Bruce L. Ishimatsu
Candidate for Vice President for Finance and Development
Candidate Statement
I seek to continue as NAPABA's Vice President for Finance and Development for a second year. I have had the privilege of attending all board meetings and the 2019 Lobby Day in Washington, D.C. meeting during my first term. I have worked with our fundraising team to bring new platinum and gold Convention sponsors and furthered sponsorship relationships to our organization. I am pleased to report that we are ahead of our annual fundraising goal for 2019.
I am the designated board liaison to the NAPABA Law Foundation board where I have worked with NLF and the NAPABA board to find ways to assist NLF's own fundraising.
Goals for NAPABA and Alignment with Strategic Plan
As the board member tasked with fundraising, I am deeply involved with where and how we raise funds for our organization and how it affects the direction of NAPABA in light of its Strategic Plan.
As a professional membership organization, NAPABA must support its members with their career development goals and to advocate for the API community. I am proud of NAPABA's successes in advocating for our community and will continue to support that effort.
Challenges facing NAPABA
NAPABA's growth trajectory requires that it constantly evaluate where it is and where it is going. As with all board members, my continuing obligation is to help NAPABA deliver member services including a high-level Convention experience and career development and also to speak on behalf of the API community on matters of policy and advocacy. We need sponsorship money from all sectors, including law firms and corporations, to fuel the community work that we do. We also need to support our talented and hard-working staff to continue doing the work that is the lifeblood of NAPABA.
The need to continue NAPABA's multi-faceted mission is what energizes me in fundraising. Advocacy is important and NAPABA will continue to be a leader in that regard as we did in the recent census question controversy. We need generous funding from sponsors to enable us to advocate, to speak out on important issues in a timely fashion, and to provide professional development resources to our members. As our members become more influential, NAPABA becomes more influential.
How Do I Anticipate Accomplishing My Goals?
In the past year as VP Finance, I have applied my experiences to contribute to Team NAPABA to drive the organization. I have collaborated with board and staff members to maximize our fundraising successes and appreciate their contributions. My goals are to help make NAPABA bigger, better and more efficient in carrying out its mission and to be more relevant to its members. My goals are organizational, not personal. My methodology is collaborative, not divisive. With help from the board, the staff and members, I am confident I can continue that effort successfully through a second term.
I am particularly excited about working on fundraising for the 2020 Convention in Los Angeles, where I reside. 10 years ago, I was one of four Co-chairs of the 2010 Convention at the JW Marriott where we held the Convention and elevated the Convention experience to the level that we have now come to expect every year. My Los Angeles connections will enable me to be a particularly effective fundraiser for the 2020 Convention.
Why Would I Be a Strong NAPABA Officer?
I have proven myself to be a contributing and devoted board member and effective fundraiser in collaboration with NAPABA's staff, board and stakeholders. I have brought to bear my collective experience as a NAPABA board member, former Chair of the Partners Committee, board member of NLF and Co-Chair of the Awards Committee. Co-chairing the 2010 Convention in Los Angeles was an especially helpful experience which enables me to serve as a strong board member today.
The totality of my experience will make me an even more effective board member in 2019-20 and help me continue to work with NLF to boost its own fundraising effort.
I look forward to continuing my service as Vice President for Finance and Development and ask for you support and vote to enable me to continue that effort into 2020.
Candidate Bio
Bruce Ishimatsu is the founder of Ishimatsu Law Group in Marina del Rey, California and is NAPABA’s current Vice President for Finance and Development. He has worked diligently to raise funds to support NAPABA’s multi-faceted mission. He also serves as a current Co-Chair of NAPABA’s Awards Committee and is the board representative to NAPABA’s Law Foundation board. Previously, Bruce was chair of the Partners Committee for several years and a co-chair of NAPABA’s 2010 Convention in Los Angeles when convention fundraising was done by the local host committee. He was awarded NAPABA’s President’s Award in 2010. Professionally, Bruce represents private clients in commercial litigation in state and federal courts and arbitrations in business and employment disputes, trade secrets, intellectual property, and unfair competition. Bruce is an independent workplace investigator and is a certified FINRA arbitrator in securities law disputes.
Endorsements
- Submit an endorsement here.
- Endorsements will be posted Monday, Wednesday, and Friday by 12 p.m EDT.
NAPABA Affiliate Endorsements
| Affiliate Name |
| Filipino-American Lawyers of Orange County |
| Asian American Bar Association of New York |
| Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Silicon Valley |
| National Filipino American Lawyers Association |
| Japanese American Bar Association |
| Asian Bar Association of Las Vegas |
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Individual Endorsements
*All work or organizational affiliations disclosed are for identification and disclosures purposes only, and do not constitute endorsements by those institutions.
| Name |
Company* |
Ireneo Reus III
|
THE REUS LAW FIRM |
| Ruthe Ashley |
Ruthe Ashley |
| Alen Hsu |
Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman, P.L. |
| Marvin Dang |
Law Off. of Marvin S.C. Dang, LLLC
|
| Darryl Woo |
Goodwin Procter LLP |
| Laurie Rose Lubiano |
The Climate Corporation |
| Craig Nakanishi |
Cades Schutte LLP |
| Inchan Hwang |
Stinson LLP |
| Gary Yoshimura |
Retired |
| Peggy Nagae |
Peggy Nagae Consulting |
| Bettina Yip |
Petco |
| Donna Chin |
Donna C Chin, Esq. |
| Darryl Woo |
Goodwin Procter LLP |
| Luci-Ellen Chun |
LACCD |
| Michael Wu |
|
| Paul W. Lee |
Goodwin Procter LLP |
| Annette Kwok |
Venable LLP |
| Quyen Tu |
Alliance for Justice |
| Deborah Yue |
Law Office of Deborah Yue |
| Ekwan Rhow |
Bird Marella Boxer Wolpert et al. |
| Parkin Lee |
Rockefeller Group |
| Paul O. Hirose |
Perkins Coie LLP |
| Hon. Howard L. Halm (Ret.) |
ADR Services, Inc. |
| Gina Shishima |
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP |
| Judy Lam |
Maynard Cooper & Gale LLP |
| Jeannie Kim |
Friedman & Springwater LLP |
| Joan Haratani |
Morgan Lewis |
| Jack Chan |
Law Office of Jack Chan LLC |
| Bonnie Youn |
The RMN Agency |
| Jack Lee |
LEE TRAN & LIANG LLP |
| Grace Yoo |
Law Offices of Grace E. Yoo |
| Angela Hsu |
President-Elect |
| Sandra Yamate |
Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession |
| Dale Minami |
Minami Tamaki LLP |
| Donald Tamaki |
Minami Tamaki LLP |
| Wilson Chu |
McDermott Will & Emery LLP |
| Simone Wu |
Choice Hotels International |
| Mark Furuya |
Clark Construction Group LLC |
| Vivian Hsu |
Hsu & Associates LLC |
| Jen Won |
Bird Marella |
| Josephine Brosas |
Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP |
| Jay Kim |
Kim Vaughan Lerner LLP |
| Sidney Kanazawa |
McGuireWoods LLP |
| Melvin N. Avanzado |
THE AVANZADO LAW FIRM, APLC |
| Sharlene Lee |
Nevers, Palazzo, Packard, Wildermuth & Wynner, PC |
| Paul Chan |
Bird Marella Boxer Wolpert et al. |
| Mimi Castillo |
|
| Philip Nulud |
Buchalter, A Professional Corporation |
| Gene Woo |
California Department of Insurance |
| Edwin Prather |
Prather Law Offices |
| Steven Yoda |
Walzer Melcher LLP |
| David Tsai |
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP |
| Tirzah Lowe |
Fox Corporation |
| Masahiro Takeda |
Wine of Japan Import Inc. |
| Mike Madokoro |
Bowman and Brooke LLP |
| Margaret Ling |
Big Apple Abstract Corp |
