Honoring Trailblazers Mai Phan and Duy Thai at VABANC Annual Scholarship Dinner
October, 5, 2012
VABANC is pleased to announce that we will be honoring two trailblazers this year – Mai D. Phan and Duy Thai – at our Annual Scholarship Dinner on Friday, Oct. 5.  Mai and Duy have worked tirelessly with the Vietnamese-American community to provide legal services to those in need, and have also played active roles in VABANC.  We will also be awarding scholarships to Amy Nguyen (Santa Clara University School of Law) and Dieu-My Mimi Nguyen (Golden Gate University School of Law) for their work with the underprivileged in the community.  Our keynote speaker for the night will be the Honorable Cheri Pham, who was elected unopposed to the Orange County Superior Court, becoming the first Vietnamese-American to be elected directly to the bench in California.  Please join us for the celebration.  For more information, please click here.

Judge Jacqueline Nguyen Confirms to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
May 7, 2012
Congratulations to U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Nguyen on her May 7, 2012 confirmation to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.  Judge Nguyen was confirmed by an overwhelming 91-3 vote and is the first Asian-American female to serve on any federal appellate court in the nation.  For more information, please click here.

Miranda Du Confirmed as First Asian Pacific American Federal District Court Judge for the District of Nevada
March 28, 2012 
VABANC is pleased to announce that the Senate voted to confirm Miranda Mai Du to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.  Judge Du is the first-ever Asian Pacific American to serve as an Article III judge in Nevada. Judge Du becomes the second Vietnamese federal judge in the country after Judge Jacqueline Nguyen of the Central District of California. For more information, please click here.

Andrew Vu, winner of the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Times Community Champion Award
February 29, 2012
VABANC Co-founder Andrew Vu is named a Community Champion award by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Times for his contribution in serving minority communities in the Bay Area. Andrew has been instrumental in our Public Interest Fellowship and has led our organization to greater heights in the recent years. For more information, please click here.

VABANC Receives SCCBA's UnSung Hero's Award
October 5, 2011
Each year the Diversity Committee of the Santa Clara County Bar Association presents the Unsung Heroes Awards, recognizing individuals and organizations in our community, regardless of ethnicity, who have demonstrated a long-standing commitment to encouraging the advancement of minorities in the legal profession or promoting equal access to the administration of justice for individuals. For more information, please click here.

VABANC receives the Business Impact Award from API Legal Outreach
September 16, 2011
VABANC receives the Business Impact Award from API Legal Outreach for extraordinary volunteer work for progressive social and economic justice.

Thuy Thi Nguyen: VABANC's 2011 Trailblazer Award Recipient
August 10, 2011
VABANC honors Thuy Thi Nguyen with VABANC's 2011 Trailblazer Award for her outstanding achievements, commitment and leadership of Vietnamese American attorneys. The Trailblazer Award was established in 2003 to recognize the outstanding achievements, commitment and leadership of Vietnamese American lawyers. “Ms. Nguyen is a tireless advocate not only on issues that affect the Vietnamese American community but also for under-served communities at large,” says  Duyen Nguyen, VABANC’s Vice-President. For more information, please click here.

Better Together
March 16, 2011
Prepared by the Applied Research Center (ARC) in partnership with the Arcus Foundation, this study examines the relationship between racial justice organizations and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities, finding the lack of resources, funding, and community support are obstacles to engagement between the two communities. The executive summary of the report is available online, with the full report to be released at ARC’s Facing Race 2010 conference. A press teleconference will be held on Thursday, September 23. To RSVP for the teleconference or to interview ARC president and executive director Rinku Sen, contact Rebekah Spicuglia at rspicuglia@arc.org or (415) 290-2970. Click here to view the press release. Download the Executive Summary here. Download the full report here.

VABANC Mentor / Mentee Brunch
March 12, 2011
Our Mentor / Mentee Brunch in the South Bay successfully brings together Bay Area attorneys and law students.  Photos

NAPABA In-House Counsel Committee’s Mentoring Program
March 3, 2011
The NAPABA In-House Counsel Committee’s mentoring program is accepting applications for in-house counsel (including attorneys working for the public sector, academic institutions, and non-profits) to participate either as a mentee or mentor.  The program seeks to foster relationships between NAPABA members who are experienced in-house counsel and NAPABA members who are either (i) new to the in-house position and in need of guidance, including advice on professional development, career goals and transitioning into the in-house position, or (ii) in-house practitioners who are at a critical juncture in their career and in need of guidance on how to move forward or position themselves to take advantage of future opportunities.  The new deadline for submission for inclusion into this year’s program is Friday, March 11, 2011.  Click here for more information. 

VABANC Awards its First Public Interest Fellowship
February 14, 2011
VABANC proudly announces that it has awarded its first public interest fellowship to Nikki Dinh, who will be working at Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach (APILO) to serve the Vietnamese American community in the San Francisco Bay Area. The VABANC Public Interest Fellowship provides $25,000 to enable a law school graduate to provide legal services to and advocacy for the Vietnamese American community and/or other underserved communities.  Press Release

VABANC Collaborates with KGACLC to Provide First Ever Monthly Pro Bono Legal Clinics in San Jose
February 3, 2011
VABANC and Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center (KGACLC), a supported project of Santa Clara University Law School, announce that they will host free monthly legal clinics aimed at assisting the Vietnamese community in San Jose, the largest concentration of Vietnamese Americans in the United States. This is the first recurring monthly legal clinic hosted by the Vietnamese American Bar Association in San Jose.

Attorneys, interpreters, and Santa Clara University law students bilingual in Vietnamese will participate in these clinics and will be available to assist those with a variety of legal issues—from immigration and domestic violence to bankruptcy and employment law. The first clinic will be held on February 15, 2011 starting at 5:30 p.m. at 1030 The Alameda, San Jose, CA 95126, and will take place every 2nd Tuesday of the month at the same location.  Press Release

Touro Law to Offer First-Ever U.S. Summer Abroad Law Program in Vietnam
January 6, 2011
Touro Law Center is pleased to announce a new summer abroad law program in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, beginning in the summer of 2011. Touro Law will be the first and only United States law school to sponsor a summer abroad law program in Vietnam.  Flyer.