VABAW strives for legal excellence by facilitating and cultivating both professional and personal relationships among its members, the community and the judiciary. 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.

The inaugural year for VABAW had many highlights and concluded with a sold-out and extremely successful First Annual Dinner. The theme of the banquet was “Uniting Our Paths” and was attended by a number of judiciary appointees, attorneys, local law school dignitaries and minority bar presidents. The keynote address was provided by former Governor Gary Locke.

In 2006, VABAW has continued its success with increased membership, community events and implementation of its mentorship program. This year’s mentorship program currently matches nine attorney members with nine local law students based upon the students’ area of interest.

VABAW has also had several general membership and community events including a Tet celebration which was hosted at the offices of and sponsored by Davis Wright Tremaine. In June 2006, we joined with other community groups in the 16th annual Asian Counseling and Referral Service “Walk for Rice,” which is a yearly 2.5 mile fun run and walk-a-thon to help supply culturally appropriate foods to low-income families. SAVE THE DATE: On September 7, 2006, VABAW will hold its first annual Tet Trung Thu Celebration. Details to follow soon.

SAVE THE DATE: November 1, 2006, will be VABAW’s Second Annual Dinner. Professor Wendy Duong of University of Denver College of Law will be our guest speaker. Professor Duong was formerly a Special Trial Attorney for the SEC Office of General Counsel and then a Senior Legal Advisor for Mobil-Asia Pacific. Professor Duong has also served as an Associate Municipal Judge to the City of Houston and Magistrate of the State of Texas. In 1992, Professor Duong was honored by the American Bar Association as the first Vietnamese American judge in the United States. Details about the event and invitations will follow.

Since its inception, VABAW has joined with other specialty and minority bar organizations in various endeavors. VABAW has joined with the Asian Bar Association of Washington, the Korean American Bar Association and the South Asian Bar Association of Washington to form the Washington State Joint Asian Judicial Evaluation Committee (JAJEC). The JAJEC’s purpose is to ensure that judicial candidates promote the goals and values of the various Asian specialty bar organizations and to rate each judicial candidate for appointment or election and to improve the quality of the bench.