NAPABA PRESS RELEASE: NAPABA CELEBRATES 25 YEARS OF LEADERSHIP IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION

National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

1612 K Street NW, Suite 1400
Washington, DC 20006


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 13, 2013

Contact: Azizah Ahmad
(202) 775-9555

NAPABA CELEBRATES 25 YEARS OF LEADERSHIP IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION

WASHINGTON — Over 1,200 Asian Pacific American (APA) judges, attorneys, law professors, and law students attended the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) 25th Annual Convention in Kansas City, MO, from November 7-10, 2013. The Annual Convention’s MOmentum theme highlighted and celebrated the monumental achievements of APA attorneys over the past 25 years at the highest levels of the legal profession while also encouraging attendees to collaborate for future progress and successes.

The four-day convention included an annual International Law Symposium, Pro Bono & Public Interest Summit, and over 50 panels and plenaries with some of the brightest minds in the legal profession. Special events included a lunch plenary with special guests Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Representative Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI), who talked about their experiences as APA women in Congress. The Convention’s sold-out annual basketball tournament tested the talents of attorneys and law students against the Benchwarmers—an all-star line-up of APA judicial luminaries, including Judge Denny Chin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Justice Goodwin Liu of the California Supreme Court.

The Honorable Sri Srinivasan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit gave the keynote address during the 25th Anniversary Gala and Installation Dinner on Saturday, November 9, 2013. During the Gala, Judge Alok Ahuja of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District swore in the following members of the 2013-2014 NAPABA Board of Governors:

Executive Committee

President: William J. Simonitsch, Partner, K&L Gates LLP

President-Elect: George C. Chen, Partner, Bryan Cave LLP

Vice President for Communications: Cyndie M. Chang, Partner, Duane Morris LLP

Vice President for Finance & Development: Alexander M. Lee, Principal, Law Offices of Alexander M. Lee

Vice President for Membership: Brad Yamauchi, Partner, Minami Tamaki LLP

Vice President for Programs and Operations: Jin Y. Hwang, Assistant General Counsel, Verizon Enterprise Solutions

Secretary: Tacie Yoon, Associate, Crowell & Moring LLP

Treasurer: Pankit J. Doshi, Associate, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Immediate Past President: Wendy C. Shiba, retired (former Executive VP, General Counsel & Secretary, KB Home)

Regional Governors

Central Region: David S. Kim, Attorney, Armstrong Teasdale LLP

Northeast Region: Judy H. Kim, Associate Counsel, New York Liquidation Bureau

Northeast Region: Sophia Lee, Chief Counsel – Litigation, Sunoco, Inc.

Northwest Region: Trung D. Tu, Partner, McEwen Gisvold LLP

Southeast Region: John Truong, Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia

Southwest Region: Eileen Sullivan, Principal, Sullivan Law Firm, PC

Northern California Region: Quyen Ta, Partner, Keker & Van Nest LLP

Eastern California/Nevada Region: Marlo Nisperos, Deputy District Attorney, Solano County District Attorney Office

Central California Region: Audra Mori, Partner, Perkins Coie

Southern California Region: Lloyd S. Costales, Partner, Page, Lobo, Costales & Preston, A.P.C.

At-Large Members

Curtis Hom, Principal, Innova Legal Group, PLLC

Steven Y. Reeves, Partner, Faegre Baker Daniels LLP

Janet Shih Hajek, Of Counsel, Holland & Hart LLP

Marla Tun Reschly, Of Counsel, Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Please join us next year in Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ, from November 6-9, 2014, for the 26th Annual NAPABA Convention, Convergence.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of over 40,000 attorneys and 67 national, state, and local Asian Pacific American bar associations. Its members include solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal service and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government. NAPABA continues to be a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network of committees and affiliates, 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 color in the legal profession.

NAPABA Supports Victims of Typhoon Haiyan

As many of you know, the devastating super typhoon Haiyan ravaged the central Philippines last Friday.  As rescue workers have struggled to reach survivors, news of the immense damage and loss of life is gradually coming to light. As of this morning, death tolls are estimated to exceed 10,000 people, over 630,000 were forced from their homes, and more than 9.5 million have been affected.  The relief effort by aid agencies is just getting underway, and they must contend with the complicated logistics of getting people and aid out to the affected areas.  This will be extremely difficult because of the extreme disruption to ports and airports, and the inaccessibility of roads.

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association expresses its condolences and extends its prayers to the victims of this disaster, and to the families of those who may have been affected.  NAPABA encourages you to support relief efforts in any way you feel appropriate.  But please note that when disasters like this occur, the victims are helped most by financial contributions to aid agencies, rather than donations of consumer goods.

If you want to make a donation, but are unsure of which aid agency you wish to support, NAPABA, together with the National Filipino American Lawyers Association, suggest the following:

Best Regards,

William J. Simonitsch 
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)

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AABANY turned out in force for the 25th annual NAPABA National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri.

Among the highlights was the highly popular trial re-enactment “22 Lewd Chinese Women: Chy Lung v. Freeman,” led by Hon. Denny Chin and Kathy Hirata Chin, with a cast that included AABANY members Vince Chang, Yang Chen, Theo Cheng, Francis Chin, Andy Hahn, Lauren U.Y. Lee, Linda Lin, Anna R. Mercado, Vinoo Varghese, Ona T. Wang, and Jessica C. Wong.

Other speakers from AABANY during the convention included: Hon. Pamela K.M. Chen, James R. Cho, Hon. Doris Ling-Cohan, Don Liu, Hugh H. Mo, Chul Pak, Sapna Palla, Helen Wan, Michael Wu, Pauline Yeung-Ha, Michael Yim and James Yu.

AABANY congratulates its Best Under 40 Award Recipients, Mike Huang, Michael Park and Asim Rehman.

All the attendees enjoyed terrific program offerings, well-attended social events, sightseeing excursions, re-connecting with old friends, making new ones, and plenty of barbeque.

Next year’s convention will be held in Scottsdale, Arizona, Nov. 6-9, 2014.

NCVAA Dinner at NAPABA Convention Kansas City

NCVAA logo

Invites you to:

Dinner at Maker’s Mark Bourbon House & Lounge

Friday, November 8th, 2013

For those of you who will be attending the NAPABA Convention in Kansas City, please join us on Friday, November 8th, at Maker’s Mark Bourbon House & Lounge.  Details are as follows:

Location:
Maker’s Mark Bourbon House & Lounge 
1333 Walnut Street 
Kansas City, MO 64105 
Date:
Friday, November 8, 2013

Time:
8:00 p.m. (after Trailblazer Reception)

Cost:
Approximately $20-25 per person (people will pay individually after dinner)

RSVP to Catherine Than at [email protected] or Hoang Quan Vu at [email protected] by November 5, 2013.  Guests are also invited. 

Thomas Tang Moot Court Judges Needed for NAPABA Convention

We need your help to serve as judges for the Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition on Friday, November 8, 2013, during the NAPABA Convention in Kansas City, MO.  The rounds will take place from 9:15 to 10:15 and 10:30 to 11:30 at the Convention Hotel, Kansas City Marriott Downtown.  

Please sign up to judge either one or both of the preliminary rounds via Wejoinin.   (http://wejoinin.com/sheets/usknvhttp://wejoinin.com/sheets/usknv).  

This year’s problem addresses the following issues:

I.  Whether § 66.04 of the Apalsa Revised Statutes (“ARS”) precluding a public defender from withdrawing on the basis of excessive workload or lack of resource violates the right to effective assistance of counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

 A.  Whether ARS § 66.04 is facially unconstitutional.     

 B.  Whether ARS § 66.04 is unconstitutional as applied in this case.

 II.  Whether the sanctions imposed on Appellant by the Professional Ethics Board of the State Bar of Apalsa violated her rights under the Constitution of the United States.

A.  Whether the sanctions imposed for refusing to comply with a court order to represent a criminal defendant violate the Fifth Amendment right to due process.

B.  Whether the sanctions imposed for Appellant’s public statement regarding her refusal to comply with a court order to represent a criminal defendant violate the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of expression.

4th Annual NAPABA Pro Bono & Public Interest Summit

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Dear NAPABA members,

The Pro Bono Community Service Committee is pleased to invite you to the Pro Bono & Public Interest Summit on Thursday November 7 from 9-2 pm to kick off the 25th Annual NAPABA Convention. CLE credit is available.

This year’s Summit will feature panels on Health Care Reform and Immigration Reform and its impact on Asian Pacific American (APA) communities. We are pleased to have Delegate Mark Keam from the Virginia House of Delegates as our lunch speaker. Delegate Keam is the first APA immigrant to serve the General Assembly in Virginia’s 400 year history. He has a long history of community service, including a variety of local, state, and national organizations.

Pro bono is important to all of us. Each affiliate and each lawyer should be helping our communities in these efforts. Bar leaders are especially encouraged to attend. Even if you are not in bar leadership, this session will give you valuable insight into current issues, the state of the law and provide you with tools and knowledge to handle pro bono cases in your state. Many of you will want to have a clinic or other pro bono project this year—the Summit will help you accomplish that goal.

Attendance is free and lunch is available at a nominal cost. All lunch fee proceeds will be donated to Legal Aid of Western Missouri. Click here for more information on the Summit.

6th Annual NAPABA International Law Symposium

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NAPABA’s International Law Committee invites you to kick off the 25th Annual Convention early at the 6th Annual International Law Symposium on Thursday, November 7, from 11:30 am – 10:00 pm. CLE credit is available.

The Symposium will commence with a keynote luncheon, followed by three exciting panels on key international legal developments impacting both practitioners and in-house counsel, and concludes with a networking cocktail reception and dinner where you can meet colleagues from Asia, Latin America, and North America.

The Symposium and cocktail reception are included in your registration fee for the Annual Convention. The luncheon and dinner are separately ticketed events. More information about the symposium can be found by clicking here.

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From NAPABA:

We are now taking applications from senior associates for the 2013 Prospective Partners Program (PPP). We are also looking for In-House Counsel to participate in the program.

Senior associates interested in applying for the program must submit an application by October 21, 2013. Please click here for the application requirements and instructions.

Any In-House Counsel interested in participating in the program should click here for more information.

The objective of the PPP is to identify, either through nomination or application, 6-8 senior associates or of counsel at major law firms who are “on-deck,” i.e. within 12-18 months of consideration for partnership, and to introduce them to and allow them to individually pitch a similar (or greater) number of senior In-House Counsel (GCs or others with outside counsel hiring authority). The participants would not necessarily be pitching for specific work or projects but for the opportunity to get to know and show potential clients what they can do. There will also be a mentorship aspect where senior associates will be paired with partner mentors.

Please direct any questions to Angela Chen at [email protected] and copy Louisa Wang at [email protected] and Lee Cheng at [email protected] if you would like to participate.