Tag: Don Liu

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Don Liu Featured on Ascend Leadership’s #TheOtherSide

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. 

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Don Liu featured as the Keynote Speaker at the Fourth Annual Alumni of Color Event of Columbia Law School

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.

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In-House Counsel Profile: Target Corp.’s Don Liu

In-House Counsel Profile: Target Corp.’s Don Liu

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).

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Target Names Don Liu as Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel

Target Names Don Liu as Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel

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.

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Diversity and the Bar – November/December 2014

Diversity and the Bar – November/December 2014

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.
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Super Lawyers: Diversity, not Divinity – Rotating careers and keeping true to self launched Don H. Liu

Super Lawyers: Diversity, not Divinity – Rotating careers and keeping true to self launched Don H. Liu

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.’”

Click on the article to read more.

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InsideCounsel Magazine July 2014

InsideCounsel Magazine July 2014

In the wake of the economic recession and an increasingly challenging compliance landscape, GCs are now critical members of the senior executive team.

Congratulations to Advisory Committee Member Don Liu, General Counsel and Secretary of Xerox, for making the front cover of InsideCounsel Magazine with CFO Kathryn Mikells. InsideCounsel explores the complementary relationship that they have been able to develop in the budding years of their professional marriage. To read the feature article on the symbiotic GC-CFO relationship, “Balance of Power” by Erin Harrison, click on the link in the title. Please join AABANY in congratulating Don on yet another well-deserved recognition.