In-House Counsel, Minority Issues

In Memoriam: Celebrating The Life Of Lawyer Trinh Huynh

A Vietnamese refugee and Princeton grad with a Southern twang, an infectious laugh, and a commitment to helping others.

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Toni Nguyen (left) and Trinh Huynh (right)

Toni Nguyen (left) and Trinh Huynh (right)

UPDATE (4/28/2017, (9:15 a.m.): Please note the UPDATE below, information about how to contribute to the Trinh Huynh Hope Fund.

“Never had I imagined / Living without your smile / Feeling and knowing you hear me / It keeps me alive, alive.” — Mariah Carey

Last week, in a senseless act of violence, Trinh Huynh, an in-house attorney for UPS, was gunned down during rush hour in Midtown Atlanta. This incident is hardly isolated. It is part of a disturbing, noticeable pattern.

Trinh was a political refugee from Vietnam, who arrived in the U.S. in 1979 as a young child. She is survived by her mother, who lives in Gainesville, Georgia, and four sisters. Last Thursday, hundreds of people attended a candlelight vigil in Huynh’s honor.

Last Friday, I attended a lunch ceremony hosted by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) and the State Bar of Texas Asian Pacific Interest Section (APIS), where we shared a moment of silence to honor Huynh.

Prior to the moment of silence, Lisa Tsai and Toni Nguyen, fellow attorneys and friends of Huynh, delivered stirring tributes to the life of Huynh. This week, I had the opportunity to talk to them more about this beautiful soul. From our conversation, it is clear she will be missed tremendously.

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To cope with such loss, we often construct narratives to make sense of these types of tragedies. While it is often hard to articulate the pain and meaning from such loss, I found my conversation with Tsai and Nguyen, as well as the following messages below, quite inspiring. I hope you do as well.

Here is a (lightly edited and condensed) write-up of our conversation.

Trinh Huynh (left) and Lisa Tsai (right)

Trinh Huynh (left) and Lisa Tsai (right)

Renwei Chung (RC): For those who weren’t able to attend the NAPABA and APIS Southwest Regional Conference, can you share with us how you originally met Huynh and your first impressions of her?

Lisa Tsai (LT):  I met Trinh when we were classmates at Princeton University.  Trinh and I co-chaired the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at Princeton during our freshman year.  I remember thinking that I had never met another person quite like her – she was a Vietnamese refugee with an authentic Southern twang and a truly American sense of humor.

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RC: You mentioned that you felt an instant connection with Huynh because of your similar journey. Can you expound on this?

Toni Nguyen (TN):  Trinh escaped communist Vietnam as a political refugee, together with her family, arriving in the U.S. in 1979 when she was just two or three years old.  I also escaped Vietnam with my family and arrived in the U.S. in 1979 when I was eight years old. Like me, she started her career at a big firm and found her way in-house. According to our mutual friend and her former Alston & Bird colleague, Kevin Lyn, she was quite excited to be at UPS—a job she started in the last year or so.

Unlike me, she took time off between her firm life and in-house career to trek around the world (and I’m jealous of her). The adventurous side of her gave in and allowed her to share her journey around the world with her friends and colleagues, and to give a little of her wonderful self to each place she visited. We are all better for having met Trinh.

RC: What made Huynh so special?

LT:  Trinh was a beautiful soul who marched to the beat of her own drum.  In a crowd of strangers, Trinh stood out because, among other things, she was smart, funny, witty, vivacious, and fun-loving.  But if you knew her, the thing you would come to appreciate the most was her heart of gold.

RC: What will you miss most about Huynh?

LT:  In a world that can be pessimistic and despairing, Trinh was an eternal optimist and lover of life.  She glowed from the inside out, and she shared that light with everyone she encountered – whether that be a friend, classmate, colleague, acquaintance, or stranger.  She will be greatly missed.

TN: She and I would laugh about how we are so linked to our Vietnamese culture and yet defy the typical Asian female stereotype. We both can be outgoing, social, outspoken, at times loud and not afraid to ask for things. At the same time, we both are overachievers, desiring to please our parents because of the sacrifice they made to bring us to the U.S. for a better life and striving to make a meaningful difference in the world through our work and the people we touch.

RC: How do you think Huynh should be remembered?

LT:  Trinh should be remembered by the way she chose to live her life.  Having faced extreme adversity at a young age, Trinh could have allowed that experience to scar and oppress her.  Instead, she did the opposite, proudly sharing her story to inspire others, and helping the most needy and vulnerable in our society.  We should all strive to be more like Trinh.

RC: Is there anything else about Huynh that you would like to share with our audience?

LT:  Trinh had the most contagious laugh.  When I think of her, I can only remember laughing together.  I think we would all be lucky to leave such a joyous legacy.

TN: I want to thank you for the opportunity to remember Trinh.

RC: On behalf of everyone here at Above the Law, we would like to thank you both for sharing your time with us to commemorate Trinh Huynh.

In honor of Trinh Huynh, Above the Law would also like to share the following statements.

By Daniel Huynh (provided statement to the Vietnamese Bar Association of Georgia):

Trinh was one of those special people. She knew how to light up a room; her personality certainly filled one up. Trinh was the very first Vietnamese attorney I had ever met. My first day at work, she called me and welcomed me. I thought to myself that it was great to have another Vietnamese attorney doing so well and working at the same firm! She immediately told me that my first day was one of her last. She jokingly said that there couldn’t be two Huynh’s here. I then learned that Trinh was off to start her trek around the world. This wouldn’t surprise anyone that knew her; she was a free spirit in the best way.

I watched Trinh travel the world and become instant friends with anyone in hugging distance. I saw her mentor students at Grady High School here in Atlanta and champion the rights of others. What Trinh taught me is that there is much more in this world than the day to day. There are places to explore, friends to cherish, and family to love. From all accounts, Trinh was very good at all those things. In her memory, let’s all remember to take a little more time to explore, cherish, and love. She will be missed.

By Chery Naja:

Trinh could easily be described in so many ways: a great friend, terrific lawyer, a globetrotter, witty, passionate, vivacious, humble, etc., but I can describe her best as a volunteer. But not the kind of volunteer who sought pro bono hours to meet billable hour requirements and certainly not the kind of volunteer who wanted recognition. Trinh volunteered to help with things that mattered to her and she was passionate about these things.

I got to know Trinh through her pro bono work. While helping with some “credible fear” interviews, I met a young Liberian woman who was detained and applying for asylum. At the age of ten this young client had seen her father’s murder and was then kidnapped by a warlord and held as a child bride for four long years. Somehow this 14-year-old girl managed to escape, get from Liberia to a refugee camp in Ghana (via the Ivory Coast) on foot, and save every penny to finally buy an airline ticket to get to the U.S. This client had been tortured and exploited in unimaginable ways and we needed a female attorney to work with the client. One of our male attorneys signed on to help with her case but we needed a compassionate female attorney working with the client.  Trinh volunteered.

Last year when I met Trinh for coffee to hear about some of her most recent travels I mentioned an opportunity for her to get involved with the Georgia Asylum & Immigration Network. There was no thinking twice about getting involved. She volunteered.

When I think of Trinh I’m reminded of the quote, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” Trinh gave us all so much.

By Aaron Block:

Part of Trinh’s genius — and I have to think this comes from her experience — was to see connections rather than divisions, what could and should be rather than what just was. It seemed effortless, like part of her DNA, but she actually put a lot of effort into living her principles.

That’s why this loss is felt beyond her wide circle of friends. Whether you knew her or not, we’re all poorer now.

But we can and should learn from her example and be deliberate and compassionate in how we live our personal and professional lives. That part of Trinh is still here.

By Kevin Lyn (friend and former colleague at Alston Bird):

With her humble and unassuming manner, which was so uniquely Trinh, I’m sure she would be overwhelmed by this recognition by APIS.

When we were both with Alston & Bird so many years ago, we worked in different offices.  We did not see each other frequently, but bonded through our involvement with the Diversity Committee and with such organizations as NAPABA and APIS.  After we both left the firm, we would see each other periodically at a GAPABA meeting or at the NAPABA conference, and would immediately pick up as if there was never any interruption by distance or time.  The last time I saw Trinh was at last year’s NAPABA conference in San Diego.  At that time, she had recently started with UPS and was so incredibly excited about being specifically recruited by UPS to do the kind of legal work she loved to do.  And we agreed to catch up the next time I got down to Atlanta.  It is heartbreaking to realize that we will no longer have that next chance to catch up.

A refugee from Vietnam, Trinh was proud and strong-willed, yet very grateful for the opportunities afforded to her by her adopted country.  She was always looking for ways to give back and to help others succeed, always with a smile and unmatched enthusiasm.  Trinh was one of those rare people who somehow managed to maintain a balanced perspective, regardless of the pressures of life or profession.  She was a great lawyer and, most importantly, a truly wonderful person.

As much as Trinh’s death is difficult for those close to her, it is a tremendous loss for the APA legal community, as she was definitely making a difference.

I’m privileged and honored to have been her colleague and friend.

By Dave Winter (former Grady High Teacher, now at McCallum):

We shared a lot of students. She worked with the mock trial kids at Grady. The Grady mock trial program is one of the best in the country. She was loved by a lot of amazing kids that were on my old newspaper staff. My Facebook feed has been filled with sad posts about how tragic and senseless her murder was. Just awful.

By Carl Gebo (Grady’s Mock Trial Team Coach):

Trinh touched and inspired and helped so many people in her young life that there are armies of folks ready and willing to do what they can to honor her memory by continuing that kind of helping work….

Trinh was a Force of Nature. A Tsunami of Energy, & Resilience packed into an itty-bitty living space. She did not stop for nothing!

We can do more than one thing at a time. And if some of us need to take a minute along the way, that’s cool, that’s why we have spares.

Now, make sure you tell your mom and dad and your siblings that you love them because life is precious.

And let’s do some stuff.

By Above the Law:

Rest in peace, Trinh Huynh. Your presence will be missed in the legal community, but your legacy will remain throughout the world.

From Vietnam to Atlanta, and everywhere in between, you will always be remembered for your resilience, determination, passion, generosity, free spirit, and laugh—the most contagious laugh.

On Wednesday, the legal world lost another luminary.

Rest in peace, Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam.

UPDATE (4/28/2017, (9:15 a.m.): After publication, I received this message from Dao Huynh, Trinh’s sister:

I’m Trinh’s younger sister and am also an attorney (I work for Orrick in SF). I wanted to thank you for the lovely ATL article you wrote on Trinh with her friends Lisa and Toni. I remember Lisa from Princeton (I was two years behind Trinh and Lisa), but don’t know Toni personally. My family really appreciated reading their memories of our dear Trinh.

Our family started a memorial fund in Trinh’s honor, which will go toward scholarships/grants, and I was hoping you could add it to the end of the article. I know the article has already been published, but in case folks wish to contribute, I’d like them to know that this is one way to honor Trinh’s legacy.

The link is below. The Designation currently defaults to The Trinh Huynh Hope Fund, but please note that folks who wish to donate should make sure to select her fund:

https://www.ngcf.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=391

Thanks again for your tribute. She was so dearly loved and she continues to light our way.

Renwei Chung is the Diversity Columnist at Above the Law. You can contact Renwei by email at [email protected], follow him on Twitter (@renweichung), or connect with him on LinkedIn.

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