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  • 20 Jan 2016 11:30 AM | Deleted user

    Join OCA for the 2016 Golden Circle Awards & Lunar New Year Celebration! This year OCA will be honoring Rod Kawakami, a Seattle attorney who was co-lead counsel for the coram nobis team in the Gordon Hirabayashi case, which team successfully challenged Mr. Hirabayashi's criminal convictions for his refusal to comply with internment orders (issued by the government during the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II). Also to be honored are Sharon Maeda, Betty Patu, Fred Yee, and the Southeast Asian/American Access in Education (SEA3eD).

    Register online at:  http://bit.ly/1BysMZz



  • 20 Sep 2015 4:15 PM | Deleted user

    SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson yesterday announced the official launch of the newly established Wing Luke Civil Rights Unit within the Washington State Attorney General’s Office. The announcement was made at an event at the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle’s International District.
     
    The well attended event included five current and two former Washington State Supreme Court Justices, nine members of Wing Luke’s family and many other luminaries from the civil rights community who share the common goal of equality for all Washington residents.

    Supreme Court Justices Steven González, Mary Fairhurst, Debra Stephens, Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Associate Chief Justice Charles Johnson, Justice Susan Owens, former Justices Charles Smith and Faith Ireland (click on photo for a full resolution copy)
     
    “We are the lawyers for the people of Washington state. We are the largest law firm in the state. It is appropriate and important that we have a team dedicated to protecting civil rights,” said Ferguson. 
     
    Led by Assistant Attorney General Colleen Melody — a Spokane native and former member of the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division — the Wing Luke Civil Rights Unit works to protect the rights of all Washington residents by enforcing state and federal anti-discrimination laws. The unit will investigate and bring actions to end discrimination in the areas of employment, housing, education, credit and insurance transactions, and at government offices and businesses open to the public. The unit will work closely with the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division, the Washington State Human Rights Commission, federal agencies, and civil rights stakeholders.
     
    “Our team will enforce the Washington Law against Discrimination and be a community resource to help people know their rights and how to protect them,” said Melody, speaking to the audience of community leaders. “And we will collaborate and work together with all of you on ways to make Washington a fairer place to work, live, go to school, and play together.”

    The Civil Right Unit is named for Wing Luke, who served as an Assistant Attorney General for the state of Washington in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  He went on to become the first person of color elected to the Seattle City Council and the first Asian-American elected to public office in the Pacific Northwest. Throughout his life and career, Luke was a champion for civil rights and fought to improve the quality of life for all people. 
     
    “My brother Wing Luke had a saying, ‘Don’t do things because of who is right, but because of what is right,’” said Bettie Luke, Wing Luke’s sister and former board member of the Wing Luke Museum.
     
    It is believed this is the first time the Attorney General’s Office has named a division or unit to honor the life and legacy of an individual. Ferguson’s intent is not only to honor Wing Luke, but to establish a vision and role model for the future work of the Attorney General’s Office civil right team.
     
    Ferguson also announced yesterday that his office is releasing a new Civil Rights Resource Guide. The guide provides Washington residents with information about their rights under state and federal law and where to go if they believe they have experienced discrimination.
     
    If you have a civil rights complaint, you can contact the Attorney General’s Wing Luke Civil Rights Unit by visiting www.atg.wa.gov/have-civil-rights-complaint.


  • 20 Sep 2015 10:00 AM | Deleted user

    Previous Press Release, moved from the front page

    Contact info:   Lisa Dickinson, President, Asian Bar Association of Washington - president@abaw.orgwww.abaw.org 

    Asian Bar Association of Washington urges voters to focus on qualifications, not race, of candidates in judicial elections.

    As we approach an important election, voters need to be able to make informed decisions based on helpful and relevant dialog among and about the candidates.  That dialog, of course, should be grounded in the candidates’ experience, the qualities and ability they bring to the positions they seek, and the recommendation of others who have had the first-hand opportunity to observe and assess their work.  

    A recent comment quoted in the Seattle Times took that dialog in a troubling and dangerous direction.  In stating that Judge Ketu Shah’s long list of endorsements was attributable to the political establishment’s desire to appoint minority judges “and protect them” during elections, the comment suggests that Judge Shah ’s endorsements arise from a desire to “protect” him as a person of color, not because of his qualifications.  (“DUI lawyers PAC shifts support in judicial races to co-founder’s wife,” Oct. 4, 2014).  

    ABAW condemns this statement as inappropriately inserting race into this judicial election and potentially any other election involving a sitting minority judge.  

    “Comments like these are demeaning to minority judges and candidates because they suggest that minorities get where they are because they’re minorities, and not because of their ability to do the job,” said ABAW President Diana Young.  “That’s a perception that so many have fought so hard to overcome.”  It is, of course, extremely important that our judges reflect the diversity of the community served by our courts, but voters do not benefit from a dialog that uses an individual’s race to diminish his or her true accomplishments.  

    “Voters need to educate themselves on the qualifications of judicial candidates, no matter who the candidate is.  Part of that education is to consider the candidate’s endorsements and certainly not assume that the endorsements are based on the color of the candidate’s skin,” adds ABAW’s immediate past president Jeffrey Liang. 

    A good resource for Washington voters to learn more about the judges and candidates is the non-partisan site, www.VotingforJudges.org.

    The Asian Bar Association of Washington (“ABAW”) is the professional association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students whose mission is to promote justice, equity and opportunity for Asian Pacific Americans. 


  • 3 Jul 2015 12:30 PM | Deleted user

    Civility is the cornerstone of justice.  When all participants involved in the legal system act with civility by treating others with respect, listening with an open mind, and working towards best outcomes, all participants benefit and justice is served. On the contrary, when participants act with incivility, it extracts a high cost for our profession both in terms of impacting the bottom line and long term negative health effects for practitioners.  For example, a study by Pearson and Porath, estimated that one multi-national law firm had lost over 2.8 million dollars because of one senior partner’s acts of incivility toward associates and staff.  There is a growing body of scientific evidence that incivility often reduces productivity, creates inefficiency, and ultimately costs both practitioners and their clients time and money.  Incivility often creates unnecessary conflict, which can cost some practitioners compromised mental and physical health.  Perhaps most importantly, incivility compromises the administration of justice at all levels.

    • Details:   July 16th, Thursday at McKinstry, Li, & Ellis, 4:30-5:30 pm followed by an ABAW Social Happy Hour from 5:30 to 7:30(Location TBD).
    This event is free to all ABAW members and $10 to non-members.  Please RSVP or email questions to: chris.lanterman@gmail.com.

    The social event follows after the CLE.


  • 20 Feb 2015 1:00 PM | Deleted user

    Save the Date!  Eastern WA Event, Spokane, April 24.  

    ABAW, and QLaw will be visiting Spokane for an outreach and mentorship event.  WWL Spokane, WYLC and Spectra Law Group will be joining in on the fun!


  • 2 Feb 2015 12:30 PM | Deleted user

    It's a brand new year and a brand new board over at the ABAW.  Please join us for our first social of the year, which will also serve as our quarterly meeting.  O'Asian (800 5th Avenue, Suite Plaza 1, Seattle, WA  98104) from 6:00 - 8:00 PM on Thursday, March 12, 2015.  You'll get to meet our new board members, reconnect with old ones, and get the latest ABAW updates and upcoming information.  As usual, we'll provide food and there will be happy hour drink specials available. We hope to see you there!  Members only please.  Although if you want to come down and become a member, that works as well.  Also, bring another member with you.  It's more fun that way!

    RSVP to Chris Wong at christopher.wong@kingcounty.gov


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