The Vietnamese American Bar Association of Washington Foundation is pleased to announce that the recipient of the 2008 Hồng Đức Clerkship is Stephanie Tuong-Vi Do, University of Washington School of Law Class of 2009. Stephanie will spend the summer of 2008 at the international law firm Lovells. Lovells is one of the largest international business legal practices, with over 1,600 lawyers operating from 26 offices in Europe, Asia and the United States. Stephanie will be clerking at Lovells’ Ho Chi Minh City office in Vietnam.
Stephanie earned her bachelor’s degree in political science (with a minor in business management) at the University of California, Irvine. During college, she interned with the City of South Pasadena in coordinating worker’s compensation claims and grant applications. Stephanie also volunteered with the South Pasadena Education Foundation, where she assisted in fundraising efforts. In addition to graduating cum laude from University of California, Irvine, she was also a member of the Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society and the National Political Science Honor Society.
Now a second-year law student at the University of Washington School of Law, Stephanie is treasurer and board member of the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association (“APALSA”). Stephanie spent her summer 2007 as a summer associate at Garvey Schubert Barer in Seattle.
In her application materials for the Hồng Đức Clerkship, Stephanie wrote:
Vietnam is in the midst of a paradigmatic transformation that will undoubtedly propel its economic and innovative future to heights that will potentially parallel both Asia and the rest of the world. . . . I am extremely excited with the opportunity to present my academic and cultural credentials as a liaison between Vietnam’s future endeavors and global collaboration. . . . Currently, I am working on a legal article regarding essential education reforms in Vietnam that will provide a competitive labor force necessary to turn Vietnam’s economic wheel. . . . I plan to contribute to another legal article focusing on foreign investment policy improvements and compliance with the WTO.
More work needs to be accomplished before Vietnam can attain trade success. An important aspect of that success requires a strong legal dialogue. . . . I hope that my research endeavors will provide meaningful awareness of Vietnam’s progression.
Moreover, this clerkship provides an enriching cultural experience to connect to my heritage. . . . So much has been done to protect Vietnam’s cultural identity. Like many Vietnamese, my parents left Vietnam to continue a cultural legacy, but with assimilation to Western culture comes the fading of one’s past. . . . Traveling to Vietnam would solidify cultural connection I desperately desire before continuing with my career endeavors and giving back to the Vietnamese community through the clerkship would make my family proud.
Congratulations to Stephanie Tuong-Vi Do. Please join us at our Fourth Annual Banquet on October 28, 2008, to hear about Stephanie’s summer and the Hong Duc Clerkship experience. For more information about the Fourth Annual Banquet, please contact our VABAW Banquet Chair and President-Elect Thi Huynh at thi@huynhlaw.com