President's Message:
I am proud and excited to serve as President of
VABANC this year. 2008 marks an incredible milestone as VABANC
celebrates our tenth anniversary. Our organization has come a long
way since its formation in 1998, when a small group of dedicated
Vietnamese American lawyers gathered at the home of the
organization’s first President, My-Le Jacqueline Duong. Through
the years, VABANC has grown to include attorneys and law students
from all sectors of the law. VABANC is proud to celebrate the
appointment of its founder, Jacqueline Duong, to the Santa Clara
County Superior Court last year and the achievements of all of our
members in the past ten years. The relationships we have built
among Vietnamese American attorneys and law students and the
Vietnamese American community at large have allowed us to continue
to grow larger and stronger as a bar association.
I am also pleased to announce that VABANC will be hosting the 3rd
Annual National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys (NCVAA)
here in San Francisco August 16, 2008. VABANC is excited to
continue to make history as we take part in the formation of a
National Vietnamese American Bar Association. Each year VABANC has
continued to take steps to build and connect the network of
professional Vietnamese American men and women, here in the Bay
Area and throughout the nation, and to come together as one legal
community.
As I look back on all of VABANC’s great achievements, I am
thrilled to share a few great projects we will have this year – an
expanded mentorship program to reach out to Vietnamese American
law students as they take steps to begin their law career, pro
bono law clinics that will be offered quarterly on important legal
issues that impact the Vietnamese American community, and a legal
column written by VABANC members for publication with our
Vietnamese American media partners.
I congratulate our past presidents and all of our members on the
extraordinary achievements VABANC has accomplished throughout the
past ten years. I look forward to working with the talented and
dedicated colleagues on the 2008 Board as we continue to make
history.
Mai D. Phan, President (2008) |
