Speak Up, Rise Up, Lift Up
Congratulations to the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) on the success of its annual dinner.
Cipriani Wall Street, about an hour before the dinner (via AABANY)
On Wednesday night, I dusted off the old tuxedo (which thankfully still fit) and headed down to Cipriani Wall Street for the 27th annual dinner of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY). I greatly enjoyed last year’s banquet, so I was looking forward to this year’s festivities (which sold out weeks in advance).
After welcoming remarks from the dashing emcee, Richard Lui of MSNBC, outgoing president William Wang conducted a year in review for AABANY. He mentioned the successful 2015 Fall Conference, featuring a Diversity Career Fair, and the valuable work of the Judiciary Committee, which helped several candidates attain judicial office. But there’s still work to be done on that front: Wang identified the goal of having the first Asian-American Supreme Court justice (before an audience that included a few possibilities, including Judge Denny Chin of the Second Circuit and Judge Pamela Chen of the Eastern District of New York (who would also be the first openly LGBT justice)).
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The first honor of the evening, AABANY’s Women’s Leadership Award, went to Michelle K. Lee, the first woman to ever serve as director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In her acceptance speech, Lee praised and thanked Ray Ocampo, former general counsel of Oracle, who inspired her as a young lawyer by demanding diverse legal teams from outside counsel during his many years as Oracle’s chief legal officer. Ocampo helped create opportunities for minority lawyers — and Lee keeps his example in mind in her own efforts to promote equal opportunity in the law.
(I had the pleasure of having dinner with Ray Ocampo on my recent visit to the Bay Area for some book events. Ocampo’s a fascinating individual — not just a successful lawyer, but also a former Olympic luge contestant and avid ballroom dancer.)
Last year, AABANY awarded two Don H. Liu scholarships to deserving law students; this year, it upped the number to three. Xerox general counsel Don Liu presented the first $15,000 scholarshp to Nora Boujida, who overcame homelessness as a youth on her way to graduating from college and matriculating at St. John’s Law, where she’s now a 1L. The second scholarship went to Marleen Singh, a 1L at Cardozo who has distinguished herself through developing youth education and mentoring programs. Jin Uk Kim, a 1L at Harvard, received the final scholarship; he was a leader in the Asian-American community as a Yale undergrad and founded an LGBT affinity group at his post-college workplace.
Cleary Gottlieb took home the Law Firm Diversity Award. Accepting the honor, partner Victor L. Hou jokingly expressed hope for a world in which “we are judged not by the color of our skin, our sexual orientation, or our gender, but by our willingness to work weekends.”
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The Corporate Counsel Leadership Award went to Ivan Fong, former general counsel of the Department of Homeland Security and current general counsel of the 3M Company. The theme of Fong’s remarks came from a Biblical quotation: “Don’t hide your light under a bushel,” i.e., don’t be too shy about discussing your own accomplishments. All too often, Asian-American lawyers refrain from talking about themselves and what they’ve achieved. While humility is a value, there is a place for (appropriately and tastefully) making clear what you’ve contributed to a company or organization.
(Side note: Fong delivered an excellent speech, but I fear many attendees couldn’t hear him due to the din in the room, caused in large part by conversation during his remarks. This was a recurring problem throughout the evening, despite Richard Lui’s valiant and repeated efforts to quiet the room. The theme of this year’s conference was “speak up, rise up, lift up”; perhaps “shut up” (when someone else is talking) should have been added.)
AABANY’s incoming president, Arnold & Porter partner Susan Shin, closed the evening with some reflections on AABANY’s mission: in a nutshell, “helping each other.” She noted that many Asian-American lawyers, often the children of first-generation immigrants, think the way to succeed is by walking a straight line, keeping one’s head down, and doing good work. But while doing good work is important, working together — through organizations like AABANY — is also crucial.
“It’s not a race,” Shin said. “We can all rise by lifting up one another.”
(Flip to the next page to see some photos from the evening.)
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