Minami Tamaki at the 22nd Annual NAPABA Conference
By Eunice Yang
I attended my first National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) conference in Los Angeles this past November with partners Dale Minami and Brad Yamauchi. NAPABA’s 22nd annual theme of ‘Inspire’ celebrates the achievements of dynamic Asian American Pacific Islander individuals in the community, collegiality among NAPABA members, and elevation of AAPI attorneys to new heights.
A record-breaking 1,600 attendees included an impressive group of legal, business, and government leaders and future leaders. I met a number of civil rights attorneys and general counsels of multinational corporations. Attendees from all walks of the community mixed and mingled. It was truly inspiring to meet colleagues who have contributed so much to our communities.
I met a powerhouse group of judges including: California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye; Federal Court Judges (Hon. Denny Chin, 2nd. Cir. Court, Hon. Anthony Ishii, U.S. Dist. Court, Eastern Dist., Hon. Dolly Gee, U.S. Dist. Court, Central Dist.), and Superior Court Judges (Hon. Russell Hom, Sacramento, Hon. Richard Sueyoshi, Sacramento, Hon. Dale Ikeda, Fresno, Hon. Miko Uchiyama, Fresno, and Hon. Peter Sakai, Texas).
I also had a chance to reconnect with judges who inspired and continue to encourage me, including Hon. Erica R. Yew of the Santa Clara County Court, Hon. Lucy Koh of the U.S Distrist Court, Northern District, and recently appointed Hon. Dan Nishigaya of the Santa Clara County Court, as well as District Court nominee Magistrate Judge Edward M. Chen and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Goodwin Liu. Despite both being highly qualified, both Chen’s and Liu’s nominations have been stonewalled in the Senate by political gamesmanship, an issue that was the topic of many conversations at the conference. During the conference, we reconnected with old friends and mentors and made several new ones.
The conference offered a robust plenary and program of speakers, various symposiums ranging from IP summit to Public Interest summit, pro bono opportunities, and an array of insightful panels including.
Our Minami Tamaki delegation was active in the conference program. Dale was on the “Korematsu to Hamdan: Executive Threats to Civil Liberty,” panel with the two attorneys for the Hamdan v. Rumsfeld case and discussed the executive encroachments on civil liberties during times of war and legal responses thereafter. Dale also hosted the Trailblazers award for the Conference.
Brad connected with small firms and civil rights group, and is spearheading a group for a Plaintiffs’ Bar and referral contact list. I attended the Young Lawyer’s event, First Time Attendee’s event, and a number of CLE seminars. I received almost all of my MCLE requirements at the conference!
We received a great deal of positive feedback about our firm’s newsletters and people are recognizing our success in various practice groups. We also shared more background about our firm to several attendees, including several law students, who were impressed with our broad practice areas.
The conference was extremely productive for all us and reinforced the reason why we continue to be active in professional organizations like NAPABA.