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| The Vietnamese American Bar Association of Washington (VABAW) is pleased to announce that it has selected its 2009 VABAW Hong Duc Clerk: Dai Dao, a second-year law student from the University of Wisconsin. Dai will be spending his 2009 summer at Baker & McKenzie in their Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, office. VABAW’s Hong Duc Clerkship awards one law student full funding for airfare, lodging, and daily stipend for the summer clerkship. This is VABAW’s second year offering the Clerkship. Dai graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Arts in History (with a concentration in Southeast Asian History and Historiography), and is currently finishing his second year of law school at University of Wisconsin. At the University of Wisconsin Law School, Dai received the Samson Fellowship and is a member of the Wisconsin Law Review. Dai spent his summer after his first year of law school at YKVN law offices in Ho Chi Minh City. Dai is fluent in Vietnamese. Dai and his family still make Washington state their home. Baker & McKenzie was one of the first international law firms to establish offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Vietnam. Baker & McKenzie's offices in Vietnam provide on-the-ground liaison and support services to clients interested in investigating, negotiating, and implementing projects in the country. Lawyers in the Vietnam Practice Group guide clients through the legal and commercial risks inherent in Vietnam's evolving legal system and changing political-economic landscape.
VABAW is pleased to continue to offer this unique Hong Duc Clerkship opportunity and that Baker & McKenzie is VABAW's partner this summer. VABAW also thanks all its friends and supporters for making this Clerkship possible. ________________________________________________________ The Law Firm Diversity Report was created and executed by nine minority bar associations, including VABAW. The Law Firm Diversity Questionnaire was sent to the 50 largest law firms in Washington State in May 2008, and sought detailed demographic information regarding the racial/ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, and disability status of attorneys and summer associates in the law firms that were surveyed. The results of the Law Firm Diversity Report can be viewed by clicking here. ________________________________________________________ 
________________________________________________________ Thank you to all our guests for joining VABAW for our Fourth Annual Banquet at the Triple Door and celebrating our accomplishments of 2008 with us. The theme for the evening was “Ambassadors to Our Communities.” Our first banquet in 2005 was an intimate gathering of eighty guests. The 2008 sold-out event was attended by 230 guests who shared in our celebration! Click here for photos from and more information about the 2008 banquet. Thank you to our 2008 banquet sponsors: Davis Wright Tremaine; Cairncross & Hempelmann; Christensen O’Connor Johnson & Kindness; Foster Pepper; Garvey Schubert Barer; Helsell Fetterman; Perkins Coie; Ryan Swanson & Cleveland; Schwabe Williamson and Wyatt; Stafford Frey Cooper; Stoel Rives; Stokes Lawrence; and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. 
2008: Ambassadors to Our Communities Due to the generosity of our corporate and individual sponsors, VABAW created the Hồng Đức student clerkship in Vietnam. VABAW partners 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 will provide airfare, housing, and reasonable living expenses for the law student. VABAW'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's Hồng Đức Clerkship, click on this link. To read about the recipient of our 2008 Hồng Đức Clerkship, please click here.
We have held various exciting programs for 2008 which include:
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 in 2009 for this event as VABAW continues its community service outreach and projects.
We also organized a team for the annual Asian Counseling and Referral Services' Walk for Rice, and also participated with the Vietnamese community's float during the Seafair Torchlight Parade. For photos from the event, click here and scroll down to the pictures from the event.
We continued our tradition of celebrating two Vietnamese holidays: Tet, the lunar new year, in February, and Tet Trung Thu, the autumn moon festival, in September.
VABAW also held several events for the law students, with the goal of increasing participation in our law student and young attorney mentorship program.
And the highlight of 2008 was our Fourth Annual Banquet which was held on October 28, 2008. Click here for photos from and more information about the 2008 banquet. 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)
2006: Raising the Bar:
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:
For 2007, 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. 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
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