisory role for the next 12 months, supporting Liu’s transition to Target and ensuring the process is seamless.
“Tim’s leadership has been integral to Target’s success and we are grateful for his years of service. In all his years with the company, Tim has been a true guardian of the Target brand, bringing a sharp legal mind and rock-solid judgement to every challenge. He was a trusted voice on our leadership team, managing and mitigating issues and influencing our business during a time of intense change. He also developed a strong team of in-house legal talent and was a respected advisor to our board of directors. On behalf of the entire team, I thank Tim for the tremendous contributions he made to our brand and our business,” said Cornell. “As Tim transitions to retirement, I look forward to welcoming Don to our team. His extensive legal expertise as well as his deep business acumen will help us continue to navigate the increasingly complex business environment with the highest standards of ethics and integrity. I know Don will be an excellent addition to our leadership team.”
Liu, 55, joins Target from Xerox Corporation where he has served as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary since 2007. In that role, he was responsible for all of Xerox’s legal and government affairs matters. Prior to Xerox, Liu was senior vice president and chief compliance officer for Toll Brothers, Inc. and senior vice president and general counsel for Ikon Office Solutions. Liu has extensive professional affiliations, including being a member and former chairman of the board of directors for the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and former chair of the in-house counsel committee of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.
“I am privileged to join Target as general counsel. I have long admired Target and the legal team behind the brand. Joining the organization will provide me with an incredible opportunity to bring my passion for the law to one of the great retail companies in America. I look forward to building Target’s business and positively impacting its reputation,” said Liu.
Photo by Karen Zhou, taken at AABANY’s 2016 Annual Dinner.
Congratulations to AABANY Corporate Counsel Leadership Award honoree An-Ping Hsieh who is profiled in the current issue of Diversity and the Bar, in the 15th Annual GC Survey. AABANY Advisory Committee members Don Liu and Michael Wu also have prominent mention in the article. To read it, click on the link in the title.
As the flagship publication of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, Diversity and The Bar® lets you turn your workplace diversity and inclusion into a business advantage. Promote your diversity and inclusion initiatives and show your support of MCCA’s mission. Reach decision makers that value and support your diversity initiatives.
In Tim Harper’s recent "Diversity, not Divinity" in Super Lawyers, Harper tells the story of AABANY Advisory Committee Member and Xerox Executive Vice President and General Secretary and Secretary Don H. Liu.
From his boyhood businesses and bicycle deliveries, plans to attend divinity school, realization that he liked “sinning far too much” to become a minister, civil rights ambitions, and his one day a month on the Xerox 1-800 helpline, Don shares the gambles he’s made on his way to the top. As much as you may believe that you know Don, this article provides some real insight into the multi-faceted inspirations and experiences that shape him today.
Illustrating Don’s passion and influence, Harper writes, “Liu doesn’t just talk diversity. He lives it. In 1999 when Liu got his first general counsel job… he had to build a new 13-lawyer in-house counsel team. Liu hired an executive recruiter and told him he wanted diversity. Initially the recruiter kept insisting that he couldn’t find qualified women or minority lawyers. Liu said: ‘You are talking to one, and I can’t be the only one out there. Find me diverse candidates, or I will find another headhunter.’”
