Philip L. Nulud

 Candidate for Director

Candidate Statement

Three years ago, I sat in a conference room in Nashville with about forty Filipino-American attorneys from across the nation. An attorney from Atlanta sat to my left, and to my right was an attorney from New Orleans. I was born and raised in LA, and blessed with the fellowship of local APA attorneys. But, I was moved to learn about and hear from Fil-Am’s in the South. I was truly impressed, and felt proud and inspired. I knew at that moment that I wanted to connect with APA attorneys nationally, and also connect my friends in LA to those attorneys. Through the years, I have been able to connect with more incredible attorneys throughout the nation and make new friends, refer business, and foster change in our community. NAPABA for me has meant connection, and its network has helped me do that.

I have successfully led two NAPABA affiliates—NFALA and PABA. I have been supportive of and active in affiliates both locally and nationally, where I’ve shared my knowledge and experience to advance the profession, build bridges, and mentor junior attorneys and law students. I am the current president of a national affiliate—the National Filipino American Lawyers Association (NFALA). I also served as president of a large local affiliate in Los Angeles—the Philippine American Bar Association (PABA). Under my leadership, both organizations not only created new and significant engagement with their membership, but they have also formed new bonds with other affiliates, and community organizations. Under my leadership, these two organizations grew stronger, increased their reach, and are thriving. I firmly believe that I can bring proven leadership skills, new ideas, and a fresh perspective to NAPABA, in order to help continue to improve NAPABA, and bring value and engagement to its members.

Despite the challenges of 2020, under my leadership and with my board, I am proud to say that NFALA has excelled—engaging with members and the community in novel ways, launching new committees and affinity networks, increasing membership nationwide, and producing high-quality virtual programming, providing tremendous benefits to members when they need it most, at very minimal financial cost to the organization.

NFALA’s Mid-Year Leadership Summit is typically an in-person weekend event that brings NFALA affiliate leaders together from across the nation. Because of COVID-19, my board and I transitioned it into a month-long virtual event that was open not only to affiliate leaders, but to all members. The programming generated significant engagement and goodwill. We had programs aimed to comfort law students and young lawyers, programs aimed at promoting wellness, programs aimed at providing substantive legal information, programs aimed at the challenges to the community as well as challenges to relationships. We hosted weekly socials via Zoom and virtual karaoke nights, to ensure that people were not alone. The centerpiece of our programming was an inspiring and historic panel, that coincided with the creation of NFALA’s Judicial Affinity Network, of twenty-three Fil-Am judges from across the nation. Even after Mid-Year, our programming did not slow down.

It is my understanding that NAPABA is transitioning its annual conference into a month-long virtual conference (sound familiar?). I know what it takes, and can deliver for NAPABA. I can bring my experiences and success to the table through compelling, insightful, and engaging programming that highlights and brings value to our members.

When I became president of PABA and NFALA, I set a goal of revitalizing and engaging their respective membership. With my respective boards, I succeeded and can do the same for NAPABA. I believe NAPABA’s strategic focus should be building engagement, improving involvement from affiliates, being more accessible, and providing more value to members. I have done that for both NFALA and PABA, and I believe that with my experience and the relationships I’ve made, that I should be able to do so for NAPABA.

I believe that we need to move swift and decisively, but we also need to build consensus and take into account the views of all and be transparent in our decisions. I have been the leader that makes sure we do not go off-track and we stick to our goals. I have also worked hard to make sure people are heard, happy, and confident in our decisions.

In sum, I want to support and encourage the growth of our members and affiliates, bring us closer, make us more visible, and position NAPABA to do even greater things for future generations.

Candidate Bio

Phil is an attorney at Buchalter and an expert in intellectual property law. His practice focuses on counseling clients in all aspects of intellectual property including: domestic and international trademark prosecution, strategy, enforcement, management, licensing, and policy; patent prosecution, clearance, and infringement; domain name arbitration; and related litigation concerning such.

Phil has successfully represented many clients in high-stakes intellectual property litigation in both Federal and California courts, and has also assisted clients with complex infringement and counterfeiting matters domestically and worldwide. He also regularly represents clients in connection with ICANN domain name arbitration proceedings, and has acquired/reclaimed hundreds of domain names for his clients that are critical to their business success.
His clients include multinational corporations, couture fashion houses, retail chains in excess of 500 stores, global beauty product manufacturers, celebrities, media companies, global architecture firms, and much more.

Phil also serves on the Board of Governors for the Loyola Law School Alumni Association. He is currently the President. He is one of two APA members of that board. Since his installation on the board, he has been effective in promoting APA interests within the law school, including the establishment of an APA alumni organization and helping to boost visibility and awards for APA students and alumni. Phil is also a founding board member of Cal-APABA, where he has previously served as Treasurer.

Phil is a native Angelino and races cars in his spare time--he actually holds a Guinness World Record for such.

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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.