Don Liu Archives - Page 3 of 4

October 18, 2012

Congratulations to Vincent Chang, one of CUP’s Catalysts for Change in Law

We received word today from James Francis, Board Chair of the Council of Urban Professionals, that Vincent Chang, past AABANY president and current co-chair of the Judiciary Committee, has been named one of CUP’s 15 Catalysts for Change in Law. This is the first time that CUP is awarding this recognition and we are pleased and proud that Vince has made the list along with 14 other highly distinguished and accomplished members of the New York legal community. Please join us in congratulating Vince. You can post your congratulations to Vince (and any of the other change catalysts) in the Comment section.

The formal recognition of all the Catalysts for Change in Law will take place at the Third Annual CUP Lawyers Forum on October 25, at which Don Liu will be a keynote speaker.

Below is the text of the announcement:

The Council of Urban Professionals (CUP), announces and congratulates our inaugural list of 15 CUP Catalysts: Change Agents 2012 | Law – wave-making, tree-shaking executives and entrepreneurs who are transforming the legal sector, driving economic growth, and giving back to their communities through board service, mentorship and philanthropy:

Debo Adegbile

Acting President and Director-Counsel

Legal Defense Fund

Beatrice Hamza Bassey

Partner

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP

Fernando Bohorquez

Partner

Baker & Hostetler LLP

Vincent Chang

Partner, Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Wollmuth Maher & Deutsch LLP

Eunu Chun

Partner

Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Anne Cooney

Managing Director, General Counsel

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Dean Garfield

President and CEO

Information Technology Industry Council

Tracy Richelle High

Partner

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

Hakeem Jeffries

Congressman Elect

New York’s 8th Congressional District

Jaime Mercado

Corporate Partner

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

John Page

Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

Golden State Foods

Luis R. Penalver

Partner

Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLC

Wanji Walcott

Managing Counsel

American Express

Joseph West

President and CEO

Minority Corporate Counsel Association

Adrienne Wheatley

Partner

Latham and Watkins LLP

Please join us in recognizing this list of CUP Catalysts: Change Agents 2012 | Law at our 3rd Annual Lawyers Forum, taking place next Thursday, October 25th!

You also do not want to miss the dynamic fireside dinner chat between our Keynote Speaker Don H. Liu, Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary at the Xerox Corporation, and our Moderator, Werten F.W. Bellamy, Jr., President of Stakeholders, Inc.

Click Here to RSVP

September 10, 2012December 4, 2018

Don Liu, General Counsel at Xerox and a member of AABANY’s Advisory Board, will be the keynote speaker at the 6th Annual KCCP (Korean Community Center of Princeton) Chuseok Gala on September 22. The video above is part of Don’s welcoming remarks to help promote the event. Don shares indispensable career advice for Asian Americans looking to succeed in today’s workplace. More information about the Gala can be found at http://www.kccprinceton.org/gala/

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

September 6, 2012December 4, 2018

July 16, 2012

Don Liu Joins NY City Bar Task Force on Young Lawyers

The New York City Bar’s 44th Street Blog reported on July 16 that it has formed a new Task Force on New Lawyers in a Changing Profession to address what City Bar president Carey Dunn has described as “the plight of young lawyers." Created in response to recent ABA statistics showing that only 55% of recent law grads found full-time legal employment, the task force has convened leaders from across the legal spectrum, from academia to private practice, as well as the corporate, government and public interest sectors.

Among the Chief In-House Counsel tapped to participate in this important task force is Don Liu, General Counsel of Xerox. Don was recently recognized as one of the New York City Bar’s Diversity and Inclusion Champions for 2012. He is also an active and valued member of AABANY and its Advisory Committee.

For more information about the task force, follow the link in the title. AABANY congratulates Don on undertaking this new role and commends the City Bar for convening this task force to study critical issues facing the new generation of lawyers.

June 11, 2012December 4, 2018

May 10, 2012

AABANY APPLAUDS SELECTION OF DON H. LIU AS A 2012 NEW YORK CITY BAR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION CHAMPION AWARD HONOREE

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 9, 2012
Contact: Yang Chen – (718) 228-7206

AABANY APPLAUDS SELECTION OF DON H. LIU AS A 2012 NEW YORK CITY BAR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION CHAMPION AWARD HONOREE

NEW YORK – May 9, 2012 – The Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) applauds the selection of Don H. Liu as one of the 2012 New York City Bar Diversity Champion Award Honorees.

The New York City Bar’s Enhance Diversity in the Profession Committee will the presenting the Seventh Annual Diversity Champion Award at an Award Ceremony and Luncheon on June 5^th, 2012. The award recognizes the critical role individual attorneys have played in initiating and sustaining change within their organizations and the overall New York legal community. The award recipients embody the New York City Bar’s Statement of Diversity Principles, which defines diversity as an inclusive concept, encompassing race, color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, religion, nationality, age, disability and marital and parental status.

”AABANY is extremely excited and pleased that the New York City Bar has chosen Don Liu as an honoree and recipient of the Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award,” said Jean Lee, AABANY’s President. “Don has been a life-long champion and fighter for Asian Americans and other under-represented groups, not just in the corporate sector but in all aspects of life and society. His track record on diversity reaches out across generations of lawyers and individuals to advance and promote the values and goals of diversity, in the legal profession and beyond. We are fortunate and privileged to count him as a dedicated friend of AABANY and its mission to increase diversity in the legal profession. We still have a long way to go, but with Don on our side, we stand a good chance of getting there sooner rather than later. Don is truly deserving of this recognition, and we congratulate him.”

Don H. Liu is Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Xerox Corporation, where he is responsible for all of Xerox’s legal and government affairs. Throughout his career Mr. Liu has been committed to increasing the hiring, retention and promotion of diverse attorneys. This commitment is reflected in his stewardship of Xerox’s legal department and in his leadership and involvement in national and regional diversity organizations. He is an active member and former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and is the Vice Chairman of the Asian American Diversity Advisory Council for Comcast Corporation. He also served as the Chair of the In-House Counsel Committee of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), which honored him with their ICON Award and Trailblazer Award. He most recently is the recipient of the Leadership Award by the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) and the Legacy Diversity Award by the American Bar Association’s Council on Legal Education Opportunity.

For more information, please contact Yang Chen, AABANY Executive Director, at (718) 228-7206, or direct any inquiries to main@aabany.org.

The Asian American Bar Association of New York is a professional membership organization of attorneys concerned with issues affecting the Asian Pacific American community. Incorporated in 1989, AABANY seeks not only to encourage the professional growth of its members but also to advocate for the Asian Pacific American community as a whole. AABANY is the New York regional affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).

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Additional information about AABANY is available at www.aabany.org

Find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14621118148

May 5, 2012December 4, 2018

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On Tuesday night, May 2, AABANY held a Mentor-Mentee Happy Hour at Pranna Lounge. Many current and prospective mentors and mentees met, mingled and caught up over food and drink. We counted many interesting people in the room, including Roslyn Tom, a partner at Baker & McKenzie who was once the first woman at a Japanese securities firm, Don Liu, General Counsel at Xerox who was an avid disco dancer in his high school days, and Margaret Ling, in-house counsel at First American Title and Chair of AABANY’s Real Estate Committee, who swore in Mick Jagger when she clerked for Hon. Constance Baker Motley. We were hoping to announce the launch of the 2012 Mentorship program and talk about the current Mentorship program, but the din of the bar made it impossible. If you would like to learn more about AABANY’s Mentorship Program, contact our Coordinator, Julie Kwon at julie.kwon@aabany.org.

April 27, 2012

Fireworks at Smooth Moves 2012

On Tuesday, April 24, the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA), through its Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, presented Smooth Moves 2012: Career Strategies for Attorneys of Color. The CLE portion of the event was entitled: “Views from the Corner Office: Diverse GCs Discuss How to Get There and How to Win Their Business.”

The moderator was Hon. Stephen C. Robinson, Partner at Skadden Arps and former judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

When Judge Robinson turned to the question of how to get the business of the prominent GCs who were on the panel, he asked how important diversity was in getting hired.

Don Liu Don Liu, Senior Vice President, Secretary and GC at Xerox Corporation replied that with Xerox’s strong leadership on issues of diversity, Xerox placed a high premium on diversity in deciding which outside counsel to retain.

At that point, Sandra Leung, GC and Corporate Secretary at Bristol-Myers Squibb, turned to Don and said, “Let me challenge you a bit on that. Do you mean to tell me that if you had a bet-the-company case and the only lawyer who can win the case for you and who is the proven expert on that type of case and has a winning track record, but he and his firm have a poor showing on diversity, you would not hire that attorney?”

Don answered, “I’ve never been faced with that situation,” which drew appreciative laughter from the audience, “but do you mean to tell me that in this wide world, he would be the only lawyer who can handle that case? I doubt it. We would certainly consider his qualifications and track record, but we would still place a high premium on diversity.”

Sandra Leung Sandra continued to press and was joined by Jeffrey Harleston, Executive Vice President and GC at Universal Music Group, who shared Sandra’s viewpoint and did not think that diversity would take precedence over other factors, especially if the case was not just “bet-the-company” but was “bet-the-industry.” In such a case, diversity or not, the company would go with the best lawyer for the job.

Don, seeming somewhat piqued but contained, replied: “There seems to be a suggestion that picking the diverse candidate somehow implies getting inferior services. I don’t buy that.” The audience applauded loudly for that statement.

The back-and-forth continued and Don seemed to relent slightly in his position but did not retreat from his stance that the hypothetical was unrealistic. Col. Maritza Ryan, Head of the Department of Law at the United States Military Academy, the fourth panelist, noted for the record (yes, transcription was being taken) that she was “the peaceful one.” The audience laughed appreciatively in response.

The debate was certainly lively and enhanced what was already an engaging discussion. At the end, Don and Sandra, who are long-time friends, gave hearty hugs to each other, making clear that there were no hard feelings.

I didn’t have the benefit of the transcript in recounting the exchanges described above but of all the Smooth Moves programs I have had the pleasure to enjoy these last few years, this is the one for which I would request a copy of the transcript. If you know how we can get a hold of one, please let me know.

What do you think? If your company was faced with a bet-the-company or bet-the-industry case, does diversity go out the window in deciding which outside counsel to hire?

April 10, 2012

Don Liu Quoted in WSJ Blog on Alternative Billing Arrangements

While the billable hour is not quite going the way of Tyrannosaurus Rex, alternative billing arrangements are on the ascendancy, according to the WSJ Blog. Xerox GC and AABANY Advisory Committee member Don Liu says: “For us, it’s no longer a necessity just because of the recession. It’s now part of the normal process[.]”

Any thoughts out there on the fall of the billable hour/rise of alternative billing? Or have we all heard this before?

March 9, 2012

Private Showing of the Wedding Palace

Don Liu, Secretary and General Counsel of Xerox, and Andy Hahn, partner with Duane Morris, cordially invite you to a private showing of the Wedding Palace.

The Director, Christine Yoo, a rising Korean star in Hollywood, will attend the private screening and will introduce the film.

The comedy is about a Korean American wedding – the Korean version of My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

The private screening of Wedding Palace will take place on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 7 p.m. Mr. Hahn of Duane Morris will host the event at his law firm, located at 1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036-4086 (map). It will be an informal event with no charge. To RSVP, please email Wanda.Thigpen@xerox.com by Monday, March 26, 2012.