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Please save the date: October 28, 2008, Fourth Annual Banquet.  Venue: Triple Door, 216 Union Street, Seattle, WA.  Reception to start at 5:00 pm, and Dinner & Program from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. 

 

This year’s theme for our Fourth Annual Banquet will be “Ambassadors to Our Communities.” 

 

VABAW is pleased and honored to feature our keynote speaker, Jerilyn Brusseau co-founder and President of PeaceTrees Vietnam.  PeaceTrees Vietnam works alongside the Vietnamese people to help build a safe and healthy future by removing landmines, clearing unexploded ordnances, and planting trees.  For more information about PeaceTrees Vietnam, visit http://peacetreesvietnam.org/  For an interview of Jerilyn Brusseau on KUOW 94.9 FM about Cinnamon Diplomacy, please click here (Jerilyn is also known for creating the cinnamon roll recipe that Cinnabon uses.)

 

Invitations will be sent in August.  For details, please contact VABAW Banquet Chair and President-Elect Thi Huynh at thi@huynhlaw.com 

 

For information about sponsoring the Fourth Annual Banquet, please click here.

 

 

 
2008: Ambassadors to Our Communities

Due to the generosity of our corporate and individual sponsors, VABAW Foundation created the Hồng Đức student clerkship in Vietnam. VABAW Foundation will partner with a law firm in Ho Chi Minh City and/or Hanoi, Vietnam who will host a law student for summer 2008 and provide the student with substantive legal work and client relations. VABAW Foundation will provide airfare, housing, and reasonable living expenses for the law student. VABAW Foundation's Hồng Đức student clerkship will assist in outreach efforts to the Vietnamese community in Washington and abroad while also providing the law student with a unique clerkship experience from an international perspective in a fast emerging country.  For more information about VABAW Foundation's Hồng Đức Clerkship, click on this link.  To read about the recipient of our 2008 Hồng Đức Clerkship, please click here.
 
We have welcomed back to our Board our 2006 President Alice Wong, and welcome two new board members Ty Ho and Tien Nguyen.

VABAW has joined as an affiliate member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (“NAPABA”). Seattle will be the location of the 20th Annual NAPABA conference in November 20-22, 2008.

We have exciting programs for 2008 which include:
  • A continuation of the one-day legal workshop to provide advice to the Vietnamese community, with the advice presented in Vietnamese by our bilingual attorneys. The Legal Workshop for the Vietnamese Community will be on September 13, 2008, from 8 am to 4 pm at the Chinese Information and Services Center (611 South Lane Street, Seattle).  Click here for the flyer. For further information, contact VABAW President-Elect Thi Huynh at thi@huynhlaw.com
  • VABAW will be a co-sponsor and co-organizer of the Third Annual Statewide Diversity Conference to be held on May 30, 2008.
  • VABAW members are also serving on the planning committee for the Third Annual National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys (NCVAA) to be held in San Francisco on August 15-16, 2008.


VABAW participated in the Little Saigon Spring Clean-Up with the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDpda) on April 19, 2008. Nine VABAW members braved the cold, snow, sleet and rain to paint over graffiti in the Little Saigon area.  For photos from the event, click here and scroll down to the pictures from the event.  We hope you can join us next year for this event as VABAW continues its community service outreach and projects.

 

And the highlight of 2008 will be our Fourth Annual Banquet on October 28, 2008.  Venue: Triple Door, 216 Union Street, Seattle, WA.  Reception to start at 5:00 pm, and Dinner & Program from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.  For details, please contact VABAW Banquet Chair and President-Elect Thi Huynh at thi@huynhlaw.com. At our Fourth Annual Banquet, we will discuss the success of the Hồng Đức student clerkship in Vietnam. For information about sponsoring the Fourth Annual Banquet, please click here.

 

 

Formation and Goal (Tôn Chỉ)


The Vietnamese American Bar Association of Washington ("VABAW") was formed in 2005. Our goal is to provide mutual support for attorneys in the advancement of their careers, be a trusted guide and resource for students who aspire towards the legal profession, serve as a voice for the local Vietnamese American community, and represent Vietnamese American attorneys within the State Bar. Our current membership includes practicing attorneys from Seattle, greater King county, and Snohomish county.

Past Successes and Programs (Lịch Sử)

In 2006, VABAW celebrated two cultural membership events: Tet (the lunar new year) and Tet Trung Thu (the moon autumn festival). We also implemented our attorney-law student mentoring program. VABAW also participated in the 16th Annual “Walk for Rice” sponsored by the Asian Counseling and Referral Service.

The highlight of 2006 was our second annual banquet. Almost 200 guests were in attendance, including 40 dignitaries comprised of WSBA Board of Governors, judges, representatives of each minority bar association, leaders from local organizations throughout King County, and representation from Seattle University, University of Washington, Gonzaga University, and Lewis & Clark. Our event was mentioned in 4 local newspapers in both English and Vietnamese, together totaling a circulation of nearly 75,000. Professor Wendy Duong, our keynote speaker, gave a passionate speech reminding Vietnamese American attorneys of the need to overcome stereotypes, to always remember where we come from, and most importantly to use the law profession as a means to “supply ourselves with the podium in life from which we can speak” to make a difference in our profession, communities, and global society.  To read Professor Duong's speech, click here.
 
2007: Embracing Our Heritage

• We increased our membership base. Our paid members, their practice areas, and their language skills are listed on our website at http://vabaw.com/practiceareas.aspx

• VABAW held two quarterly membership events to provide opportunities for attorneys, law students, judges, and community members to network, socialize, and connect to each other.

• In April 2007, VABAW held a reception for our first Vietnamese American judge in Washington state, Judge Tam Bui. Judge Bui is an inspiration to all the Vietnamese American attorneys to pursue our personal and professional goals.

• We continued our work with the other minority bar organizations on various issues and community events that affect diversity in the legal profession, including the Washington State Joint Asian Judicial Evaluation Committee (JAJEC) and the Statewide Diversity Conference.

• We have heeded the call and will continue to provide our support to various community organizations serving the Vietnamese community. We organized and participated in a one-day legal workshop which provided advice on immigration, business law, and family law—with the advice and discussion translated into Vietnamese.  To see the flyer on the one-day legal workshop, click here.

• On April 28, 2007, five VABAW board members accompanied Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed on his Trade and Research Mission to Vietnam. A diverse group of 28 individuals from business, government and nonprofit sectors took part in representing Washington State. The trip was also marked by brief visits to Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Seoul. One of the highlights of the trip was the Trade Mission’s visit with the Vice-Chairwoman of Ho Chi Minh City, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hong (pictured below). We invite you to read more about our Trade and Research Mission to Vietnam at //http://vabaw.com/trademission.aspx.


• Due to the support of our sponsors, membership, and friends, our Third Annual Banquet was a success.  Read more about our Third Annual Banquet here.
 
• Washington state is one of three states to have an organized Vietnamese American bar association. We have combined nationally with the other Vietnamese American state bar associations to host the 2007 National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys (NCVAA) in Orange, California in October 2007.  For more information about the conference, go to www.ncvaa.org  For more information about the Vietnamese American Bar Association of Northern California, visit http://www.vabanc.org/ and for more information about the Vietnamese American Bar Association of Southern California, visit http://www.vabasc.com/ and for more information about the Vietnamese American Bar Association of the Greater Washington, DC Area, Inc., visit http://www.vabadc.com/index.html