Daniel David Hu

 Candidate for Vice President for   Communications

  Endorse Candidate

Candidate Statement

NAPABA’s biggest challenge is to remain relevant to its members. I have been a NAPABA member since the beginning and have seen law practice change rapidly since that time. For example, technology has changed our communications strategies. As your VP for Communications, I would like your input on how NAPABA can be relevant to your practice and encourage you to reach out to me. I have been on the board since 2016 and co-chaired the Pro Bono Community Service committee since 2013. I do not have the answer to how to keep NAPABA relevant – the answer must come from you! E-mail me: dhu@alumni.rice.edu or call 713 567 9518 and let me know what you would like NAPABA to do to help you.

As your VP for Communications, my goals, subject to your input, are in alignment with NAPABA’s mission and strategic plan. I will work with our outstanding staff including Brett Schuster, Communications Director, to ensure prompt communication of NAPABA’s work for you on both on the advocacy front as well as practice development. I will bring my experience as Texas ATJ Communications Chair to ensure our communication efforts reach the widest audience possible with cost efficient use of technology. I will continue to implement efforts to use social media in an appropriate manner.

NAPABA has done a tremendous job balancing all the interests of its members. As a government lawyer (AUSA) with prior big law firm and public interest experience, I bring a balanced perspective to NAPABA. I will ensure legal education (webinars) and networking opportunities are available especially for small firm/solo, public sector and public interest counsel. I would like to see sufficient practice relevant webinars to allow us to get at least 10-15 hours of interesting CLE a year through NAPABA.

In line with our strategic plan, I will help NAPABA continue our external communication efforts to work towards our mutual goal of diversity on the bench and in the C-suite (as either general counsel or equivalent executive positions). Press releases on nominations and on other diversity efforts will continue. We should also continue to promote the advancement of APA lawyers to positions of non-legal leadership and influence in state and local government. Communication must always be in a non-partisan context but, with that in mind, we should ensure appropriate support is issued under NAPABA’s imprimatur. I am a co-author of NAPABA’s Language Access report and hope to lead future efforts for similar white papers from NAPABA. https://napaba.site-ym.com/page/lang_acc_proj?

I ask that you elect me as your VP for Communications. I currently serve as the Southwest Regional Governor for NAPABA, and chair of the Pro bono Community Service Committee. I started serving NAPABA in Houston as Convention Program Chair. I have been an affiliate president, founder and chair of the Asian Interest Section of the State Bar of Texas. I have also served in leadership roles in majority bar associations. I served on the State Bar of Texas board of directors, the Texas Access to Justice Commission and was their Communications Chair. I have been the President of the Federal Bar Association SDTX, Chair of the State Bar of Texas Law Focused Education Committee, and Chaired the Minority Opportunity Committee of the Houston Bar Association. I currently serve as Board Chair at Lone Star Legal Aid, the fourth largest legal aid provider in America.

Candidate Bio

Daniel Hu is the Chief, Civil Division, United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas. He has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney for 25 years, and has tried cases, civil and criminal, jury and non-jury and has argued appeals. Prior to serving as an AUSA he was in private practice and was law clerk to United States District Judge Norman W. Black.

He is an original member of NAPABA, served as the Houston Convention Program Chair, Co-chair of the Pro Bono Committee since 2013, and Southwest Regional Governor since 2016. Mr. Hu was president of the Asian American Bar Association in Houston and founded the State Bar of Texas Asian Pacific Islander Section.

Mr. Hu is Board Chair of Lone Star Legal Aid, the fourth largest legal aid provider in America. From 2001 to 2009, he was a founding Commissioner on the Texas Access to Justice Commission. He served as Communications Chair.

He is a past director of the State Bar of Texas and is a past president of the Southern District of Texas Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.

Mr. Hu was born in New York City, graduated from Rice University and the University of Texas Law School.

Mr. Hu lives in Houston, Texas, is married to a dentist and the father of two teenage children. He coached their Odyssey of the Mind team which went to World Finals in 2018.

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 *All work or organizational affiliations disclosed are for identification and disclosures purposes only, and do not constitute endorsements by those institutions.