Summer 2010 - APABA-DC
Transcription
Summer 2010 - APABA-DC
President’s Letter It’s hard to believe that the 2009-10 term has come to a close. It has truly been a privilege to serve as president of APABA-DC and to work with the dedicated and enthusiastic members of the 200910 board of directors. As APABA-DC approaches its 30th anniversary in 2011, we note proudly that the organization is thriving. Our membership this year surpassed the 500-member mark, and includes several judges, political appointees in the Obama administration, partners in many of DC’s largest law firms, in-house counsel in major corporations, and leaders of national and local APA public interest organizations. The Vice Presidents and Committee Co-Chairs deserve kudos for the numerous highquality programs presented this past year. Space prohibits me from commending the organizers of each of these excellent programs, but highlights include a members-only V O L U M E 3 , I S SU E 4 Tacie Yoon APABA-DC President, 2009-2010 dinner with three appellate advocacy experts, a panel discussion on alternative careers for lawyers, a program on how to become a judge, featuring U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan and D.C. Superior Court Associate Judge Florence Pan, and a program on running for office, featuring several prominent APA politicians, including Congressman Anh “Joseph” Cao, Congresswoman Judy Chu, and Virginia Delegate Mark Keam. New this year was the APABA-DC book club, which met quarterly and included participation by the authors of two of the selected works, a sushi making class at Kaz Sushi Bistro, and an end-of-year wine tasting for APABA-DC and AEF mentors and mentees. We continued our tradition of co-sponsoring and coordinating the annual Robert E. Wone Judicial Clerkship and Internship Conference, the annual Law Students Know Thy Career Options event, a speed networking event, and a mentor-mentee program. Our community service events included a “happy hour with a kick” self-defense workshop that benefited the Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project, our holiday book drive, and our staffing of the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Advice and Referral Clinic and the APALRC help line. The Bakunawas paddled to a gold medal in their division passing the U.S. Capitol, the Washington Monument, and other landmarks around the mall. Then, during the formal part of the program, four panelists answered questions and provided advice to help students think about their career options. The panelists included William Ho-Gonzalez, Deputy Chief, U.S. Department of Justice, Human President’s Letter 1 Law Students’ Event 1 2009-2010 APABADC Board of Directors 2 APABA-DC Bakunawas 2 Access to Justice 3 Alternative Careers Panel 3 Trivia Night! 4 Mediation CLE 5 General Counsels’ Panel 6 GAF Concludes Successful Year 7 NAPABA Conference: November 18-21 8 Mentoring/Wine Tasting Event 9 Continued on page 9. APABA-DC Hosts Annual Career Options Event For Law Students On June 15, 2010, Jones Day hosted APABA-DC’s annual career options event, “Law Students Know Thy Career Options.” The APABA Educational Fund and SABA-DC cosponsored the event. The program began with general networking and mingling among law students and practicing attorneys in Jones Day’s beautiful conference facility, with its sweeping views encom- SUMMER 2010 2010-2011 APABADC Board of Directors 10 Rights and Special Prosecutions Section; Myron Quon, Executive Director, Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Panelists speak at the Law Students’ Event hosted at Jones Day. From left to right: Ritu Singh (Jones Day); William Ho-Gonzalez (U.S. Dept. Cenof Justice); Ben Roca (Northrup Grumman); and Myron Quon ter; Benjamin (APALRC). David Hsu (APABA-DC) moderates. Roca, Senior President-Elect David Hsu Counsel, Northrup Grumman; served as the moderator. and Ritu Singh, Associate, Jones Day. APABA-DC Continued on page 5. APABA-DC 2009-2010 Board of Directors Tacie Yoon David Hsu Rosy Lor President President-Elect Crowell & Moring LLP United States Securities & Exchange Commission Immediate Past President Lei Mei Priya Nair VP, Communications VP, Membership Grace Wu de Plaza BNA, Inc. VP, Programs Mei & Mark LLP Internal Revenue Service Rudhir Patel VP, Comm. Affairs Fish & Richardson P.C. Nixon Peabody LLP Peter Sung Ohr Stephanie Yu Akira Irie Sujit Raman Nominations Secretary Treasurer Newsletter Editor National Labor Relations Board Environmental Protection Agency Finnegan U.S. Attorney’s Office Phong Nguyen Linda Kordziel Eunice Chung Anh-Thu Mai-Windle Partners’ Forum; Nominations Partners’ Forum Government Attorneys’ Forum Government Attorneys’ Forum U.S. Patent & Trademark Office U.S. Dept. of Justice Fish & Richardson P.C. Baker Hostetler LLP Angela Gaw Duong Taron Murakami Practicing Attorney Resource Practicing Attorney Resource U.S. Patent & Trademark Office Seyfarth Shaw LLP Benjamin Roca Ankur Shah In House Counsel Committee In House Counsel Committee Northrup Grumman Freddie Mac Mariel Lim Women’s Forum Sara Bakker Office of Congressman Albio Sires FINRA Tessie Abraham Women’s Forum Christopher Chan Office of Congressman Lee Terry Finnegan Women’s Forum APABA Educational Fund (AEF), ex officio Institutional affiliations are provided for identification purposes only. Congratulations to the APABA-DC Bakunawas! The APABA-DC Bakunawas competed in the annual DC Dragon Boat Festival for the third year in a row. The festival was held on two days, May 15-16, 2010, at the Thompson's Boathouse Center, near the Georgetown Waterfront along the Potomac River. APABA-DC members, family and friends joined us that weekend to watch the races and cheer us on! The team name, “Bakunawa,” comes from a Page 2 legend about a Philippine dragon or sea serpent. It was chosen to acknowledge our Asian heritage ual medals to commemorate the exciting weekend. The celebratory team dinner held on June 4, 2010 and to signify our strength. Enthusiasm, team spirit, and grueling paddling practices led the Bakunawas to win a Gold Medal in the 500 meter race in the "E" finals. Each team member received individ- capped off the 2010 dragon boat season. 2010 APABA-DC Bakunawas: David Hsu (Captain), Nhat Nguyen (Co-Captain), Jason Lagria (Team Manager and Co-Site Supervisor), Bill Ho-Gonzalez (Race Coach), Cathy Chen (Co-Food Manager), Marita Etcubañez (Co-Food Manager), Liz Lee (Co-Food Manager), John Truong (CoSite Supervisor), Chee Yuen Hung (Drummer), Sara Bakker, Nichole Cadiente, Anna Chu, Paramita Ghosh, Jeoyuh Lin, Anh MaiWindle, Liza Murcia, Justin Pan, Natasha Quiroga, Audrey Roh, Laura Shin, Brian Su, Nghia (Neo) Tran, Amy Yeung, and Janice Yun. — David Hsu Volume 3, Issue 4 APABA-DC Successfully Campaigns On Behalf Of Access To Justice This past May, APABA-DC participated in a successful campaign to save the D.C. Access to Justice program from drastic budget cuts that would have slashed the program to fifty percent of its fiscal year 2009 level and eliminated many of the important legal services the program provides to the city’s most underserved residents. As a result of a viral e-mail and letter writing campaign conducted by approximately sixty organizations and coalitions (plus the D.C. Bar and 25 former D.C. Bar presidents), the D.C. Government’s Committee of the Whole voted to fund the program in the amount of $3.5 million, rather than at the $1.8 million level proposed by Mayor Adrian Fenty. The Access to Justice Program supports civil legal services for indigent District residents, the Community Legal Interpreter Bank, and the Loan Repayment Assistance Program, and helps to ensure that poor District residents have access to attorneys to help them with urgent legal issues. Access to Justice Funding has had a dramatic impact across the city. It has deployed 30 new lawyers to some of the city’s poorest areas, established offices and eted, as already 12% of legal services lawyers and nearly 40% of support staff positions have been eliminated. The proposed cuts projects east of the Anacostia River, placed lawyers in National Children’s Medical Center Clinics, funded a lawyer who makes house calls to homebound elderly clients, and provided same day services to clients in landlordtenant court who are at risk of losing their homes. Further, because of the economic downturn, the need for legal services has skyrock- would have seriously harmed the ability of the network to provide critical services. To avert the funding cuts, APABA-DC sent letters to each of the members of the D.C. Council to urge them to support restoring funding for the D.C. Access to Justice Commission, and encouraged our membership to send additional e-mails and letters to the D.C. Council. As a result of our campaigning, and the hard work of several local and national organizations, the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary took the unusual step of producing a separate Committee Report on the Access to Justice Program. According to the report, the Committee was extremely impressed by the broad expression of support for the program from multiple segments of the legal community, and noted communications it had received from voluntary bar associations. The participation of APABA-DC and its members helped to underscore that the legal community is broadly supportive of access to justice and that as lawyers we understand the peril faced by litigants who have to confront legal crises alone. Thanks to all of you who helped support our campaign. — Rudhir Patel PAR Committee Hosts Panel On Alternative Careers On April 13, 2010, the Practicing Attorneys’ Resource Committee held a panel titled, “Alternative Careers for Lawyers: Find New Opportunities” at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP’s D.C. office. Panelists included Jeewon Kim, Policy Fellow at the House Democratic Caucus, Julie Liu, co-owner of Scion Restaurant, Alpha Lillstrom, Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Jon Tester, and Veronica Zeitlin, program management analyst at USAID’s Office of Women in Development. The panel was moderated by Eliza Park Musallum, Career Counselor at American University Washington College of Law. The panelists each discussed their transitions from practicing law to their “alternative” careers. Said attendee Andrew Wone, “The panel gave helpful insights on what it is like working on the Hill, doing advocacy work at a non-profit, and opening a small business. The program illustrated both the challenges of leaving traditional legal practice and the motivations for exploring a rewarding alternative career path.” Many thanks to Phil Olaya for planning the event and to Esther Park and Tricia Farringer at Morgan Lewis for hosting us. — Taron Murakami Summer 2010 Newsletter Page 3 RIVIA NIGHT! APABA-DC T Busboys & Poets June 22, 2010 Photos by Christopher Chan To see more photos from recent APABA-DC events, log onto the APABA-DC page on facebook.com! Page 4 Volume 3, Issue 4 APABA-DC Hosts Annual Event for Law Students, cont. Continued from page 1. The panelists described how they decided to pursue their career paths and how they obtained their positions. They also discussed recruiting and hiring practices at their places of employment and noted the importance of networking, obtaining advice, preparing for interviews and “selling” themselves. In addition, the panelists discussed the benefits and drawbacks of law firm, in-house, government and non-profit positions. Finally, the panelists provided advice about how students and new attorneys can succeed in their careers, by finding mentors, working hard, doing quality work and being involved at their places of employment. The evening concluded with networking at roundtables staffed by volunteer attorneys in private practice, government, inhouse, and public interest careers. About 70 students from the D.C. area and from law schools across the country and 25 attorneys attended the event. — David Hsu Attendees mingle at the June 15, 2010 APABA-DC Annual Career Options event for law students hosted by Jones Day. APABA-DC Members Sharpen Their Negotiation Skills On June 3, 2010, APABA-DC presented a 2-hour CLE program on “Negotiation and Advocacy in Mediation.” The instructors were Amy Wind, Chief Circuit Mediator for the D.C. Circuit and Judge Brian Kim of the District Court of Maryland for Montgomery County. Through a combination of lecture and interactive exercises, the attendees learned how negotiation skills can be used effectively in everyday Page 5 life as well as in the service of their clients. Judge Kim focused on negotiation strategies and styles, and the ten stages of negotiation. Ms. Wind explained what to expect in a mediation, how to prepare for a mediation, and how understanding the difference between interests and positions can help an attorney become a better negotiator. Both Ms. Wind and Judge Kim drew on their personal experiences to provide concrete examples of effective negotiation techniques. APABA-DC sincerely thanks Judge Kim and Ms. Wind for preparing and presenting the program, and Crowell & Moring LLP for hosting the event. Volume 3, Issue 4 Partners’ Forum & In-House Counsel Committee Host Panel On April 14, 2010, APABA-DC’s In-House Counsel Committee and Partner’s Forum presented a distinguished panel on the topic of “Changes in the Relationship between General Counsels and their Outside Attorneys.” The event was generously sponsored by Freddie Mac and hosted by Robert Bostrom, Freddie Mac Executive Vice President and General Counsel, and Ankur Shah, Freddie Mac Associate General Counsel and APABADC In-House Counsel Committee Co-Chair. The panelists were: Richard T. Choi, Partner at Jorden Burt, LLP; Christiana Lin, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of comScore, Inc.; Jessie K. Liu, Partner at Jenner & Block, LLP; Ho Shin, General Counsel of Octagon; and Michael Wu, General Counsel of Rosetta Stone, Inc. The panel was moderated by Benjamin Y. Roca, Senior Counsel at Northrop Grumman and APABA-DC In-House Counsel Committee CoChair. Mr. Bostrom opened the program with welcoming remarks. After panel introductions, Mr. Page 6 Roca described the depressed state of our economy and the challenges that these times present for both law firms and private corporations. This introduction led our panel to discuss product. However, Ms. Lin stated that predictability in costs is also key for a GC. Unexpected large bills are difficult to explain to her board and the issues that relationship partners and corporate law departments are facing and solutions for today’s challenges. Each panelist agreed that their organization must find ways to be more efficient. Employees all need to work harder and watch their budget. But Mr. Choi warned against being too frugal, which can result in an undesirable work product from outside counsel. He pointed out that billing rates at larger, more experienced law firms are higher, but generally so is the quality of the work management. When outside counsel provide advance notice of justifiable large legal expenses, a GC can more easily explain to their management (including their corporate board and shareholders) the need for such overhead expenses. Thus, law firms that provide the business case in advance for such large costs help maintain a firm’s good relationship with a corporation’s legal department. The current economy is also influencing corporations to retain specialized, more senior, outside legal counsel. The trend in these difficult economic times is to keep the basic legal research in-house and farm out the more complex legal issues. None of the GCs on the panel was interested in paying for legal work performed by a junior or firstyear associate. As a result, law firms are hiring fewer graduating law students or lateral associates with only a few years of experience. Managing a corporate legal budget is one of the main tasks of a GC and thus, finding the “right” outside counsel to handle complex legal issues is crucial. GCs need outside counsel who understand their business and have become more focused on hiring those with a proven track record. Thus, the reputation of a firm or individual become the key to hiring outside counsel. In addition, because fixed fee billing and alternative fee agreements are becoming the norm, firms that are more creative in that area are more attractive. Ms. Liu reminded the audience to try to find a Continued on page 8. Volume 3, Issue 4 APABA-DC GAF Wraps Up A Successful Year In response to the high demand for legal employment in the Federal Government, the Government Attorneys Forum of APABA-DC (GAF) organized several events this past term geared towards serving the interests of APABA-DC members. GAF wrapped up the year of various programs with two successful events oriented towards public service. On May 6, 2010, GAF sponsored a seminar on “Securing Legal Employment in the Federal Government” hosted by the law firm of White & Case in Washington, D.C. Representatives from the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Securities and Exchange Commission spoke to an audience of about sixty people. The two-part seminar consisted of a panel session and a breakout session. During the panel session moderated by Les Jin (DOJ, Civil Rights Division), panelists Gail Johnson (DOJ, Civil Division), Marc Sharma (SEC, Division of Investment Management), and John Walk (DHS, Office of the General Counsel) presented an overview on the hiring processes in their respective agencies, shared information on learning about legal job opportunities, and offered advice on securing legal employment with the Federal Government. The audience had further opportunities to speak with the three participating agencies during the breakout session. Paul Uyehara (DOJ, Civil Rights Division), Maya Samms (SEC, Recruitment Office), and Walt Cain (DHS, Office of the General Counsel) joined their colleagues in smaller group sessions where attendees gained additional insight on each participating agency’s hiring programs and needs. Participants walked Summer 2010 Newsletter away from the seminar with a better perspective of what to do and not to do and contacts for future employment prospects within the Federal Government. On June 30, 2010, GAF cosponsored a seminar on “Why and How to Start Your Own campaigning experiences with the audience, spoke about why more Asian Pacific Americans (“APAs”) need to run for office, and shared some DOs and DON'Ts of campaigning for office. In addition to personal anecdotes, the panel offered an Campaign For Office” with the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (“CAPAL”) and the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (“APAICS”). The law firm of Crowell & Moring in Washington, D.C., hosted the event attended by about sixty-five people. The panel discussion, opened by GAF Co-Chair Anh Mai-Windle and moderated by CAPAL Chair Gene Kim, presented an overview and components of running a campaign and concluded with three lessons summarized by APAICS Acting Executive Director Ruby Moy. Congressman Anh “Joseph” Cao (R-LA), Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA), Delegate Mark Keam (D-VA), Mayor Allan Fung (R-RI), and Councilwoman Patty Kim (DHarrisburg, PA) shared their overview of considerations in running for office. Those running for office should keep in mind the two primary campaign models involving either candidate or staff-driven campaigns, consider the advantages and disadvantages of these models, and decide which to pursue. A candidate should also be able to identify a campaign base of loyal followers. The panelists shared a common voice in encouraging APAs in particular to run for office. The interests of the community are best represented by individuals who share a similar mindset and understanding and can offer the community a voice in the political process. From the panelists’ perspective, APAs are underrepresented in the political arena. The panelists recommended certain DOs and DON’Ts in run- ning for office: DOs 1) Have your family’s support; 2) Think and speak as though you are already an elected officer; 3) Be yourself; and 4) Enjoy and embrace the process. DON’Ts 1) Don’t run without your family’s support; 2) Don’t run for your ego; 3) Don’t say anything just to get a vote; and 4) Don’t think beyond the election. Holding an elected office involves a lot of work but ultimately offers many rewards impacting a large community. An elected officer should strive for sincerity, dedication, and love for his or her constituents. Audience members were reminded that one can ultimately make a significant difference as an elected officer, but first one has to participate in the process by running for office. These two events along with the other activities GAF coordinated this year helped GAF to achieve its goals of serving the interests of APABA-DC members, increasing membership, and making a positive impact. The GAF Planning Committee capped the year with a happy hour to celebrate its accomplishments this term, transition to new leadership, welcome new members, and discuss ideas for future events. This is an exciting time with great opportunities to be involved with APABA-DC and GAF. Please contact co-chairs Anh Mai-Windle and Eunice Chung at gaf@apaba-dc.org if you are an APABA member interested in serving on the GAF Planning Committee. — Anh Mai-Windle & Eunice Chung Page 7 napaba 2436 poster.pdf C M Y CM MY CY CMY K 1/16/10 5:12:09 PM President’s Letter, cont. Partners’ Forum Event, cont. Continued from page 1. Continued from page 6. in the 500 meter race of the DC healthy work/life balance. She quipped, “cut yourself some slack. Do it for your own sanity and good health. You don’t get that time back. Use technology and be sure to take time out. Finding creative ways to balance work/life is important in challenging times.” Although some offices have begun to adopt alternative work schedules, Mr. Wu cautioned, and other GCs agreed, that in-house attorneys (probably more so than outside counsel) need to be visible during the core working hours of their clients. There was also a brief discussion of the use and promotion of diverse attorneys. Our corporate counsel panelists agreed that beyond race and ethnicity, using the best lawyers who do good work is what matters at the end of the day. If you are interested in participating in In-House Counsel Committee or Partners Forum activities, please send an e-mail to In-House@APABADC.org or Partners@APABA-DC.org. — Benjamin Roca Dragon Boat Festival, and once again, Trivia Night brought out the inner geek in many of us. In short, it has been an exciting and productive year. I’m pleased that the membership is so engaged. I am confident that incoming president David Hsu and the 2010-11 board will lead APABA-DC to even greater success in this anniversary year. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as your president and for your continuing support of APABA-DC. gtv|x lÉÉÇ <president@apaba-dc.org> Mentoring/Wine Tasting Event On June 5, 2010, the Practicing Attorneys’ Resource Committee hosted a wine tasting at the OCA National Center. Participants in both APABA-DC’s mentorship program and AEF’s mentorship program gathered on a hot Saturday afternoon and were treated to a tasting of French wines chosen by wine importer Ed Addiss, of Wine Traditions in Falls Church, Virginia. The event was an opportunity for mentors and mentees to meet and network with other mentorship program participants. Mentee Jason Chang said, “For all those moments where we are required by our profession to be sharp, analytical, and on the record, APABA-DC's wine tasting event is a refreshing way to relax in an informal setting over several bottles of reds and whites. I highly recommend this event to any young attorney who is interested in getting to know the APABA-DC community!” Thanks to Tacie Yoon, Mimi Rajapakse and Priya Nair who helped to plan the event, and to George Wu and Iimay Ho at OCA for hosting us! — Taron Murakami Page 9 Volume 3, Issue 4 Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington, D.C. Area, Inc. P.O. Box 27223 Washington, D.C. 20038-7223 apaba@apaba-dc.org <www.apaba-dc.org> Join us on facebook.com! (1) (2) Login at www.facebook.com Search for “APABA-DC” (3) Add us as a “friend” and keep updated with our events! Celebrating Nearly Thirty Years Of Professional And Community Service 1981-2010 The Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington, D.C. Area, Inc. ("APABA-DC") is an organization of over 500 members comprised of attorneys, law professors, law students, government officials, and other interested individuals. We are an organization dedicated to serving our members and advocating for the legal needs and interests of the Asian Pacific American community, the greater Washington D.C. area, and the legal profession. We want to hear from you! Congratulations to APABA-DC member Jennifer Choe Groves on her move to Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP from the White House Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. She is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office and has been appointed the Chair of the firm’s International Intellectual Property Rights and Entertainment practice. Jennifer can be reached at groves@hugheshubbard.com. We wish her the very best as she undertakes the next phase of her career. Newsletter articles (300 words or less) and Announcements (100 words or less) may be emailed to newsletter@apaba-dc.org. Any opinions expressed in the APABA-DC newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect APABA-DC policy or editorial concurrence. Publication of any written or graphical material or advertisement does not constitute an endorsement. The editors reserve the right to edit, accept or reject prospective materials or advertisements in accordance with their editorial judgment. Submit your newsletter article today! Summer 2010 Newsletter The Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington, DC area is proud to announce its 2010-2011 BOARD OF DIRECTORS President President-Elect Imm. Past President Treasurer Secretary VP, Communications VP, Community Affairs VP, Education VP, Membership VP, Programs David Hsu Rudhir Patel Tacie Yoon Annette Kwok Sara Bakker Mia Haessly Christopher Chan Anh-Thu Mai-Windle Priya Nair Lana Jeng Committee Co-Chairs will soon be announced.