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HONORED DURING NAPABA’S 23RD


ANNUAL


CONVENTION IN ATLANTA, GA., WERE:


Proloy K. Das, Partner, Rome McGuigan, P.C


Princeton Kim, Partner, Reed Smith LLP


Sarah G. Kim, Counsel, Bingham McCutchen


Curtis Arthur Kin, Chief, General Crimes Section, U.S. Attorney’s Offi ce


Eumi Kim Lee, Professor, University of California, Hastings College of the Law


Bobby Liu, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, M.D. Sass


Jessie K. Liu, Partner, Jenner & Block LLP


Anh-Thu Mai-Windle, Senior Litigation Counsel, Civil Division Offi ce of Immigration Litigation, U.S. Department of Justice


38


Jane Oak, Principal, Law Offi ces of Jane Oak & Associates, PC


Byung “BJay” Pak, Partner, Schiff Hardin LLP


Julian Poon, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher


Liani Jean Heh Reeves, Chief Legal Advisor for Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber


Willard C. Shih, Shareholder, Wilentz Goldman & Sptizer


Bryce A. Suzuki, Associate, Bryan Cave LLP


Shiraz D. Tangri, Partner, Alston & Bird LLP


Vivan Lee Thoreen, Partner, Holland & Knight LLP


My Chi To, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP


William K. Tong, Representative, Connecticut House of Representatives


Kay K. Wakatake, Budget Offi cer, U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps


Pauline Yeung-Ha, Partner, Grimaldi & Yeung LLP


offi ce, many have won state and national recognition, and others have volunteered over 100 hours of pro bono service.


BREAKING BARRIERS Recent studies from the National Association of Law Placement show the steady increase of APA lawyers despite the economic downturn in the United States, where APA lawyers make up about 50 percent of all minority associates. However, when the ratio of APA associates and partners are compared, fi gures show the barrier of APA associates not moving up the career ladder. Part of NAPABA’s goal for the BU40 Award is to help the best APA lawyers break those barriers and move up in their career paths. As Goh states, “whether this is a function of upbringing or culture or institutional obstacles, many APA lawyers recoil from touting their own achievements and, as a result, often become their fi rm’s or company’s best-kept secret. NAPABA’s BU40 Award provides a platform to showcase the tremendous talent and achievements of our younger lawyers, and to put a spotlight on what otherwise might have remained in the dark.” For some in this year’s BU40 class,


breaking barriers within the workplace and community comes with the job. As honoree Liani Reeves, chief legal advisor for Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber, notes about the APA attorney population in Oregon, “T ere aren’t very many of us, so it is easy to stand out. But there are still glass ceilings and stereotypes that all minority attorneys face. T e biggest issue for me has been as a young Asian female trial attorney. I don’t fi t the mold of the traditional trial attorney and have had to overcome misassumptions and stereotypes that others have about me and my ability to be an eff ective litigator. Now that I am established in my career, I know that I can serve as a role model and mentor for other young APA attorneys and I take this responsibility very seriously.”


SUSTAINING COMMUNITY Honoree Shiraz Tangri, partner at Alston & Bird LLP, stands out for being the


chair of his fi rm’s Southern California pro bono committee while also serving as co-chair of the NAPABA Pro Bono and Community Service Committee, where he has helped organize all three Pro Bono and Public Interest Summits at the NAPABA Convention since they were established in 2009. Tangri also helped partner NAPABA with Kids In Need of Defense (KIND), an organization started by Microsoft and actress Angelina Jolie to provide unaccompanied and undocumented minors with pro bono representation in legal proceedings. He provides pro bono services to KIND and continues to work with them in both their lawyer training and recruitments eff orts. Other BU40 honorees have chosen


public service careers in order to give back. One of them, Anh-T u Mai-Windle, senior litigation counsel with the Offi ce of Immigration Litigation of the U.S. Department of Justice, recalls develop- ing a sense of justice as a child. “On the playground and at home, I embraced the concepts of fairness and individual rights at an early age. I also loved the stories of my grandfather who had been a prominent judge and politician in Vietnam, known for his principles and contributions to the Vietnamese people… Although my family had encouraged me to pursue a career in medicine, I realized the law was a means by which I could help others and challenge myself while engaging in activi- ties I enjoyed… Understanding the law provided tools for empowering individuals and society,” Mai-Windle says. Being active in the community provided


a path to success for such honorees as Sarah G. Kim, counsel at Bingham McCutchen LLP. Kim is president of the NAPABA affi liate chapter Asian American Lawyer’s Association of Massachusetts, charged with assessing the needs of members and ensur- ing that the organization moves forward in its endeavors in guiding young lawyers. Outside of the legal world, Kim fi nds the time to be a director of the Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence, an orga- nization that she has volunteered for since her undergraduate years at Dartmouth College. She is also an advisory board


DIVERSITY & THE BAR® JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012


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