The Vietnamese-American Bar Association of Washington's
6th Annual Banquet

Thank you to our guests and sponsors for attending our Sixth Annual Banquet. Our evening was kicked off with our President Lam Nguyen-Bull’s welcome speech.

The keynote speaker was Andrew Lam.  Mr. Lam is an accomplished author, editor, and commentator on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”  Mr. Lam’s first book, “Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora” won the Pen American “Beyond the Margins Award” in 2006.  Mr. Lam’s writings and essays have appeared in numerous publications including the New York Times, the LA Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Chicago Tribune, Mother Jones, The Nation, San Francisco Focus, Proult Journal, and many others.  In addition to writing, Mr. Lam co-founded New America Media, an association of over 2000 ethnic media organizations in America. Mr. Lam was born in Vietnam and came to the United States in 1975.  he was featured in the PBS documentary “My Journey Home,” where a film crew followed him back to his homeland.

An Ngoc Duong, our 2010 Hong Duc Clerkship Recipient, shared with our guests her experience clerking with Hogan Lovells in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, during her summer 2010.  To read more about An’s Hong Duc Clerkship experience, click here.

VABAW presented its 2010 Community Service Award to Helping Link.  Helping Link was created in 1993 by a group of working professionals, who sought to meet the needs of the Vietnamese community by utilizing the potential human and financial resources of Vietnamese professionals.  Young and old, the founders sought the cooperation of the community to create the three main programs: conversational ESL, homework tutoring, and youth leadership program.  These programs assist Vietnamese immigrants in their effort to settle in their new country, strengthen the Vietnamese community, and promote cultural harmony.

Fashion designer Thai Nguyen presented a showcase of the traditional Vietnamese “Ao Dai” dress with his own modern twist.  Mr. Nguyen graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in 2002.  Following graduation, Mr. Nguyen served as the Associate Designer for BCBG Max Azria until 2004.  Mr. Nguyen’s work has been featured in numerous Vietnamese entertainment shows and musical productions and is available through his showroom in Westminster, California.  You may have also recognized him as one of the final contestants in Bravo TV’s “Launch My Line” reality competition show.  Click to see a video of the fashion show.

Thank you to our banquet sponsors:

Tamarind: Davis Wright Tremaine

Papaya: BECU; Fenwick West; Foster Pepper; Garvey Schubert Barer; Helsell Fetterman; Perkins Coie; Seattle University School of Law; and Stafford Frey Cooper.

Fashion Show Sponsor: Ho & Associates

Supporters: Christensen O’Connor Johnson Kindness.