B 40est Lawyers UNDER


NAPABA’s 30


NAPABA’s 2010 Honorees Share the Inspirational Stories of Their Road to Success


BY PATSY Y. MICALE AND MICHELLE K. SUGIHARA


Te National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) recognized 20 of the nation’s most talented and accomplished lawyers under 40 at its 22nd annual national convention in Los Angeles last November. Te convention’s theme was “Inspire,” and the stories of the 2010 class of Best Lawyers Under 40 (BU40) are nothing short of inspirational. Tis distinguished group of Asian Pacific American (APA) attorneys is comprised of small and large law firm attorneys, in-house counsel, public interest attorneys, government attorneys, and a recently appointed magistrate judge. “We are proud of NAPABA’s Best Under 40 award


winners, as not only they have demonstrated a strong com- mitment to community and professional affairs, they are amongst the best young lawyers in the country,” proclaims Paul O. Hirose, of counsel at Perkins Coie and president of NAPABA. Jim Goh, a partner at Holland & Hart LLP and chair of NAPABA’s BU40 selection committee, agrees. “Tese individuals are prominent in their chosen field of legal endeavor. Tey have tried and won major cases; they have handled complex deals; they have received coveted judicial appointments; and they have shown a clear com-


JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011 DIVERSITY & THE BAR®


mitment to community and public service, particularly for the APA community—and they have done all of this at a relatively early stage in their careers.”


INSPIRATIONAL BEGINNINGS Family and ethnic background influenced several of this


year’s honorees to pursue their careers in law. Raj Natarajan, a partner at McGuireWoods LLP, was inspired to become the next lawyer in his family when he learned that his great- grandfather, who was a freedom fighter, civil court judge, and leader in the Indian National Congress in the 1890s, was the last lawyer in the family. Similarly, Ash Mishra, Senior Legal Counsel with General Mills, Inc., decided to become an attorney after a summer trip to his village in India. “On one of those trips, I recall a policeman slapping a rickshaw driver after [he] had an accident with a car. I witnessed the entire event and did not think that the rickshaw had been at fault. From my vantage point, the policeman was punishing the driver (lower caste) because he was trying to appease the owner of the car (upper caste). Tis triggered an early interest in all things related to international human rights and the


MCCA.COM


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52