National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

1612 K Street N.W., Suite 1400
Washington, D.C. 20006

National Asian Pacific American Bar Grateful for Corporate Endorsement of its
Diversity Symposium

Washington, DC – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) and the NAPABA Law Foundation (NLF) expressed appreciation recently to corporate sponsors that have endorsed their law firm diversity symposium. The symposium, conducted recently in Los Angeles, and which will be repeated in New York City on April 1, focuses on overcoming barriers to advancement for Asian Pacific American (APA) lawyers in large law firms.

“The support from these corporate sponsors not only demonstrates their recognition of the importance of general diversity in the legal field, but that there are some special challenges facing APA lawyers that our symposium can help address,” said Helen B. Kim, NAPABA’s President. Kim noted that there are studies suggesting the APA conversion rate from associate to partner in large law firms lags behind that of all other groups, including all other racial and ethnic groups.

Over 30 companies have signed on so far in support of the symposium. “We are extremely grateful for the support of these sponsors,” stated Les Jin, Executive Director for NAPABA. He noted that some have been generous supporters and partners for a long time but others are involved with NAPABA for the first time. Jin elaborated, “Our relationships with our sponsors are vital to NAPABA’s success in many ways and this is but one example of what strong partnerships can accomplish.”

The list of sponsors for the symposium (in formation) is as follows:

American Express
Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
AT&T Inc.
Bank of America
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Capital One Services, Inc.
Cardinal Health, Inc.
CT Corporation
Dell Inc.
DuPont Company
Fannie Mae
General Electric Company
General Motors Corporation
JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA
KB Home
LG Electronics
Mercedes-Benz USA
Microsoft Corporation
Prudential Financial, Inc.
Safeco Corporation
Sempra Energy
Starbucks Coffee Company
The Coca-Cola Company
The Rockefeller Group
Textron, Inc.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Waste Management Inc.
Welch’s
Wyndham Worldwide Corporation
Xerox Corporation
XO Communications

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of over 40,000 attorneys and approximately 50 local Asian Pacific American bar associations. Its members represent solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal service and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government. NAPABA continues to be a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network of committees and affiliates, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes professional development of minorities in the legal profession.

The NAPABA Law Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization established by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association to provide financial support for legal education and legal services to the Asian Pacific American community. For more information about the NAPABA Law Foundation and its programs, please contact Mike Chu, NAPABA Law Foundation President at (312) 321- 4200 or mpc@brinkshofer.com.