On July 21, 2022, AABANY’s Student Outreach & In-House Counsel Committees hosted a virtual event to advise on the On-Campus Interviewing (OCI) process, specifically how to get an in-house counsel position. The event, part of the Student Outreach Committee’s Pre-OCI Series, ran from 5-6pm virtually on Zoom. The panel was moderated by Vivian Lee and Sharon Yang and featured the following panelists:
Michael J. Eng (MassMutual)
Kelly Koyama-Garcia (Louis Vuitton)
Madhu Goel Southworth (AMC)
Panelists discussed their individual career paths, the importance of knowing the business of the company before going in-house, how junior attorneys can best prepare themselves for an in-house role, and potential challenges for marginalized attorneys. The discussion was then followed by a Q&A session.
In advising junior attorneys how they can best prepare themselves for an in-house role, some panelists emphasized the importance of drafting experience and the ability to think and speak on the fly. While discussing the potential challenges marginalized attorneys may face, some panelists stated that things are getting better. Some panelists highlighted the importance of being above the radar by taking high visibility assignments and “knocking it out of the ballpark.”
As general career advice, some panelists advised junior attorneys to expect the unexpected, as many of the panelists never planned on working in-house themselves!
AABANY thanks the Student Outreach & In-House Counsel Committees for organizing the event, along with all panelists, moderators, and students who attended. To learn more about the Student Outreach Committee, please visit https://www.aabany.org/page/121. To learn more about the In-House Counsel Committee, please visit https://www.aabany.org/page/149 .
On Wednesday, June 29, 2022, AABANY’s In-House Counsel Committee held its annual Summer Soiree at the Castell Rooftop Lounge located atop AC Hotel New York Times Square. The beautiful midtown skyline served as the perfect backdrop to a memorable night filled with hors d’oeuvres, a variety of drinks, wines, cocktails, and many conversations. Around 100 senior in-house lawyers and senior law firm attorneys and partners attended the networking event. This was the first Summer Soiree held in person since 2019, with the 2020 soiree being canceled due to COVID-19, and the 2021 soiree held over Zoom at the beginning of 2022 as the Winter Soiree. Everyone seemed happy to be gathering in person again for this popular event.
Photo by Karen Zhou
Attendees discussed various topics ranging from career pivots during the pandemic to favorite pastimes and hobbies. While munching on mini lobster rolls and sipping curated cocktails, attendees also heard from AABANY’s Co-VP of Programs and Operations, Beatrice Leong, In-House Counsel Committee Co-Chair, Blossom Kan, and Immediate Past President, Terry Shen. Some spectacular photographs from the night taken by Karen Zhou can be found linked here.
The attendees formed a diverse cohort, representing 74 companies across industries, including Apple, Meta, Johnson & Johnson, McKinsey & Company, Inc., and top global and regional law firms.
Photo by Karen Zhou
We thank and acknowledge the following sponsors for helping us make this event possible:
Thank you to all our attendees, and we hope to see everyone again at next year’s Summer Soiree. To learn more about the In-House Counsel Committee go to: https://www.aabany.org/page/149
The deadline to register for the 2022 NAPABA In-House Counsel (IHC) Summit is just around the corner! Current or former senior public company in-house attorneys who are ready to make the jump into the C-Suite will receive tailored guidance and training based on where they are in their careers. Here is a sneak peek at this year’s topics:
Board & C-Suite Expectations of Today’s GC
The Process, Winning Trends & Making the Slate in 2022
Strategies to Achieve the Public Company Role
Space is limited! The program is accepting the first 60 qualified applicants—apply by 8:00 pm ET on Wednesday, June 8!
On Wednesday, January 26th, AABANY held a virtual Winter Soiree featuring a lively sommelier-led wine tasting and trivia games. Organized by the In-House Counsel Committee, the event brought together more than 50 senior in-house lawyers and corporate law firm attorneys. Companies represented included Mastercard, MetLife, Google, and Goldman Sachs. Attendees streamed in from a variety of locations across the United States, from California to New York.
The evening was full of fun, excitement, and laughter as Brooklyn Winery guided attendees through a Chardonnay and Cuvée Noir tasting. Attendees received tasting kits ahead of the event, which included bottles of wine, a bottle opener, tasting glasses, “make your own wine label cards” and virtual wine games instructions. There were two rounds of trivia, the first focusing on wine and winemaking, the second on wine and pop trivia. Attendees also mingled in breakout sessions after each round to get to know each better or to catch up.
Susie Dare from Marsh & McLennan won the trivia games and was gifted a tasting kit from Brooklyn Winery – congratulations, Susie!
Social media post by attendee featuring wines tasted and activity sheet.
The event was made possible by our headline sponsors:
Thank you to all our attendees, and we hope to see everyone again at next year’s soiree (which we hope will be in person). To learn more about the In-House Counsel Committee go to: https://www.aabany.org/page/149
There’s one week left to apply as in-house counsel as part of NAPABA Connects, an exclusive program available to in-house counsel convention registrants and Solo and Small Firm, Gold, or higher-level firm sponsors.
Through NAPABA Connects, diverse law firm attorneys are given a forum to meet one-on-one with in-house counsel to make meaningful connections and cultivate a business relationship. In-house counsel can grow their diverse preferred provider portfolios.
In-house counsel and law firm participants will be matched for one-on-one meetings during NAPABA Convention. All participants are invited to attend the exclusive Sponsor Breakfast and NAPABA Connects VIP Reception during the NAPABA Convention December 9-12, 2021.
To participate as in-house counsel, you must fill out NAPABA’s brief application form. You can be matched with diverse law firm attorneys to cultivate new business relationships, or you may choose from a list of participating firms to expand your network with existing provider firms who may be in your preferred network. NAPABA will also send a list of all certified minority or women-owned firms to participating companies that may already have a preferred provider firm list.
The deadline to submit an IHC application is August 25 at 8 pm ET. For questions, please contact Operations Director, Maureen Gelwicks, at mgelwicks@napaba.org.
NAPABA Connects participants are eligible to receive a $750 reimbursement to the 2021 NAPABA Convention. You are encouraged to register by September 20, NAPABA’s early bird deadline. Attendees of the NAPABA Convention can earn up to 14 hours of CLE Credit, which will be focused on changes unfolding in this turbulent year as well as challenges lawyers have faced for decades.
NAPABA Connects is an exclusive program available to in-house counsel convention registrants and Solo and Small Firm, Gold, or higher-level sponsors.
Through NAPABA Connects, diverse law firm attorneys are given a forum to meet one-on-one with in-house counsel to make meaningful connections and cultivate a business relationship. In-house counsel can grow their diverse preferred provider portfolios.
In-house counsel and law firm participants will be matched for one-on-one meetings during NAPABA Convention. All participants are invited to attend the exclusive Sponsor Breakfast and NAPABA Connects VIP Reception during the NAPABA Convention December 9-12, 2021.
To participate as in-house counsel, you must fill out our brief application form. You can be matched with diverse law firm attorneys to cultivate new business relationships, or you may choose from a list of participating firms to expand your network with existing provider firms who may be in your preferred network. NAPABA will also send a list of all certified minority or women-owned firms to participating companies that may already have a preferred provider firm list.
The deadline to submit an IHC application is August 25 at 8 pm ET. For questions, please contact Operations Director, Maureen Gelwicks, at mgelwicks@napaba.org.
NAPABA Connects participants are eligible to receive a $750 reimbursement to our 2021 NAPABA Convention. You are encouraged to register by September 20, our early bird deadline. Attendees of the NAPABA Convention can earn up to 14 hours of CLE Credit, which will be focused on changes unfolding in this turbulent year as well as challenges lawyers have faced for decades.
Registration for the NAPABA Virtual In-House Counsel Summit is now open! Designed to help public company senior and experienced attorneys make the jump into the C-Suite, participants will receive tailored guidance and training based on where they are in their career.
Registration for this event is complimentary and space is limited so register now! Registration will close at 5 p.m. EDT on Friday, June 25.
On April 9, 2021, AABANY and a coalition of bar associations from across the country presented a CLE program titled, “The Surge in Anti-Asian Violence: Corporate Social Responsibility and Action.” About 500 attendees from all across the United States joined an esteemed panel of corporate in-house leaders in a discussion on how corporate employers can address the surge in anti-Asian violence and support their Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) employees. The panel included:
Sara Yang Bosco, Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel, Emerson
Sam Khichi, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Public Policy & Regulatory Affairs, Becton, Dickinson and Company
Sandra Leung, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Bristol Myers Squibb
Allen Lo, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel Products, IP, and Legal Operations, Facebook
Susan Moon, Principal Counsel, The Walt Disney Company
Caroline Tsai, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary, Western Union
Michael C. Wu (Moderator), GAPABA Board Member
Moderator Michael Wu began the panel discussion by describing how the coronavirus pandemic has become a virus of hate, with the increase of violence and hate crimes against Asian Americans. To add to this, Sara Bosco emphasized the importance of reporting and providing visibility to these incidents and stated, “You cannot manage what you cannot measure.” Asian Americans comprise 6% of the United States population, yet have been historically overlooked despite being part of U.S. history since the 1800s. Due to Asian Americans being viewed as perpetual foreigners and the model minority, coupled with the inaccurate information disseminated about the origins of the pandemic in 2020, Asian Americans have been perceived as an easier target to perpetrators of anti-Asian violence.
When asked how Corporate America should address anti-Asian violence, many of the panelists shared initiatives their workplaces started and gave suggestions on what companies can do. A main focus of the panelists was discussing how Asian employees can be supported in the workplace. To create a supportive environment, companies should reach out to AAPI employees and create an AAPI employee resource group in the workplace if there is not one already. Even if the organization does not have many AAPI employees, it is important for AAPI employees to meet others to increase their circle and build a larger voice. In addition, mental health resources and allyship training should be offered to employees within the workplace’s HR department. Panelists also agreed that not only should the diversity officers in the company address anti-Asian violence, but even CEOs need to speak up and make statements to show support for the AAPI community.
As individuals in the AAPI legal community, Sandra Leung said, “We are in a crisis situation right now with the rise of anti-AAPI hate, but it’s also an opportunity for us to band together to do our part individually or collectively in groups. We have to turn the emotion and anger that we have into action.” She further emphasized that we need to take leadership roles, speak loud, and educate people on anti-AAPI hate. In discussing leadership roles, Sandra Leung remarked, “I feel so compelled right now and so moved by everything we are facing in our community that I would love to run for President-Elect of NAPABA…” AABANY applauds Sandra Leung’s intent to run during these critical times and agrees that we have to continue working collectively to address anti-Asian violence.
Thank you to Sara Yang Bosco, Sam Khichi, Sandra Leung, Allen Lo, Susan Moon, Caroline Tsai, and Michael Wu for this important discussion on anti-Asian violence and corporate social responsibility. Non-transitional New York attorneys were eligible to receive a maximum of 1.5 CLE credit hours applied toward the Diversity, Inclusion, and Elimination of Bias requirement. CLE credits were also approved in California and Colorado, and CPE credits were approved in British Columbia and Ontario. CLE credits have been applied for in Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas, and are pending approval. To view a recording of the program, click here or on the image above.
As a member of Amex’s legal team, I was happy to welcome AABANY members for an information session held on October 22, 2019. The event started with a panel that included General Counsel Laureen Seeger and other Amex managing counsel discussing their experiences working as in-house counsel. Afterwards, AABANY attendees networked with members of various practice groups on Amex’s legal team. The event was very well-attended and offered a unique opportunity to learn what it’s like to work as in-house counsel at Amex. I certainly appreciate the impact of the information session because I attended the same event last year as an AABANY member. It gave me first-hand insight into working on Amex’s legal team and I had a great experience meeting everyone at Amex. So when an opportunity opened up afterwards to join the legal team, I already knew that I wanted to apply. And a few months later, I joined the Amex legal team! We hope everyone enjoyed the event this year, and we look forward to hosting this event again in the future.
Overview Become a Convention sponsor to take part in this year’s NAPABA Connects Program! NAPABA Connects is an opportunity for law firm Convention sponsors at the solo and small firm ($3,000) level and silver ($10,000) or higher level to foster relationships with in-house counsel (IHC). All participants are invited to exclusive touch points intended to provide Connects participants with exclusive networking opportunities in an informal social setting during the Convention. Solo and small firm sponsors and gold or higher level sponsors may participate in formal one-on-one meetings to discuss potential work opportunities. All program participants must be registered and attending the NAPABA Convention.
Law Firm One-on-One Meeting Application | Deadline: Monday, Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. ET Solo and small firm and gold or higher level sponsors are invited to submit an application for one-on-one meetings with in-house counsel participants at NAPABA Convention.
Solo and small firm and gold sponsors will have access to a maximum of two meetings. Platinum and higher level sponsors will have access to unlimited meetings.
To submit an application by Sept. 9, 5 p.m. ET, email Meetings Manager Pang Moua at pmoua@napaba.org.
Not a sponsor yet? Click here to learn more about partnering with us!
Touch Points Solo and small firm and silver or higher level sponsors are invited to participate in the exclusive touch points below, taking place at the 2019 NAPABA Convention:
