law firm diversity award Archives

August 26, 2024August 26, 2024

AABANY Hosts 2024 Annual Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street to Celebrate our 35th Anniversary

On Wednesday, May 22, 2024, AABANY hosted its 2024 Annual Dinner with the theme “Building a Strong Foundation for a Brighter Future” at Cipriani Wall Street. Celebrating the 35th Anniversary of AABANY, the event was hosted again during Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Month with over 700 attorneys, judges, prosecutors, in-house counsel, government officials, and dignitaries who came out to celebrate with us at the Annual Dinner.

The event began with an invite-only General Counsel Reception which was attended by 40 General Counsels and numerous sponsor guests. We thank our General Counsel Reception sponsor, Groombridge, Wu, Baughman & Stone for helping us start off the night strong! To see the full list of General Counsels who accepted AABANY’s invitation, please click here.

The General Counsel Reception occurred simultaneously with a Cocktail Reception in the West Ballroom where numerous guests mingled, caught up with each other, made new connections, and took photos at the step-and-repeat.

After the Cocktail Reception, the dinner and program began with CeFaan Kim as the night’s excellent host and charismatic Master of Ceremonies. First course was already plated as CeFaan kicked off the program. He invited to the stage Karen Kim, Immediate Past President, to deliver her remarks as the outgoing President. She was followed by our first honoree, Iris Lan, Esq., recipient of AABANY’s Public Service Award.

Iris began her speech by praising AABANY for its work in preventing AAPI Hate, as well as its support for the AAPI legal community. To close out, Iris told a story attributed to United States Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson. The story was centered around three stone basins: “Each stone basin represents a judge or a lawyer,” Iris stated. “Some see their work as merely a way to earn a living. Others perhaps view their work as applying legal precedent molding their decision.” Iris then described the third stone basin as one that builds a “cathedral,” representing the building of a path for others to walk through. She thanked AABANY, as an embodiment of this third basin, for “building the cathedral of the future.”

After Iris received her reward, a short video was shown, celebrating 35 years of AABANY. It discussed the birth of AABANY as an organization established to support the community of AAPI legal professionals and the wider AAPI community. It then chronicled AABANY’s growth from a small group that would host social events to an organization with a wide-reaching mission and membership. It also delved into how AABANY contended with the COVID-19 pandemic and the uptick in anti-Asian hate, and the birth of the anti-Asian Violence Task Force.

Following the 35th anniversary video, White & Case LLP was presented with the Law Firm Diversity Award for its dedication to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal field. Sylvia Chin accepted the award on behalf of the firm. Congratulations to White & Case on this well-deserved honor. To read more about the award, read the press release here.

After a brief time for guests to continue networking, AABANY was proud to honor the Honorable Denny Chin, United States Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, with AABANY’s Impact Leadership Award

Judge Chin delivered a powerful speech on the importance of resilience and highlighted some of his most memorable career moments, such as sentencing Bernie Madoff in 2009.

In addition, we presented the 2024 class of Don H. Liu Scholars: Felicia Hou, Grace Koh and Yangji Sherpa. Read more about the program here. Before this year’s class of DHL Scholars was presented, a short film celebrated the tenth anniversary of this program and its many accomplished and worthy recipients.

The dinner ended with a short trailer for the documentary, Voices Against Anti-Asian Hate, produced by the AABANY Anti-Asian Violence Task Force. The film featured numerous victims and survivors of anti-Asian hate, including Justin Go, father of Michelle Go, who spoke eloquently about her murder in January 2022. After the trailer played, CeFaan Kim stated, “Do not be afraid, and make sure you are heard.”

Next, AABANY President Joseph Eng made closing remarks, celebrating community leaders, former presidents of AABANY, and founders in attendance, as well as discussing the “next 35 years” of AABANY, expressing the hope that the paths those leaders and founders had forged would become familiar ones for success. He envisioned a future where “exceptional is the norm,” where AAPI voices are strong and heard throughout the legal community and beyond, and where young AAPIs are encouraged and inspired to enter the profession. He finished by again congratulating the night’s award winners, thanking the sponsors, and finally thanking his wife, Alejandra.

After the dinner, attendees who wished to extend the celebration went up to the Mezzanine for the afterparty, which continued until midnight.

We thank the AABANY 2024 Annual Dinner Planning Committee and volunteers for their hours of hard work to organize this annual dinner and making it a celebration to remember. Thank you to AABANY 2024 President Joseph Eng for his leadership of the 2024 Annual Dinner Planning Committee.

We gratefully acknowledge all our sponsors whose generous contributions allow us to continue our work of supporting the AANHPI legal community and the AANHPI community as a whole. Thank you to our top sponsors:

Diamond: Broadridge
General Counsel Reception: Groombridge Wu Baughman & Stone
Platinum: Davis Polk, DragonGC, and Kramer Levin
Gold: Debevoise & Plimpton, Mayer Brown, and Paul Weiss

Lastly, we thank everyone who attended the 2024 Annual Dinner for making our 35th anniversary so special and memorable. You can view the photo albums and videos from the 2024 Annual Dinner here.

Please save the date for the 2025 Annual Dinner taking place on May 29, 2025.

August 15, 2023August 15, 2023

AABANY Celebrates 2023 Annual Dinner with 900+ Attendees at Cipriani Wall Street

On Tuesday, May 23, 2023, AABANY hosted its 2023 Annual Dinner with the theme “Embracing Wellness and Well-Being: Strengthening the Legal Profession by Investing in Ourselves” at Cipriani Wall Street. Celebrating AABANY’s 34th anniversary, this was our first Annual Dinner during Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Month! The dinner attracted over 900 attorneys, judges, prosecutors, in-house counsel, government officials, and dignitaries and sponsorships from more than 50 law firms and corporations.

The event commenced with the Pre-Dinner General Counsel Reception, a gathering of GCs from companies representing a wide variety of industries, including biotechnology research, e-commerce, entertainment, fashion, financial services, insurance, internet privacy and security, medical, real estate, and more.

Attendance at the reception was exclusive to sponsors and invited guests, with a successful turnout of more than 55 GC attendees. We thank our Reception sponsor, Kirkland & Ellis, for helping us kick off the night with this well-attended program. For the full list of general counsels who accepted AABANY’s invitation, please click here.

AABANY was proud to honor:

Michael Wu, Chief Legal Officer, Bath & Body Works, Inc. with AABANY’s Corporate Leadership Award
Prisca Bae, Chief Partnerships Officer, The Asian American Foundation with AABANY’s Women’s Leadership Award
Hon. Charles Ellis Schumer, U.S. Senator of New York with AABANY’s Impact Leadership Award

AABANY Corporate Leadership Award honoree Michael Wu delivered a powerful speech on the importance of resilience. He shared the inspiring story of his mother, a Hong Kong orphan and homeless refugee who overcame adversity to achieve the American dream. If she could do it, Michael declared, then “anyone in America can become a success.”

Prisca Bae, AABANY’s Women’s Leadership Award honoree, shared her initiatives aimed to uplift our AANHPI community. She emphasized the importance of collective improvement, motivating the audience to “[aspire] to be better” and to “aim to [become] CEOs.” Her heartfelt sentiments served not only as a beacon of encouragement, hope and optimism but also an affirmation of the possibility that our aspirations are attainable.

We were joined by New York Senator Charles Ellis Schumer, AABANY’s Impact Leadership Award recipient, who delivered remarks on the strength of the AANHPI community as we “[embody] what the American dream has always been about, coming to this country, working hard building a better life for yourself and your children.” His speech resonated with those who are paving the way for our families and fellow community members. We thank Senator Schumer for his continuous efforts in providing opportunities and resources for the AANHPI community so we can keep pursuing the American dream.

This year, we had the privilege of having Kate Siahaan-Rigg, a remarkable actress, comedian, and activist, as our Master of Ceremonies (MC). She was our MC during our 2022 Annual Dinner, and we were delighted to have her host this year’s event. To read a post-Annual Dinner letter from our MC, read the blog post here.

We were proud to honor Debevoise & Plimpton with the Law Firm Diversity Award for its commitment to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion within the legal profession. To read more about the award, read the press release here.

In addition, we presented the 2023 class of Don H. Liu Scholars: Samuel S. Kim, Kristie-Valerie Hoang, and Emily Yan. Read more about the program here.

We extend our sincere gratitude to all those who contributed to our cause and helped us raise more than $20,000 for AABANY-AALFNY’s Turn the Tide (T3) Project to fight anti-Asian hate and violence. Special thanks to MC Kate Siahaan-Rigg for her unwavering humor and compassion in helping us reach our fundraising goal. We also acknowledge the survivors of anti-Asian hate and violence for sharing their stories in the AABANY Anti-Asian Violence Task Force’s “Voices Against Anti-Asian Hate” video, produced by Peter Chin. We were privileged to host survivors of anti-Asian violence, their families and friends at the Annual Dinner.

We thank all of the AABANY 2023 Annual Dinner Planning Committee members and volunteers for their hard work in making this year’s celebration a huge success. Thanks to President Karen Kim for her leadership of the 2023 Annual Dinner Planning Committee which started during her year as President-Elect in the prior fiscal year. In support of AABANY’s theme, Karen announced AABANY’s inaugural Wellness Day, to take place in July, during Minority Mental Health Awareness Month.

We gratefully acknowledge all our sponsors, whose generous contributions allow us to actively pursue our mission of advancing the interests of the AANHPI legal community, as well as the communities we serve. A special thank you to our premier sponsors: After-Party: Morrow Sodali; Diamond: Broadridge; Pre-Dinner GC Reception: Kirkland & Ellis LLP; Platinum: Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Groombridge, Wu, Baughman & Stone LLP, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, Levine Lee LLP, Littler Mendelson P.C., Mayer Brown LLP, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Through their support, our sponsors continue to sustain AABANY’s many activities and signature events held throughout the year.

Lastly, we thank everyone who attended the 2023 Annual Dinner and for helping make it a memorable and momentous celebration. Please save the date for the 2024 Annual Dinner: it will take place on May 22 at Cipriani Wall Street! For now, look back at these photos to reminisce, captured by Karen Zhou and Victor Suwatcharapinun. Videos from the 2023 Annual Dinner can be viewed on the event’s webpage here.

May 2, 2022May 2, 2022

AABANY Celebrates 2022 Annual Dinner with 800+ Attendees

On Thursday, April 28, 2022, AABANY hosted its 2022 Annual Dinner with the theme “Forging a New Path to an Equitable Future” at Cipriani Wall Street. The dinner attracted over 800 attorneys, judges, prosecutors, in-house counsel, government officials, and dignitaries and sponsorships from more than 50 law firms and corporations.

AABANY was proud to honor:

Flora W. Feng, Senior Legal Director, Global Intellectual Property, PepsiCo with AABANY’s Corporate Leadership Award
Emily A. Kim, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Zeta Charter Schools with AABANY’s Women’s Leadership Award

To read more about our extraordinary honorees, read the press release here.

We were joined by New York Governor Kathy Hochul who delivered remarks on the strength of the AAPI community and the importance of coming together to effectuate change.

This year, Actress/Comedian/Activist Kate Siahaan-Rigg served as MC. She was our MC last year during our Virtual Gala, and this was her first time serving as our live MC at the Annual Dinner. Thank you, Kate, for raising awareness on “representASIAN” while adding color and fun to the ceremony!

We were proud to honor Allen & Overy with the Law Firm Diversity Award for its commitment to improving diversity and inclusion within the legal profession. To read more about the award, read the press release here.

In addition, we were also pleased to present the 2022 class of Don H. Liu Scholars: Seung Hye Yan, Edward Jung, and Brian Liu. Read more about the program here.

We extend sincere thanks to everyone who helped us raise over $30,000 for AABANY-AALFNY’s Turn the Tide (T3) Project to fight anti-Asian hate and violence. We thank Mayer Brown for challenging the audience to match its initial donation of $10,000. Over the course of the evening, attendees tripled the match! We thank MC Kate Siahaan-Rigg for her endless humor and compassion in helping us exceed our fundraising goal. To learn more about the T3 Project see https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.aabany.org/resource/resmgr/2021aav/Turning_the_Tide_v5_compress.pdf

We thank all of the AABANY Annual Dinner Planning Committee members and volunteers for their hard work in making this year’s celebration a huge success.

We thank all of our sponsors. Their generous sponsorships make it possible for us to pursue our mission to advance the interests of the Asian American and Pacific Islander legal community and the communities we serve. Our sponsors support AABANY’s many activities and signature events throughout the year.

Lastly, we thank everyone that attended the 2022 Annual Dinner and celebrated with us. We were happy to see you all in person after two years of quarantine, social distancing and endless Zoom meetings.

More photos to come. Stay tuned!

March 1, 2021March 1, 2021

AABANY Celebrates 2021 Virtual Gala

On Wednesday, February 24, 2021, AABANY hosted its 2021 Virtual Gala: Uniting for Justice and Equity.

The event kicked off at 6 pm with a Pre-Gala Virtual Cocktail Reception on Remo attended by sponsors and special guests, including prominent General Counsels and judges. At 6:30 pm, all Virtual Gala attendees were invited to enjoy a piano concert featuring AABANY Member Renee Yao.

The Virtual Gala started at 7 pm and Kate Siahaan-Riggs, NYC-based actor, stand up comic, and writer, served as emcee. Throughout the gala, AABANY held a text-to-donate fundraiser to support Portrait Project 2.0, the second phase of the Portrait Project study which is researching why Asian Americans are underrepresented in top leadership positions across all sectors of the legal profession and how it can be addressed.

This year AABANY was proud to honor:

Frank H. Wu, President of Queens College, the City University of New York, with the AABANY Impact Award

Sneha Desai, Deputy General Counsel Litigation of BASF Corporation, with the AABANY Women’s Leadership Award

Kirkland & Ellis LLP with the AABANY Law Firm Diversity Award

Ed Lee, AABANY Board Director and Partner at Kirkland & Ellis, accepted the Law Firm Diversity Award on behalf of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Honoree Sneha Desai delivered an acceptance speech, stressing the importance of individuals in leadership and influential positions to make positive change in diversity and inclusion. The Honorable Denny Chin, U.S. Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, hosted a fireside chat with honoree Frank H,. Wu to discuss his career and the work he has accomplished.

In addition, we were also pleased to present the 2021 class of Don H. Liu Scholars: Narissa Ganpat, Minji Kim, and Minh Eric Le.

The Gala concluded with a tribute to Asian American photojournalist and historian Corky Lee who passed away in January due to COVID-19. Corky had taken photos of our past Annual Dinners from its earliest days until 2020.

We thank all of the AABANY Virtual Gala Planning Committee members and volunteers for their hard work in making this year’s celebration a huge success.

We extend sincere thanks to all of our sponsors. Their generous sponsorships make it possible for us to pursue our mission to advance the interests of the Asian Pacific American (APA) legal community and the communities we serve and support our many activities and signature events throughout the year.

Lastly, we thank everyone that attended the 2021 Virtual Gala and celebrated with us. Our Virtual Gala was streamed on Vimeo which reports that the gala drew 1,400 views. To watch the gala on You Tube, click here or on the image at the top of this blog. To view the Virtual Gala program book, click here.

November 9, 2020

AABANY Congratulates Littler on Receiving the 2020 NAPABA Law Firm Diversity Award

The Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) congratulates Littler Mendelson P.C. (Littler) on receiving the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s (NAPABA’s) 2020 Law Firm Diversity Award. Littler is the world’s largest employment and labor law firm with over 1,500 attorneys in 95 offices globally and AABANY is honored to have the support of Littler as a Silver Sponsor.

The NAPABA Law Firm Diversity Award honors law firms that actively and consistently recruit, retain, and promote Asian Pacific American (APA) lawyers to equity partnership and firm leadership. It also celebrates law firms’ successes in their support for APA lawyers. Through its many initiatives, Littler is creating a welcoming environment for its employees, accepting of different backgrounds, and is continuing to look for ways to become a more diverse and inclusive employer.

Eddie Chyun and William Ng — shareholders in the Cleveland, Ohio and Long Island, New York offices, respectively — both emphasized their membership in Littler’s ‘Ohana affinity group ‘Ohana, when asked about their experiences as an APA lawyer at the firm. Within the first few weeks after being hired, Eddie and Will each were approached through email or word-of-mouth about joining ‘Ohana, the affinity group for Asian, South Asian, Middle Eastern, North African, and Pacific Islander-American attorneys. The invitation left a memorable impression on them both as it helped ease Eddie and Will’s transition into the law firm by quickly welcoming them into the APA community within Littler. Being a part of ‘Ohana allows them to know APA lawyers across all of Littler’s offices. Affinity groups meet in-person every other year to discuss diversity and inclusion, work on professional development skills such as practicing elevator pitches, and collaborate on coming up with new initiatives relating to retention and advancement, associate development, etc. that can help APA lawyers’ success in the office. Throughout the year, they participate in social gatherings, quarterly calls, and other events which provide members with support and networking opportunities at the firm.

*‘Ohana group photo from their last retreat in Miami*

Eddie also serves as co-chair of Littler’s 20-person Diversity & Inclusion Council (D&IC), which includes four APA attorneys among its diverse members. The D&IC focuses on increasing the hiring of individuals from diverse backgrounds and increasing professional opportunities for diverse employees like mentorships and leadership opportunities. Littler’s programs include the Career Advocacy Program (CAP) and Investment for Success, which support and promote diverse attorneys in the firm, including APA lawyers, to leadership positions.

Littler’s award-winning CAP selects higher-level, high-performing associates (Protégés) who identify as diverse and pairs them with the firm’s most influential leaders (Advocates) and client (Champions) who encourage their career growth. From 2015 to 2020, Protégés represented on average 28% and up to 40% of the firm’s new shareholder class. Twenty-four former Protégés, including eight APA attorneys, have been elevated to shareholder and continue to participate in the program. Currently, 11 of the 31 Protégés in CAP are APA attorneys. The Investment for Success Program pairs recently hired diverse attorneys with a shareholder to help them better integrate into the firm, as the transition in the first few weeks is critical for an attorney’s success in the firm. There are currently 30 diverse associates, including seven APA attorneys, participating in the program. Eddie and Will pointed out the importance of these programs because APA lawyers tend to face barriers with advancement in their positions such as a lack of access to mentors, and with these programs, APA attorneys are able to be mentored by a senior attorney, who ensures that they receive the proper mix of work and opportunities to succeed at the law firm.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Littler continues to create a diverse and inclusive environment through holding their mentorship programs and affinity group meetings virtually.

Littler’s creation of the Career Advocacy Program and the Investment for Success program have promoted and continues to promote APA lawyers to leadership positions within the firm, and the ‘Ohana affinity group continues to provide a supportive community among the firm’s APA lawyers. Littler will be honored at a reception for award recipients held in December 2020.

Please join AABANY in congratulating Littler on receiving the Law Firm Diversity Award.

March 2, 2020March 2, 2020

AABANY Celebrates 2020 Annual Dinner with More Than 800 Attendees

On Wednesday, February 26, 2020, AABANY hosted its 2020 Annual Dinner with the theme “Stronger Together: Unity in Diversity” at Cipriani Wall Street. The dinner attracted over 800 attorneys, judges, prosecutors, in-house counsel, government officials, and dignitaries and sponsorships from more than 60 law firms and corporations.

This year AABANY was proud to honor:

Hon. Sri Srinivasan, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, with the Public Interest Leadership Award.

Alan Tse, Global Chief Legal Officer, Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc., with the Corporate Leadership Award

Yen Chu, Chief Legal Officer, Equinox Holdings, Inc., with the Women’s Leadership Award

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP with the Law Firm Diversity Award

To read more about our extraordinary honorees, read the press release here.

This year, Spectrum NY1 News Anchor Vivian Lee served as MC and was joined on stage by Immediate Past President James Cho.

James presented each of the honorees with special gifts from AABANY. Noting that Alan Tse was considered by his peers to be “The Closer,” James presented him with a bottle of McCallan, a nod to Attorney Harvey Specter from “Suits,” another well-known “Closer.” However, because Alan had to fly back to Chicago, the full-size bottle was replaced with a miniature size, with a ziploc bag that will ensure the bottle gets through security. (We have a feeling that the bottle was consumed well before Alan made it to the airport.)

For Yen Chu, James presented her with a monogrammed workout head towel for her next session at one of Equinox’s many gyms. That is one way to make sure that AABANY is “top of mind” for Yen in the days to come. Finally, for Chief Judge Srinivasan, we figured that as a jurist, he can never have too many robes, so James presented him a wizard’s robe, bearing his name above the Gryffindor crest. Although we doubt we will see Chief Judge Srinivasan wearing that robe on the bench any time soon, we can imagine him donning the robe in chambers, especially on those occasions where he may need to work some judicial wizardry to decide the most difficult cases.

In addition, we were also pleased to present the 2019 class of Don H. Liu Scholars: Grace Cho, Raymond Magsaysay, and Andrew Tran. To read more about the Don H. Liu Scholars, see our press release here.

Congratulations also to the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee. The Pro Bono Clinic was recognized with the New York State Bar Association Bar Leaders Innovation Award. NYSBA President Hank Greenberg attended the Annual Dinner to present the award. To read more about the award, see our press release here.

We thank all of the AABANY Annual Dinner Planning Committee members and volunteers for their hard work in making this year’s celebration a huge success.

Lastly, we thank everyone that attended the 2020 Annual Dinner and celebrated with us.

Thanks to Corky Lee for the photos in this blog post. More photos to come. Stay tuned!

January 13, 2020

AABANY 2020 Law Firm Diversity Award – Applications Now Open

Since 2014, AABANY has sought to recognize one law firm each year for its extraordinary efforts to improve the diversity of our profession by presenting AABANY’s Law Firm Diversity Award. The 2020 AABANY Law Firm Diversity Award will be presented at the Annual Dinner on February 26, 2020.

Nominees should be a law firm that has achieved significant success in the areas of recruiting, retaining and promoting women and diverse attorneys while also demonstrating a commitment to raising awareness of, and influencing the legal community to address, the challenges faced by women and diverse attorneys in the legal industry. Criteria for selection include:

Demonstrated commitment to diversity at all levels of the firm;
An established pipeline of diverse talent;
A track record of retaining and promoting women and diverse attorneys;
External activities, such as active participation in minority bar associations like AABANY and diversity programs of mainstream bar associations like the American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, New York City Bar Association, and New York County Lawyers Association;
Any other factors the selection committee deems valuable in promoting AABANY’s mission.

The AABANY Law Firm Diversity Award recipient will be chosen by a selection committee through a competitive and confidential process.

If you know of any firms that should apply please forward this email and direct them to this link for the form: https://www.aabany.org/resource/resmgr/lfda/LFDA_2020_SUBMISSION_FORM_FI.pdf

Deadline: January 30, 2020.

November 18, 2019

Congratulations to Akin Gump on Receiving NAPABA’s Law Firm Diversity Award

We congratulate Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, on being presented NAPABA’s Law Firm Diversity Award at the NAPABA Convention in Austin, Texas on Saturday, November 9, 2019. AABANY is pleased to count Akin Gump as a Silver Sponsor.

This award honors law firms that actively and consistently recruit, retain, and promote APA lawyers to equity partnership and firm leadership. One such lawyer is Alice Hsu, an AABANY member and Partner at Akin Gump.

Alice was interviewed in the acceptance video and stated that over the last few years Akin Gump has spent a lot of time working with pro bono clients and “brought together cross-racial, cross-ethnic coalitions to support challenging the travel ban, the census citizenship question, and DACA rescission. “

Please join us in congratulating Akin Gump on this well deserved honor.

March 4, 2019March 13, 2019

AABANY’S 30th Annual Dinner Celebrated By More Than 700 Attendees

On Wednesday, February 27, 2019, AABANY hosted its 30th Anniversary Annual Dinner: United in Action and Vision: Towards 2020 Together at Cipriani Wall Street. The dinner attracted over 700 attorneys, judges, prosecutors, in-house counsel, government officials, and dignitaries and sponsorships from more than 55 law firms and corporations.

This year AABANY was proud to honor:

Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney General for the State of New Jersey, with the Public Service Leadership Award

Gabrielle Lyse Brown, Executive Director, Diversity and Inclusion for Morgan Stanley, with the Women’s Leadership Award

Deneen Donnley, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of USAA, with the Corporate Leadership Award

Davis Polk & Wardwell with the 2019 Law Firm Diversity Award

In addition, we were also pleased to present scholarships to this year’s class of Don Liu Scholars.

We thank all of the AABANY Annual Dinner Planning Committee members and volunteers for their hard work in making this year’s celebration a huge success.

Lastly, we thank everyone that attended the 30th Annual Dinner and celebrated with us.

More photos to come. Stay tuned!

February 22, 2019February 25, 2019

PRESS RELEASE: ASIAN AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK RECOGNIZES DAVIS POLK & WARDWELL LLP AS THE 2019 AABANY LAW FIRM DIVERSITY AWARD HONOREE

NEW YORK – Feb. 21, 2019 – The Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) is proud to announce that Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (“Davis Polk”) has been selected to receive the 2019 AABANY Law Firm Diversity Award. Davis Polk will receive the award at AABANY’s Annual Dinner on February 27, 2019, at Cipriani Wall Street, 55 Wall Street, in New York City.

Since 2014, AABANY has selected a law firm to recognize for its commitment to improving diversity and inclusion within the legal profession. Applications are reviewed on four main criteria, which include a formal diversity plan committed to retention and promotion of women and minorities, an established diversity pipeline of talent, external participation in diversity programs with organizations such as AABANY, and the furtherance of AABANY’s mission, which includes the active and affirmative recruitment, retention, promotion, and development of Asian lawyers in New York City.

Davis Polk’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is rooted in its traditional emphasis on excellence and respect.

The firm is actively involved in fostering an inclusive environment and culture, from its recruitment efforts that target diverse student organizations and underserved communities, to generous parental leave and reintegration programs in support of new mothers in the workplace.

“AABANY congratulates Davis Polk on receiving the 2019 Law Firm Diversity Award,” states James Cho, AABANY’s President. “We applaud the commitment Davis Polk has shown in advancing diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, and AABANY looks forward to working with Davis Polk to continue promoting these important values in the years ahead.”

For more information, please contact Yang Chen, AABANY Executive Director, at (212) 332- 2478, or direct any inquiries to [email protected]. 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 one of the most prominent and active minority bar associations in New York with more than 1,100 members, including practicing attorneys in the private and public sectors, in-house lawyers, judges, professors and law students. AABANY is the New York regional affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).