The NAPABA Young Lawyers Committee ("YLC") is on the move and is always looking for more members to help plan events and programs. For each of us, NAPABA and its local affiliates helped us get established, build our professional network and make lasting friendships. Similarly, the YLC helps young lawyers and law students get involved in NAPABA.
Specifically, the mission of YLC is to outreach to and engage young APA lawyers and law students. NAPABA is a dynamic and growing organization and our young lawyers represent our future leaders. YLC is also exploring ways to make the transition easier from NAPALSA to NAPABA as law students graduate and join the profession. For example, YLC is working to provide law students and young lawyers a special membership rate for direct membership to NAPABA. Additionally, one of NAPABA's goals is to build a closer relationship with the American Bar Association. The YLC is a critical component of this effort with its close relationship with the American Bar Association / Young Lawyers Division ("ABA/YLD").
Initiatives - Creating a YLC Listserv
Over the next year, YLC also plans to create a listserv so that committee members can communicate with each other to share common issues and provide direct input for projects and events. Anyone interested in becoming a member and joining the listserv should contact NAPABA's Staff Assistant, Pia Rivera.
YLC Recent Activities and Upcoming Events
YLC members have participated in many of the NAPABA Regional Conferences this year. YLC members also recently participated in the Asian Pacific American Leadership Project ("APALP") / Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc. ("LEAP") Civic Leadership Institute. Additionally, we are working with our colleagues in Philadelphia in planning one of the sessions for the NAPABA 2006 Annual Convention. The session will focus on how the legal profession can help minority youths who lack resources. At the Convention, YLC also plans to introduce the ABA/YLD's community service project called "Choose Law: A Profession for All." Finally, we look forward to seeing everyone at the YLC dinner at the Convention in November.
YLC and the Center for Asian Americans United for Empowerment ("CAUSE")
YLC also hopes to become a part of an exciting new program being pioneered by the Center for Asian Americans United for Empowerment ("CAUSE"), a California-based nonprofit corporation headed by former Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Chair Charlie Woo. CAUSE has a mission to advance the civic and political empowerment of APAs through voter registration and education, community outreach, and leadership development. In late July, members of the YLC attended a CAUSE luncheon in Los Angeles.
In the coming years, as California becomes an increasingly important gateway to Asia, California law firms and corporations stand to benefit and grow from the new business and legal opportunities that will emerge from Asia. Because business and law do not operate in a vacuum, however, our corporations and law firms must be civically engaged and politically connected. Those who understand the nexus between the legal, business, and political worlds are also those who will succeed in our interconnected and global world.
For more information please contact the NAPABA Young Lawyers Committee: Jiny Kim, Co-Chair or Bryant Yang, Co-Chair.
By: Aristotle Evia, Past Co-Chair of the YLC, works for the national law firm of Gordon & Rees LLP based out of its home office in San Francisco, and was recently appointed by The State Bar of California Board of Governors as the California Young Lawyer Delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates and as a 2006-07 Leadership Academy Scholar.
