National Asian Pacific American Lawyers Convene in Ariz.

　　　　　　Marian Yim Receives Top Award, George Chen becomes President

By Barry Wong, Convention Planning Co-Chair

(Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz.) Your double-take confirmation was right; you did see 1,500 Asian Pacific American (APA) lawyers and legal-types converging at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa last week from November 6-9, 2014 in Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona!

APA lawyers, law students, judges, academics and others related to the legal profession from throughout the United States attended the 2014 Convention of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) in Arizona. This annual convention moves around the country and was last in Arizona (also Scottsdale) in 2001 when the attendance was 300.

NAPABA represents the interests of 40,000 APA lawyers and 70 affiliates (local APA associations) across the country. It also advocates on issues of importance to the APA community including civil rights, and promotes appointment of APA judges on the federal bench.

Arizona Outsize Influence. The four day convention was an opportunity for legal professionals to network, learn from each other at seminars on a variety of topics and catch up with old friends and make new ones. The highlight was the Saturday Gala Dinner where awards were presented, new officers and board members inducted and a special speaker delivering a keynote address. Notable at the Gala’s start was the presentation of colors by the Color Guards of the American Legion Thomas Tang Post 50, named after the Korean War veteran and late Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals Judge.

Arizona lawyers, judges and luminaries had an outsized presence at the Convention. The Convention Chairman and Convention Planning Committee Co-chair was Phoenix-based intellectual property lawyer George Chen. Joining him as co-chairs were Phoenix attorneys Jared Leung, president of Arizona Asian American Bar Association (Arizona Asian Bar); Eileen Sullivan, NAPABA Southwest Regional Governor; and Barry Wong, a founding board member and past president of Arizona Asian Bar. These co-chairs were actively engaged in planning the convention for over a year. The attention to details made the difference in this successful convention.

Leadership Flows from Arizona. As president-elect, Chen was inducted as NAPABA president at the Gala Dinner; he will serve as president until next year’s convention. Following his induction he delivered his first-ever speech as NAPABA president to the over 1,200 Gala guests in the resort grand ballroom addressing his vision and plans for the upcoming year.

NAPABA’s top award, Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazers Award, was presented at a Friday evening ceremony and reception to five honorees including Arizona’s Marian Yim. Yim, a founding board member and the inaugural president of Arizona Asian Bar, was recognized for her years of advocating for rights, fairness and advancement of APAs.

Further Arizonan involvement at the Convention extends to the late Ninth Circuit Federal Appeals Judge Thomas Tang and his wife, Pearl Tang, M.D. Years earlier, NAPABA named its Moot Court Competition after the late judge who was one of the initial supporters of NAPABA’s formation. The competition pitted APA law students from around the country against one another to argue cases in an appellate court setting. Pima County Judges Ken Lee and Paul Tang helped judge the competition. Atlanta Judge Alvin Wong led the awards ceremony with Dr. Pearl Tang helping to present the awards to the competition winners.

Supporting Military. The Convention concluded Sunday morning with a Service Project where NAPABA partners with a local charity. This year’s Service Project, directed by convention planning committee co-chair Wong, partnered with Phoenix-based non-profit ”Packages from Home” (PFH) where care boxes of comfort food and snacks are sent to military personnel stationed overseas. NAPABA donated over $10,000 to PFH and arranged for 150 convention volunteers to pack over 300 care boxes.

Convention attendees gave high marks for this Convention including comments about the relaxed Southwest setting, the friendly atmosphere and the open spaces around the venue and city. They also commented about the ideal temperatures during the four days, with average highs in low 80’s and lows in mid- to upper 50’s – the one thing the planning co-chairs could not take credit but could only smile. With the success of the Convention, planning co-chairs Chen, Leung, Sullivan and Wong, and Arizona ended up on a high note!