NAPABA Awards - Affiliate of the Year

Affiliate of the Year

The NAPABA Affiliate of the Year Award recognizes outstanding NAPABA affiliates for their best practices and accomplishments in their local communities. This is an opportunity to nominate your affiliate and recognize its recent achievements over the past year. NAPABA may select up to two (2) affiliates for this award, an affiliate with less than 100 members and affiliate with 100 or more members. Nomination deadline is June 4, 2026.

Submit a Nomination

Award Qualifications

Please be advised that awardees must be:

Current with their NAPABA membership; and
Present at the NAPABA Convention to receive award.

Selection Criteria

The awardees will be selected based on the following information:

Membership
Finances
Key Programs and Events
Community Involvement
Communications
Challenges
Helping NAPABA Locally, Nationally, and Internationally

Required Materials

The following information must be provided in order for the nomination to be accepted for consideration.

Include a cover letter (maximum of 2 pages) with your submission, summarizing why you believe your affiliate is most deserving of the Affiliate of the Year Award.
A list of required questions to include with your nomination can be downloaded in Word or PDF . Limit your responses in each Section to a maximum of one page for each section (Sections I-VII). You may write your responses directly in the Word document or in a separate document in essay, bullet-point, table/chart, graphics, or other form, so long as the responses to each complete section fit on the front of one single page.
List of current officers and board members.
Event photos, which may include brief captions, may be attached, but no appendices or extra attachments to the application will be allowed or considered.

Questions? Contact membership@napaba.org.

Nominations are Now Open

2025 Awardee | APABA-DC

Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington, D.C. Area (APABA-DC)

The Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington, D.C. Area, Inc. (APABA-DC) is the oldest and largest association of Asian Pacific American attorneys in the Washington, D.C. area. Since its founding in 1981, APABA-DC’s membership has grown into a network of hundreds of lawyers, law professors, law students, and other interested individuals.

APABA-DC pairs robust professional development with deep community service. This year, they expanded mentorship and career support through free professional development events, mentorship circles, pro bono clinics with the D.C. Bar, and offered community education and safe-space programming in response to rising anti-Asian rhetoric and broader civic challenges. They also collaborated with partner organizations such as the Asian Educational Fund (AEF) to strengthen the pipeline from law school to practice within their membership.

As a local leader and national collaborator, APABA-DC amplifies AANHPI voices—promoting NAPABA opportunities, encouraging dual membership, uplifting member achievements, and contributing leaders to NAPABA committees and Convention panels. With support from the NAPABA Affiliate Grant Program, it launched a D.C. service coalition uniting voluntary bars to defend the rule of law and advance inclusion and belonging.

APABA-DC has strengthened its core programs while launching new, inclusive initiatives. They are actively increasing visibility and influence across the legal and civic landscape and creating leadership opportunities while investing in the next generation of legal professionals. Their expanding collaborations embody NAPABA’s mission and values and demonstrate their commitment to the AANHPI community.

Previous Recipients

2024 Awardee: Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (British Columbia) Society

2023 Awardee: Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Tampa Bay and Dallas Asian American Bar Association

2022 Awardee: Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association (SCCLA)

2021 Awardee: Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington D.C. Area (APABA DC)

2020 Awardee: Filipino Bar Association of Northern California (FBANC)
2019 Awardee: Asian American Bar Association of New York
2018 Awardee: Asian American Bar Association of Houston
2017 Awardee: Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area
2016 Awardee: Orange County Asian American Bar Association
2015 Awardee: Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association
2014 Awardee: Minnesota Asian Pacific American Bar Association
2013 Awardees: Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts
2012 Awardee: Asian/Pacific Bar Association of Sacramento
2011 Awardees: Missouri Asian American Bar Association
2010 Awardee: South Asian Bar Association of Northern California
2009 Awardee: Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington, D.C. Area
2008 Awardee: Asian American Bar Association of New York

	Edit This Favorite
Name:
Category:
Share:	Yes No, Keep Private

Edit This Favorite