Atlanta, Georgia August 3 4, 2018 - NCVAA · Atlanta, Georgia August 3-4, 2018. 2 12th Annual National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys August 3-4, 2018 Atlanta, Georgia

12th Annual National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys 1

Atlanta, Georgia August 3-4, 2018


August 3-4, 2018 Atlanta, Georgia



TABLE OF CONTENTS

NCVAA Welcome Letter 4 Board of Directors & Organizing Committee 5 Conference-At-A-Glance 7 Congratulatory Letters 8 Keynote speaker 12 Trailblazer Award Recipient 13 Scholarship Award Recipients 14 Moderators/Panelists 16 Emcee 29 Headliner 30 Sponsor Ads 31 Save the Date: 13th Annual Conference 34

Twelfth Annual National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys

“Rise Up”

Friday, August 3, 2018 Welcoming/Networking Reception 6:30PM – 8:30PM Einstein’s 1077 Juniper St NE Atlanta, GA 30309 —————————— Saturday, August 4, 2018 Conference 8:00AM – 3:30PM Alston & Bird One Atlantic Center 1201 W Peachtree St NW #4900 Atlanta, GA 30309 Barristers’ Ball 6:00PM – 11:00PM W Midtown Atlanta Hotel 188 14th Street NE Atlanta, GA 30361

◼ Nguyen & Pham, LLC

◼ Greenberg Traurig, LLP ◼ Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP

◼ Polsinelli LLP

◼ Bondurant Mixson & Elmore LLP ◼ Enenstein Pham & Glass

◼ Duy Thai Law Firm ◼ Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP ◼ Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association ◼ Messner Reeves LLP ◼ Nguyen Tran Law Firm, LLC

◼ Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP ◼ Orthodontics of Atlanta ◼ Pham Law Group, Inc. ◼ Stragmalia Luu LLP ◼ The Davis Injury Firm LLC ◼ Vietnamese American Bar Association of Northern California ◼ Vietnamese American Bar Association of Southern California

Silver Sponsors

SPONSORSHIP

Platinum Sponsors

Gold Sponsors

Diamond Sponsor

◼ Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta

◼ Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP

◼ Cruz and Associates PC ◼ Dr. Michael Nguyen & Tita Nguyen, Esq. ◼ Foley & Lardner LLP ◼ Hotshot, Inc. ◼ Turley Law Firm

◼ Alston & Bird ◼ Kim Chi Ngo ◼ Kuroshio Midtown Sushi and Lounge ◼ Martin Nguyen, Esq.

◼ National Association of Asian American Professionals ◼ NextClient.com, Inc. ◼ Queenie Ngo, Phu Nu Cali Magazine ◼ VN Printing, Inc. ◼ Wes Carter

Bronze Sponsors

Sponsors In Kind



NCVAA WELCOME LETTER



BOARD OF DIRECTORS/ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Catherine Than Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP

Houston, TX Board of Directors

(Thuy-Hang) T Nguyen Turley Law Firm

Dallas, TX President-Elect

Organizing Committee

Duyen T. Nguyen DTN Law Group

San Francisco, CA Board of Directors

Duy “Dewey” Nguyen Troutman Sanders LLP

Richmond, VA Secretary

James T. Tran J.T. Tran, LLC Covington, LA

Board of Directors Organizing Committee

Phong Nguyen Baker & Hostetler, LLP

Washington, D.C. Board of Directors

Hoang Quan Vu Foley & Lardner LLP

Houston, TX Board of Directors

Elvis Tran Law Offices of Victor L. George

Torrance, CA Board of Directors

Tita Nguyen Office of the Attorney General, California Department of Justice

Los Angeles, CA Board of Directors

Duy Thai Duy Thai Law Firm San Francisco, CA

Immediate Past President Organizing Committee

Jenny Nguyen Nguyen & Pham, LLC

Norcross, GA President


Daniel Huynh Alston & Bird Atlanta, GA

Board of Directors Organizing Committee

Andrew LeBa Finnegan Henderson Farabow

Garrett & Dunner LLP Atlanta, GA

Board of Directors Conference Co-Chair

Teri Hong-Phuc Nguyen Polsinelli LLP Palo Alto, CA

Board of Directors Conference Co-Chair

Sonia Nguyen Greenberg Traurig, LLP

San Francisco, CA Treasurer




ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Ethan Pham Nguyen & Pham, LLC

Norcross, GA

Ken D. Duong TDL International Law Firm, APLC

Orange County, CA

Zee Tran The Law Firm of Minhdy T. Tran, P.A.

Clemson, SC

Judy Vuong Department of Veteran Affairs

Houston, TX

Minh N. Nguyen Next IP Law Group LLC

Atlanta, GA

Quynh Truong-Johnson Cruz & Associates

Atlanta, GA

Christina Nguyen Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP

Atlanta, GA

Thai Phan Rutan & Tucker, LLP

Costa Mesa, CA



Welcoming/Networking Reception Hors d’oeuvres & Hosted Bar Welcoming Remarks Andrew Leba Conference Co-Chair Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP Teri Hong-Phuc Nguyen Conference Co-Chair Polsinelli LLP Christina Nguyen Conference Committee Morris Manning & Martin, LLP

Non-Hosted Dinner Kuroshio Midtown Sushi and Lounge 950 West Peachtree St NW Atlanta, GA 30309

Registration & Breakfast Welcoming Remarks Teri Hong-Phuc Nguyen Conference Co-Chair Polsinelli LLP Andrew Leba Conference Co-Chair Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP Daniel Huynh Alston & Bird Hon. Bee Nguyen State Representative, Georgia House District 89

Panel 1: Negotiations: How to Get to Yes (Thuy-Hang) T Nguyen Turley Law Firm (Moderator) Betty Nguyen Davis The Davis Injury Firm LLC Minh Ngoc Nguyen Sallie Mae Bank

Panel 2: Forging Your Path to Partnership: Personal Stories and Practical Advice Chinh Pham Greenberg Traurig, LLP (Moderator) Teri Pham Enenstein Pham & Glass Loc Pfeiffer Kutak Rock LLP Tiana S. Mykkeltvedt Bondurant Mixson & Elmore LLP Michael Viet Lee Buchalter

Panel 3: #MeToo and Vietnamese-American Women Attorneys: (Mis)conceptions, Changing the Conversation, and Navigating the Legal Profession Dr. Connie Wun Transformative Research and (Moderator) AAPI Women Lead QuynhChi P. Nguyen Taulia, Inc. Han Pham Hotshot, Inc. Tam Thanh Pham Polsinelli LLP Catherine T. Than Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP

Panel 4: Trinh et al.: Deportation & Detention in Vietnamese Communities Christine M. Pham VABANC Law Foundation (Moderator) Phi Uyen Nguyen Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta Tin Thanh Nguyen Central Law Group, PLLC Tammy Nguyen Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates Dy Nguyen Guest Speaker

CONFERENCE-AT-A-GLANCE

Friday Evening, August 3, 2018 Einstein’s

1077 Juniper St NE, Atlanta, GA 30309

8:00AM-9:00AM

6:30PM-8:30PM

9:00AM-10:00AM

10:10AM-11:10AM

Saturday, August 4, 2018 Alston & Bird Alston Room, 50th Floor

One Atlantic Center, 1201 W Peachtree St NW #4900 Atlanta, GA 30309

Panel 5: Judges Panel: Ethics & Sanctions Hon. John Nho Trong Nguyen Retired Judge, Superior Court (Moderator) of California, Orange County Hon. Tu Pham Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Hon. Ruth Rocker McMullin Judge, Magistrate Court of Gwinnett County, Georgia Hon. John M. Tran Judge, Circuit Court of Fairfax County, Virginia Hon. Jacqueline My-Le Duong Judge, Superior Court of California, Santa Clara County

Registration/Networking

Barristers’ Ball Emcee Fabian De Rozario GlobalConnect Performance by Contortionist Lacy Elian Performance by Nationally-Acclaimed Violist Ken Ford Welcoming Remarks Jenny Nguyen Nguyen & Pham, LLC President, NCVAA (2017-2018) Recognition of Sponsors Presentation of Luu-Ng Family Trust Scholarship Recipient Kim Luu-Ng KLN Firm Linh Nguyen Thuy Adams Recipient Presentation of NCVAA/VABA-GA Scholarship Recipient Teri Hong-Phuc Nguyen Polsinelli LLP Conference Co-Chair Bill Nguyen Recipient Performance by Beatboxer Charlie Shin Performance by Beatboxer Charlie Shin and Singer Sharon Yang Performance by Nationally-Acclaimed Violinist, Ken Ford Presentation of 2018 Trailblazer Award Andrew Leba Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP Conference Co-Chair Trailblazer Award Recipient The Honorable Ruth Rocker McMullin Judge, Magistrate Court of Gwinnett County, Georgia Keynote Speaker Introduced by Jenny Nguyen Nguyen & Pham, LLC President, NCVAA (2017-2018) Brigadier General Lapthe Flora Keynote Speaker Introduction of 2017-2018 Board of Directors and Conference Committee Installation of NCVAA’s 2018-2019 Board of Directors The Honorable Tu Pham Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Closing Remarks (Thuy Hang) T Nguyen President, NCVAA (2018-2019)

Saturday Evening, August 4, 2018 W Midtown Atlanta Hotel

188 14th Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30361

6:00PM-6:45PM

7:00PM-11:00PM

8:30PM

11:25AM-1:00PM

1:15PM-2:15PM

2:25PM-3:25PM



CONGRATULATORY LETTERS












Brigadier General LAPTHE FLORA

Saturday, August 4th, 7:00PM-11:00PM Barristers’ Ball

B rigadier General Flora earned his commission as an Infantry Officer from Virginia Military Institute in 1987 and has command-ed at every level from company to brigade with great success. In addition to his command assignments, General Flora also successfully served in several key staff positions as 116 th IBCT Executive Officer, 29th Infantry Division G3, and JFHQ-VA J5. While serving in the 29th Infantry Division in 2001, General Flora deployed to Bosnia as part of the G3 staff and served as the Deputy G3 Chief of Future Ops, Training & Synchronization

with Multinational Division North. As a battalion commander in 2006, General Flora led the 1-116th Infantry in support of NATO peace-keeping operations in Kosovo. In 2011, General Flora served as the Senior Advisor and Director, Afghan National Army, Ground Forces Command, ISAF Joint Command in Afghanistan. Presently, General Flora serves as the Assistant Adjutant General for Strategic Initiatives in the Virginia National Guard. A native of Saigon, he is the first Vietnamese boat refugee to be promoted to be a general officer in the United States Army and the second person of Vietnamese descent. Following the Communist capture of Saigon in 1975, General Flora and his brothers fled the city to avoid being drafted into the North Vietnamese military. He spent more than three years in the jungle and then fled by boat to Indonesia, where he spent a year living in three separate refugee camps. General Flora came to the United States in 1980 under the sponsorship of Ra-leigh Court United Methodist and Greene Memorial United Methodist Churches of Roanoke, Virginia. General Flora’s awards and decorations include the General MacArthur Leadership Award, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with 3 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal with 1 Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Achievement Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with 5 Oak Leaf Clusters, National Defense Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Afghani-stan Campaign Medal, Kosovo Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” Device Numeral 3 and Bronze Hour Glass, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (3rd Award), NATO Medal (3rd Award), VA Governor Medal, VANG Legion of Merit, VANG Bronze Star, VANG Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster. In his civilian capacity, General Flora is the Senior Applications Engineer with Night Vision business of Harris Corporation in Roanoke, Virginia, and holds six patents related to the AN/PVS-14 and AN/AVS-9 night vision goggles. General Flora has been married to his wife, Thuy, for twenty-three years and together they have a beautiful seventeen-year old daughter, Christine.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER



TRAILBLAZER AWARD RECIPIENT/PANELIST

The Honorable RUTH ROCKER MCMULLIN Judge, Magistrate Court of Gwinnett County, Georgia

Saturday, August 4th, 2:25PM-3:25PM Judges Panel: “Ethics & Sanctions” Saturday, August 4th, 7:00PM-11:00PM Barristers’ Ball

J udge Ruth Rocker McMullin is Gwinnett County’s first Vietnamese-American Judge. Judge Ruth McMullin was born in Saigon, Vietnam right at the end of the Vietnam War to a retired United States Army veteran father and Vietnamese mother. Shortly after her birth, her family was evacuated from the country. Her parents decided to relocate to her father’s home state of Alabama to raise their family. Ruth eventually graduated from Jacksonville State University and Emory Uni-versity School of Law. She practiced for thirteen years as an Assistant Public Defender in DeKalb County, Georgia before going into

private practice. Judge McMullin has been a Magistrate Judge in Gwinnett County since 2014, after having been appointed by Chief Magistrate Judge, Kristina Hammer Blum. Judge McMullin serves on the Emory Law Alumni Board and is an active member of her sorority, Zeta Phi Beta, Inc. She is also a long time volunteer with Election Protection. She resides in Gwinnett County with her husband, Vaughn, and their three children.



LUU-NG FAMILY TRUST SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

LINH NGUYEN THUY ADAMS Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University


L inh Nguyen Thuy Adams is the granddaughter of an officer who served in the South Vietnamese military during the Vietnam Civil War. Her grandfather was sent to an re-education camp for six years after the 1975 Liberation. Although born long after the war, due to her family’s ties with the previous government, Linh faced multiple obstacles while advancing her academic and pro-fessional endeavors under the current administration. Linh first came to the U.S. in July 2008 as one of three Cultural Ambassa-dors representing Vietnamese youths in a cultural and academic exchange program sponsored by the Asia Foundation. She went

back to Vietnam after the trip, but later that year returned to start her journey here in the U.S. by enrolling in Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC). Linh earned her Associate’s Degree in Social Sciences from NVCC in 2011. Eighteen months later, she finished her Bachelor’s Degree with a major in Criminal Justice from Wilmington University. During that time, she managed to work nights, weekends, and holidays at nail salons to pay for school and volunteered for several organizations. Linh assisted certified interpreters at the Fairfax courthouse, com-municating with Vietnamese families regarding court procedures. She also helped with the Vietnamese Boat People Association, Feed the Homeless, and nursing homes providing need-based interpretation and assistance for elderly Vietnamese. Through her education and volunteer work, Linh realized the idea that “everybody has a fair chance under the law” was not as sim-ple as it may sound – both in Vietnam, and even here in the U.S., low-income Vietnamese immigrants do not possess fair access to the law due to their dearth of knowledge, poor English, lack of financial resources, and mistrust in the authorities. Following her heart, Linh started her law school process and got accepted to Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University. As a 2L this Fall, Linh is working for no compensation with the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center to reach out and help low-income Asian immigrants, especially victims of human trafficking and domestic violence. Her goal is to provide pro bono legal services in a variety of fields to the Vietnamese community and to raise awareness that low-income Vietnamese can seek help without fear of revenge, humiliation, and debt. Today, Linh is proud of her background, of being a granddaughter of a soldier who fought for what he believed. She is proud of becoming the first Vietnamese-American attorney in her entire family of blue-collar workers. Linh is honored to receive the Luu-Ng Family Trust Scholarship, which will help her get closer to her passion of helping others with uncontrollable backgrounds to seek justice.



NCVAA/VABA-GA SCHOLARSHIP AWARD RECIPIENT

BILL NGUYEN Berkeley Law


B ill Nguyen is the third of four children to Vietnamese refugees who have spent the past twenty-six years in San Jose, California. A QuestBridge scholarship took him across the country to Columbia University, where he received his B.A. in human rights, magna cum laude, in 2016. In college, Bill gave his time to student groups and internships combining service with race-, class-, and gender-based advocacy. Now entering his second year at Berkeley Law, he serves as an associate editor of the California Law Review, a symposium editor of the Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law, a co-president of First-Generation Professionals, and a volunteer advocate with the Post-Conviction Advocacy Project. This summer, he interned with the San

Francisco Public Defender’s Office. Inspired by stories of his father’s political incarceration, Bill hopes to practice public defense in the Bay Area before going into impact litigation for criminal justice reform.



MODERATOR/PANELIST

(THUY-HANG) T NGUYEN Turley Law Firm Saturday, August 4th, 9:00AM-10:00AM “Negotiations: How to Get to Yes”

T NGUYEN is a Plaintiff’s wrongful death and per-sonal injury lawyer at the Turley Law Firm in Dallas, Texas with over 14 years of experience. She has as-sisted clients in wrongful death and life-altering inju-ry cases with millions of dollars at stake. She focuses

her practice on products liability and general negligence cases both within Texas and around the country. Ms. Nguyen is admitted to practice in all Texas state courts, the United States District Court for the Northern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas, and the U.S. Fifth and Ninth Cir-cuit Courts of Appeal. Ms. Nguyen has also been admitted pro hac vice to several federal and state trial courts outside Texas. Before practicing law, Ms. Nguyen received her Bache-lor of Arts degree in Psychology in 1991 and her Master of Arts degree in Experimental Psychology in 1993, both from Southern Methodist University (SMU). In 2005, Ms. Nguyen graduated from SMU's Dedman School of Law. She has spent the majority of her life in the Dallas metroplex. She has been married for 18 years to her husband James. They enjoy traveling and spending time with their family and friends.

B ETTY NGUYEN DAVIS is a personal injury attor-ney in Atlanta, Georgia and runs her own practice, the Davis Injury Firm. Betty has delivered proven results to her clients and continues to achieve high peer approval amongst other lawyers. She has been

recognized by Super Lawyers and Georgia Trend magazine as one of Georgia’s top attorneys for multiple years. When she is not practicing law, Betty enjoys spending time with her friends and family.

BETTY NGUYEN DAVIS The Davis Injury Firm LLC Saturday, August 4th, 9:00AM-10:00AM “Negotiations: How to Get to Yes”



PANELIST/MODERATOR

MINH NGOC NGUYEN Sallie Mae Bank Saturday, August 4th, 9:00AM-10:00AM “Negotiations: How to Get to Yes”

M INH NGOC NGUYEN is the Associate Gen-eral Counsel with the Sallie Mae Bank at its headquarters in Newark, DE. In this role, she provides guidance to the Bank on federal and state consumer finance laws, including those

related to originations, marketing, deposits, and fair lending. Prior to joining Sallie Mae Bank, Ms. Nguyen worked for a num-ber of years as a cross-border financial litigation attorney, both participating as litigation counsel as well as managing a large network of attorneys. She has worked extensively in the consum-er finance field, both in the U.S. and abroad, providing guidance to financial institutions on legal and regulatory obligations, as well as responses to lawsuits, regulatory investigations, and ex-aminations. Ms. Nguyen holds a Bachelor of Arts from Tulane University and a Juris Doctorate from the American University, Washington College of Law.

CHINH H. PHAM Greenberg Traurig, LLP Saturday, August 4th, 10:10AM-11:10AM “Forging Your Path to Partnership: Personal Stories and Practi-cal Advice”

C HINH H. PHAM is a Shareholder at the international law firm of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, where he co-chairs the Boston office Intellectual Property practice and chairs the firm’s Emerging Technology practice. As part of his practice, Chinh counsels technology

clients and assists them in leveraging their IP portfolio for high-value commercial opportunities, as well as connecting them to funding sources and industry leaders for strategic collaborations. Chinh serves as a mentor to entrepreneurs and start-ups through many incubator and accelerator programs. Chinh also serves as an Attorney-in-Residence at Harvard’s Innovation Lab and Northwest-ern The Garage where he advises student entrepreneurs on their business ventures. In addition to his work, Chinh routinely engages law students at Boston area schools and volunteers his personal time to serve as a mentor to many young attorneys. Chinh is recog-nized as a “Top 10 Intellectual Property Lawyers Influencing Nan-otechnology” by the Nanotechnology Law & Business Journal, and as an “Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business," by the Asian American Business Development Center. An avid runner, Chinh has completed 18 marathons, including all six of the World Marathon Majors. He runs to de-stress, to plan out his day, and to enjoy eating worry-free. Chinh received his B.A. from the Univer-sity of California, Berkeley and his J.D. from the University of San Francisco...both many years ago.



PANELISTS

TERI PHAM Enenstein Pham & Glass Saturday, August 4th, 10:10AM-11:10AM “Forging Your Path to Partnership: Personal Stories and Practi-cal Advice”

T ERI PHAM is a Shareholder with the firm specializing in complex civil litigation, including business litigation, employment litigation, intellec-tual property litigation, entertainment litigation, bankruptcy litigation and real estate disputes. Teri handles all aspects of litigation from pre-dispute resolution, to mediation, arbitration, trial and appeals. Teri

received her bachelor’s degree in Social Ecology with a specialization in Criminolo-gy, Law and Society, and a minor from the Graduate School of Management from the University of California, Irvine in 1994. She received her law degree (J.D.) from the UCLA School of Law in 1997. Teri began her career with the Beverly Hills law firm of Reuben & Novicoff. Prior to joining the firm, she was a Partner in the law firms of Liner Grode Stein Yankelevitz Sunshine Regenstreif & Taylor LLP and LKP Global LLP. She is co-author of “Conflicts, Conflicts,” published in the California Lawyer Magazine, August 2002 issue. She has also been engaged as a speaker on a variety of practice issues and litigation topics at a number of events, including the annual conference of the International Bar Association and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Regional Conference, as well as community seminars with the Small Business Development Community, the UCLA Anderson School of Business and the UC Irvine School of Law. While at UCLA, Teri served on the associated student body board for the law school and as a graduate student representative to ASUCLA. Teri also served as an Associate Justice for the Moot Court Honors Program, and continues to participate in events with the law school, including the annual Law Firm Challenge, as well as the broader UCLA Alumni program. Teri is a past President and founding member of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles County, and presently serves on its Advi-sory Board. She is also a past President of the statewide Asian/Pacific Bar of Califor-nia. She has served on the Los Angeles County Bench and Bar Committee and the California State Bar Committee on Administration of Justice, which reviews, comments upon, and proposes changes to rules and legislation governing civil procedure in the State of California. She is also a past member of the Board of Governors of the National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys, and served as Co-Chair of the organization’s annual conference in Las Vegas in 2013. Teri has been dedicated to providing service to the community throughout her career. She has served on the Board of Directors of East West Players, the premiere Asian Pacific American theater company in the U.S., and is an Executive Commit-tee member for the Asian Pacific American Friends of the Theater, which is dedicat-ed to the development of Asian Pacific American theater artists. She has volunteered her services with the Public Law Center, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, and has served as a Bankruptcy Fellow at Bet Tzedek Legal Services in Los Ange-les. She continues to provide interpretation and other legal services to indigent persons on a pro bono basis. She is an Advisory Board Member for the Asian Pacif-ic American UCLA Alumni Association, and also mentors law students for the UCLA, USC, and Loyola Asian Pacific Islander Law Student Associations. Teri is admitted to the State Bar of California and all United States District Courts in Califor-nia, as well as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Teri is fluent in Vietnamese and has been featured on a number of Vietnamese radio and television programs con-cerning a variety of legal topics.

LOC PFEIFFER Kutak Rock LLP Saturday, August 4th, 10:10AM-11:10AM “Forging Your Path to Partnership: Personal Stories and Practi-cal Advice”

L OC PFEIFFER served as law clerk for the Honorable Stephen C. St. John (1995-1996) and the Honorable Hal J. Bonney, Jr. (1994-1995), United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Mr. Pfeiffer concentrates his practice in commercial litigation with an empha-sis on creditors’ rights and bankruptcy. He represents secured creditors,

unsecured creditors, debtors-inpossession, equity owners, buyers and sellers in bank-ruptcy sales, and trustees throughout the United States and focuses his practice in the United States Bankruptcy Court, United States District Court and the Court of Ap-peals for the Fourth Circuit. Mr. Pfeiffer has significant experience in Chapter 11 cases, where he has been involved in all aspects of the Chapter 11 process. He has handled business workouts for financially distressed companies, resolved commercial disputes, and prosecuted many contested hearings and trials during the course of his practice. Mr. Pfeiffer obtained Virginia Super Lawyer status in which he was recog-nized as among the top 5% of practicing attorneys in Virginia and is recognized by other lawyers and judges in The Best Lawyers in America©, which is the oldest and one of the most prestigious peer-review publication in the legal industry. Mr. Pfeiffer also has an extensive history of public service to the Virgin-ia Bar, several professional organizations and his community. He was selected to serve on the Board of Governors for the Virginia Bar Association, which is the oldest volun-tary bar group in the United States. More recently, he was President of the Federal Bar Association (Richmond Chapter) and was a member of the Board of Directors for the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Virginia. In the bankruptcy field, Mr. Pfeiffer served as Chair of the Bankruptcy Section of the Virginia Bar Association, as President of the Business Finance and Turnaround Association (finance and workout professional organization), served as the longest-serving Chief Editor of the Bank-ruptcy Law News (published by the Virginia State Bar and is distributed to all members of the Bankruptcy Section), and served on the Standing Committee of Local Bank-ruptcy Rules for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virgin-ia. He has spoken and participated in numerous professional conferences and continu-ing legal education seminars. Mr. Pfeiffer’s non-legal public service includes serving as the President of the Gateway Association, which is an organization of businesses and citizens of Chesterfield County, Virginia devoted to economic redevelopment. Mr. Pfeiffer has appeared numerous times before government boards to advocate the position of the Gateway Association. Mr. Pfeiffer has also handled many pro bono cases in which he provided free legal services to clients who cannot afford counsel.



PANELISTS

TIANA S. MYKKELTVEDT Bondurant Mixson & Elmore LLP Saturday, August 4th, 10:10AM-11:10AM “Forging Your Path to Partnership: Personal Stories and Practi-cal Advice”

T IANA S. MYKKELTVEDT is a partner at Bondurant Mixson & Elmore LLP and is based in Atlanta, Geor-gia. She represents clients in a wide range of complex commercial matters including: commercial contract disputes, business torts (fraud, civil RICO), profession-

al liability, employment law (individual and class action), class actions, international law, and intellectual property matters (software, licensing, trade secrets). Tiana is a member of the Uni-versity of Georgia Law School Association Council and the Uni-versity of Georgia Law School Dean Rusk International Law Cen-ter Council. She currently serves on the State Bar of Georgia B.A.S.I.C.S Committee and is a past member of the Georgia Asso-ciation for Woman Lawyers Board of Directors.

MICHAEL VIET LEE Buchalter Saturday, August 4th, 10:10AM-11:10AM “Forging Your Path to Partnership: Personal Stories and Practi-cal Advice”

M ICHAEL VIET LEE is a shareholder, a mem-ber of the Board of Directors and a member of the Corporate Practice Group of Buchalter, a full-service law firm based in California with ap-proximately 250 attorneys. Michael’s experienc-

es include: acting as outside general counsel; mergers and acqui-sitions; securities offerings, private equity financings, venture capital financings, debt financings, and church extension fund offerings; commercial real estate purchases and sales; fund for-mations; cross-border transactions, including manufacturing, supply and distribution agreements, and foreign investments; joint ventures and strategic alliances; and intellectual property licensing, joint development transactions, purchases and sales of intellectual property rights. Michael represents a wide-range of clients, including high-net worth individuals and family offices, publicly-traded companies, middle-market companies, emerging growth companies, start-ups, religious organizations, non-profit organizations, and entrepreneurs. He has a national and interna-tional practice, with U.S. clients and international clients from China, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. He has counseled clients in various industries and busi-nesses, including software, media content, emerging technolo-gies, mobile technologies, e-commerce, computer hardware, healthcare, life sciences, medical device, agricultural chemical, aviation and aerospace, apparel, hospitality, food and beverage, automotive, entertainment, financial services, and religious or-ganizations. Michael also serves on the Board of Directors of the Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce and on the Board of Directors of the Vietnamese American Bar Association of Southern California. Before joining Buchalter, Michael was a partner at McDermott, Will & Emery and a federal law clerk to the Judge Linda H. McLaughlin, United States District Court, Central Dis-trict of California. Michael earned his J.D. at the UCLA School of Law in 1994 and his B.A. at the University of California, Ir-vine in 1991



MODERATOR/PANELIST

QUYNHCHI P. NGUYEN Taulia, Inc. Saturday, August 4th, 11:25AM-1:00PM “#MeToo and Vietnamese-American Women Attorneys: (Mis)conceptions, Changing the Conversation, and Navigating the Legal Profession”

Q UYNHCHI P. NGUYEN is the second attorney at Taulia, a fintech startup in San Francisco, and is cur-rently responsible for everything from tech licensing and commercial contracts to global corporate compli-ance, including privacy and the GDPR. She also han-

dles the company's employment and litigation matters. After grad-uating from Santa Clara Law School, QuynhChi served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert C. Naraja of the Superior Court of the Northern Mariana Islands in Saipan. She then served as a law clerk to the Honorable Ramona V. Manglona of the U.S. Federal District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. As a federal law clerk, QuynhChi worked on a number of pressing issues including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (employment discrimination), Section 1983 (constitutional torts), the Endangered Species Act, and Title VII of the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (immigration). Following her clerkships, QuynhChi returned to California to practice patent litigation at a Bay Area law firm, and also served as the Managing Director for the Center for Global Law & Policy at Santa Clara University. QuynhChi has volun-teered as pro bono counsel for the law Foundation of Silicon Val-ley in guardianship and immigration cases, as well as with Catho-lic Charities, assisting low income residents in California.

DR. CONNIE WUN Transformative Research and AAPI Women Lead Saturday, August 4th, 11:25AM-1:00PM “#MeToo and Vietnamese-American Women Attorneys: (Mis)conceptions, Changing the Conversation, and Navigating the Legal Profession”

C ONNIE WUN, Ph.D. is Connie Wun, Ph.D. is the Founder and Director of Transformative Research. In this capacity, Dr. Wun has worked with organizations such as Girls for Gender Equity in NYC and Mon-soon: United Asian Women of Iowa to train their

staff in community- driven qualitative research and data analysis. She is also a Senior Fellow for EdTrust-West, advising the organi-zation on issues related to girls of color in education and Asian Americans/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders in Education. Con-nie has also co-developed and facilitated forums with national experts including PolicyLink and the National Organization of Asian & Pacific Islanders Ending Sexual Violence (NAPIESV) on intersectional violence for educators, students, community organ-izers, and policy advocates. She has also been a recipient of the National Science Foundation Fellowship, American Association for University Women Postdoctoral Fellowship, UC Berkeley Chancellor's Fel-lowship, and UC Berkeley Center for Race and Gender Fellow-ship. She is a former high school teacher, advocate for sex work-ers, and anti-sexual assault counselor. Dr. Wun holds a Ph.D. in Education from UC Berkeley. Her work has been published in Critical Sociology, Educational Policy, Educational Theory and Practice, and Race, Ethnicity, and Education. She has also written for the The Feminist Wire, Truthout.org., and is currently working on her book manuscript on schools and violence against girls of color.



PANELISTS

T AM THANH PHAM is an intellectual property attor-ney at Polsinelli LLP, where she integrates complex technological and legal concepts to provide practical and timely advice to help clients reach their business goals. Evolving almost as quickly as the technologies

it protects, patent law can have an impact on any entity that uses, makes, sells, or otherwise interacts with technology. From start-ups to publicly traded companies, clients rely on Tam to craft and implement intellectual property strategies aligned to their particu-lar challenges and objectives. Tam works with the clients to craft a solid and compre-hensive protection plan for their assets. As a result, Tam fully understands all aspects of patent preparation and prosecution, including reexamination, reissue, appeals and post-grant proceed-ings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), and ap-peals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Her practice also includes developing and implementing litigation strategies for U.S. District Court and International Trade Commission (ITC) patent proceedings, preparation of opinion letters regarding non-infringement and invalidity, and due dili-gence related to venture capital financing and acquisitions.

H an Pham is head of operations at Hotshot, a startup that is bringing digital learning to lawyers. Her role covers product, tech, video production, sales operations, marketing, finance, people, and legal. She is a lawyer with a career in corporate strategy

and a passion for start-ups and social enterprises. She also be-lieves strongly in giving back to her community. She is currently one of the organizers of House of Genius Atlanta, a community-based forum that advises local entrepreneurs in the format of a monthly event. She serves on the board of the Global Village Project, a unique middle school for refugees girls who have had their education interrupted, and is one of the leaders of Her Term, which recruits and supports progressive women for political seats in Georgia. Han earned her B.A. in Russian Language & Litera-ture from Wellesley College and her J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School.

HAN PHAM Hotshot, Inc. Saturday, August 4th, 11:25AM-1:00PM “#MeToo and Vietnamese-American Women Attorneys: (Mis)conceptions, Changing the Conversation, and Navigating the Legal Profession”

TAM THANH PHAM Polsinelli LLP Saturday, August 4th, 11:25AM-1:00PM “#MeToo and Vietnamese-American Women Attorneys: (Mis)conceptions, Changing the Conversation, and Navigating the Legal Profession”



C HRISTINE M. PHAM received her J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law and was admitted to the California Bar in 2011. She is the current presi-dent of the VABANC Law Foundation, which admin-isters a public interest fellowship to recent law gradu-

ate, and the Vietnamese American Roundtable, which works to uplift the local community through advocacy, civic engagement, and meaningful large-scale community events. Throughout her career, she has held numerous leadership positions on board of directors, advisory committees and commissions with organiza-tions that focus on increasing diversity and opportunities. She founded the Bay Area APA Legislative Staffers Association in 2007, to increase diversity in public policy and legislative posi-tions. She has served in numerous committee chair positions with her local VABANC and APABA-SV bar associations and is an alum of the Collaborative Bar Leadership Academy. She has been recognized in Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 2017 class of 40 Under 40 honorees and received the Rising Star Award within her agency.

She currently serves as an attorney-advisor for a federal agency and provides legal advice on contract negotiations, regula-tions and policy, in the realm of aeronautics and new technologies. She leads her agency's unmanned aerial systems / drones legal practice team. Prior to law school, Christine worked as a congres-sional aide to Congressman Michael M. Honda where she worked on federal policy issues, including appropriations, and served as liaison to the AAPI and Vietnamese communities.

C ATHERINE THAN is a seasoned business attorney with experience representing companies in commer-cial disputes. She advises and represents businesses with contract negotiations, contract disputes, and prosecutes and defends claims of tortuous interfer-

ence with contract, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence and fraud. Her clients include small and large corpo-rations in a variety of industries, including banking, financial, accounting, mortgage brokering, manufacturing, healthcare, dis-tributorships, construction, oil and gas, and insurance. She is often called upon to act as a virtual general counsel to advise on a full range of business issues, and also helps new and existing business owners regarding business formation and corporate organization. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Houston, and graduated from the University of Miami School of Law, where she was inducted into the Iron Ar-row Honor Society, the highest honor attainable at the University of Miami.

CATHERINE THAN Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP Saturday, August 4th, 11:25AM-1:00PM “#MeToo and Vietnamese-American Women Attorneys: (Mis)conceptions, Changing the Conversation, and Navigating the Legal Profession”

CHRISTINE M. PHAM VABANC Law Foundation Saturday, August 4th, 1:15PM-2:15PM “Trinh et al.: Deportation & Detention in Vietnamese Commu-nities”

PANELIST/MODERATOR



T IN THANH NGUYEN is founder and managing part-ner at Central Law Group, PLLC, a general practice law firm located in Charlotte, North Carolina. For over 10 years, he has been practicing immigration law with a focus on removal defense before immigration courts

and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). Tin also represents Southeast Asian refugees before various U.S. district courts in Georgia and Alabama, challenging their prolonged detention with Immigration Custom Enforcement (ICE). Tin is an activist attorney whose intersectional work concentrates on police accountability, mass incarceration, and criminal justice reform, particularly for communities that are mar-ginalized in the South. He is a founding board member of the Southeast Asian Coalition (SEAC)—a social justice and multi-racial youth organizing entity in Charlotte. He serves as the lead pro bono attorney at SEAC, representing immigrant/refugee indi-viduals and families who victimized by police violence and South-east Asians facing ICE detention and deportation. Tin also pro-vides legal support, representation, and mentoring to youth who are caught in the juvenile justice system. Born in Nome, Alaska, Tin grew up in a tight-knit Viet-namese refugee family. He has spent most of his life in Charlotte where both sides of his family live. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2002. He earned his Juris Doctorate at North Carolina Central University School of Law in 2006. He is an alumnus of the Immi-gration Law Clinic at the University of California, Davis, King Hall School of Law.

P HI UYEN NGUYEN is currently the Litigation Direc-tor of Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, a legal advocacy nonprofit dedicated to protecting and promoting the civil rights of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) in Georgia and the South-

east. In this role, Phi focuses on impact litigation in the areas of voting rights and immigrant rights. She is currently litigating a class action in federal court that challenges the immigration de-tention of Vietnamese immigrants. Phi is a 2009 graduate from Georgia State University College of Law and practiced for eight years as a medical malpractice trial attorney at Bendin, Sumrall & Ladner, LLC before joining Advancing Justice-Atlanta. Out-side of her legal work, Phi leads efforts to politically educate and engage Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters. In 2016, she spearheaded Vietnamese Voices, an initia-tive to increase voter outreach and education among Atlanta’s Vietnamese-American community. She also co-produces Wake Up, Atlanta, an original web series dedicated to helping the AAPI electorate navigate politics. In 2018, Phi was recognized by Georgia Asian Times as one of the 25 most influential Asian Americans in Georgia.

PHI UYEN NGUYEN Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta Saturday, August 4th, 1:15PM-2:15PM “Trinh et al.: Deportation & Detention in Vietnamese Communi-ties”

TIN THANH NGUYEN Central Law Group, PLLC Saturday, August 4th, 1:15PM-2:15PM “Trinh et al.: Deportation & Detention in Vietnamese Commu-nities”

PANELISTS



D y Nguyen and his parents fled from Vietnam to the United States as refugees in 1998. During his rocky adjustment to life in the United States, Dy joined a gang. When he was in his early twenties, Dy's in-volvement in gang activities resulted in criminal

convictions for which he lost his green card and was sentenced to five years in prison. While serving his sentence, Dy began a spir-itual journey that caused him to reevaluate his lifestyle and set him along a completely different path. He earned his GED while incar-cerated and obtained a certification as a low voltage technician. Since his release from prison, Dy has continued to deepen his spiritual faith. He is an active member of his church, where he currently volunteers as a Sunday school teacher for teens. In this role, Dy strives to use his past mistakes to steer those he teaches towards a productive path. In addition to being a mentor for youth, Dy is also a proud husband to his wife, Tammy, and father to his baby daughter, Chari.

T ammy Nguyen came to the United States in 1994 as a refugee. Tammy has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and currently works as a medical assistant at Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates. In the future, she plans to go back to school to become a physi-

cian's assistant. Outside of work, Tammy is an active member of the Vietnamese Alliance Church of North Atlanta, where she holds a leadership position and serves as a secretary for its youth group. Tammy also serves the Vietnamese-American community in Atlanta through her participation in the annual Vietnamese community health fair. Tammy currently lives in Lawrenceville, Georgia, with her husband, Dy, and their 13-month-old daughter, Chari, whom Tammy describes as one of her greatest prides and joys. As a hobby, Tammy enjoys photography.

TAMMY NGUYEN Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates Saturday, August 4th, 1:15PM-2:15PM “Trinh et al.: Deportation & Detention in Vietnamese Communi-ties”

DY NGUYEN Saturday, August 4th, 1:15PM-2:15PM “Trinh et al.: Deportation & Detention in Vietnamese Commu-nities”

PANELISTS



MODERATOR

The Honorable JOHN NHO TRONG NGUYEN Retired Judge, Superior Court of California, Orange County

Saturday, August 4th, 2:25PM-3:25PM Judges Panel: “Ethics & Sanctions”

B efore becoming a refugee in the U.S. in 1975, Judge Nho Trong Nguyen was one of the most prominent members of the House of Representatives of Vietnam. He was elected by his colleagues to serve as an Associate Justice on the Constitutional Special Supreme Court of South Vietnam. Prior to his election to the Congress of Vietnam, he served in the Army of the Republic of Viet Nam as an infantry officer in the II Corps in the Central Highland of Vietnam. As a Congressman, Judge Nguyen dedicated himself to political, economic, and land reform in Vietnam. As the Ranking Member and Rapporteur of the House Commit-tee on Agriculture he advocated for and helped enact into law the most important land reform bill in the history of Viet Nam that was submitted to Congress by then

President Nguyen Van Thieu. This law, entitled "Land to the Tillers", provided for the mechanism to distribute parcels of three acres of farm land to each farmer family who, for generations, lived or farmed on leased land. This program had strong support and financial backing of the U.S. government as an important means to combat communist propaganda of class warfare in Vietnam. Judge Nguyen authored a similar bill entitled “Each Family A Home” to grant home-ownership to millions of city dwellers who had been renters for genera-tions. The bill provided for the transfer of property title from landlords to renters and modeled after the “Land to the Tillers” with the government acting as facilitator and providing financial assistance to both the landlords and tenants to achieve the objectives of the law. He believed strongly in providing economic justice to the vast majority of the people of Vietnam to lift them off poverty and to give them the sense of ownership of their own country. His life in Vietnam was featured on documentary films by the Japanese National Television network (NHK) and the German Television network. He was seen on the PBS Vietnam Television History and on several major international news networks and magazines during the war in Vietnam. In 1975, Judge Nguyen began his new life in the U.S. as a handyman's helper. Never giving up on his hopes and dreams, while working full time he went to school at night and earned his M.B.A. from California Polytechnic University in Pomona in 1981 and his Juris Doctor from Western State University College of Law in 1988. He passed the California Bar that same year. He began his legal career as a Deputy Public Defender. Before his appointment to the bench, he worked at the California Department of Justice as a Deputy Attorney General handling consumer fraud cases, employment discrimi-nation cases, and disciplinary actions against health care professionals. He also represented state agencies in writs and appeals before various federal and state trial and appellate courts. In 1980, with help from his wife, brothers and sisters, and a few close friends, he helped resettle more than one thousand refugees in Southeast Asia in the U.S. These refugees later have been very successful in their businesses and professions and become a part of Judge Nguyen's extended family ever since. As a lawyer, Judge Nguyen served the community with countless hours of pro-bono service to the poor and different non-profit organizations and with his work on behalf of victims of human rights abuses in Vietnam. He also served as an advisor or a director of several non-profit organizations, including the St. Anselm Cross Cultural Center, the Catholic Students Association, and the Buddhist Charitable Services. Judge Nguyen was appointed to the Superior Court of California in Orange County in July 2000 by Governor Gray Davis. Since July 2000 to retirement, Judge Nguyen sat as a trial judge at the Orange County West Justice Center (WJC) handling a criminal trial calendar, presiding over thousands of criminal cases, including misdemeanors, serious felonies, and three strike cases. Jurors and attorneys often praise him in open court for the hard work, thoroughness, utmost fairness, and his being faithful to the law. Judge Nguyen taught at Chapman University School of Law, Whittier College of Law, and Western State University College of Law as an adjunct professor on Interna-tional Law, Human Rights Law, Trial Practice and Mediation and Arbitration. In 2011, he was invited to teach in a legal program on international law on intellectual property in Phnom Penh for judges from the ASEAN Countries. He also gave lectures on U.S. Laws to Cambodian Judges and prosecutors at the Cambodian Royal Judiciary College in Phnom Penh. He is a frequent speaker at local bar functions, giving MCLE lectures to lawyers on search and seizure, ethics, and trial techniques. Despite his busy calendar, he still finds time to preside over Constitutional Rights Foundation Mock Trials, Peer Courts, Teens Courts, law school mock trials and to speak to students at schools and colleges in the county, trying to shape the future of the youngsters of our county and to guide them on the road to be good citizens. In 2002 and 2011, Judge Nguyen was elected by his peers to serve as President of the California Asian American Judges Association. In 2005, Judge Nguyen was elected Secretary of the National Asian American Judges Association at its conference in Philadelphia. In 2007, the Board of Governors of the State Bar of California appointed him Commis-sioner of the Commission on Access to Justice which serves to enhance the dispensation of justice in the court system. Judge Nguyen has received numerous awards and honors. In 2001, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Western State Univers ity Law School which also named a scholarship for Asian American law students in his honor. Judge Nguyen received the Trailblazer Award from the National Pacific American Bar Association in 2006 and from the National Conference of Vietnamese American attorneys in 2007. In addition, he was awarded the “Doctor of Laws” by both Whittier Law School and Western State University College of Law, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Korean American Sister Cities Association, the “Patrick McCray Judge of the Year” award from the West Or-ange County Bar Association, the “2008 Judge of the Year” from the Orange County Women Lawyers Association, and the “Role Model” award from the Orange County Asian American Business Association. On his retirement, Judge Nguyen was honored by the City Councils of Santa Ana, Garden Grove, and Westminster, the Orange County Board of Supervisors, and the California Senate and Assembly, and various public agencies. Judge Nguyen is currently sitting as trial judge on assignment in Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura counties in Cali-fornia.



PANELIST

The Honorable TU PHAM Magistrate Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee


J udge Tu Minh Pham was appointed United States Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Tennessee on April 21, 2003, at the age of 31. At the time of his appointment, Judge Pham was the youngest federal magistrate judge in the United States and the first from Vietnam. Judge Pham was born on November 17, 1971, in Di Linh, Vietnam. In 1975, his family fled Vietnam as war refugees and immigrated to the United States. He attended O. Perry Walker High School in New Orleans, Louisiana, graduating as Class Salutatorian. He grad-

uated from Tulane University in 1993 with a B.A. in English and served as President of the Tulane University Vietnamese Association. He received his law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1996, graduating summa cum laude and as a member of the Order of the Coif. While in law school, he served as the Articles Editor for the University of Illinois Law Review, was a student writer for the Illinois Bar Journal–Recent Decisions Section, and received the Rickert awards for Academic Excellence and Legal Writing. He also served as Sec-retary of the Asian-American Pacific Islander Law Students Association. After law school, he clerked for Judge William L. Garwood on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Austin, Texas. In 1997, Judge Pham joined the Chicago law firm of Kirkland & Ellis as a litigation associate. His practice focused primarily on com-plex litigation, antitrust, and intellectual property matters. In 1999, he became an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennes-see, where he received the U.S. Attorney's Award for Sustained Superior Performance. He later served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois and was assigned to the International Narcotics Unit. Judge Pham is a Fellow with both the Tennessee Bar Foundation and the Memphis Bar Foundation, a board member with the Federal Bar Association – Memphis/Mid-South Chapter, and a member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. He has previously served on the Tennessee Bar Association Racial and Ethnic Diversity Task Force, the Federal Bar Association Sarah T. Hughes Civil Rights Award Selection Committee, and the Memphis Bar Association House of Delegates.



PANELIST

The Honorable JOHN M. TRAN Judge, Circuit Court of Fairfax County, Virginia


J udge John M. Tran was elected by the Virginia General Assembly on April 4, 2013 to serve on the Circuit Court of Fairfax County. His term started on July 1, 2013. Judge Tran is the first Asian American judge to serve on a Virginia court of record, the first Vietnam-ese American judge in Virginia and since the founding of Fairfax County in 1742, the 63rd Circuit Court judge to serve on the Fairfax Circuit Court bench. The son of a South Vietnamese diplomat and an immigrant who found refuge in the United States, he spent his entire adult life in the

Washington Metropolitan Area and proudly considers himself a Virginian. Prior to his appointment on the bench, Judge Tran shaped his trial experience as a state and federal prosecutor in Alexandria, Virginia in the late 1980’s and eventually joined the highly regarded Old Town Alexandria litigation boutique law firm of DiMuroGinsberg, P.C. The diversity of his 29-year career as a trial lawyer was reflected in state and federal trial dockets throughout the country. Judge Tran has represented businesses and individuals in matters ranging from simple contract disputes to complex commercial and multi-jurisdictional litigation and criminal defense. Before leaving private legal practice, Judge Tran was an “AV” rated lawyer under Martindale Hubbell, a Virginia Super Lawyer and Best Lawyer in the area of commercial litigation, and inducted into the Class of 2010 Fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation and Class of 2011 Virginia Lawyer’s Weekly Leader in the Law. And in 2008 Judge Tran had also served as the second of only three Asian American sub-stitute judges ever to be appointed in Virginia. As a substitute judge, he sat in the General District Courts and Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court throughout Northern Virginia. For more information, see the Washington Post article on his appointment at: http://tinyurl.com/TranWaPo.

http://tinyurl.com/TranWaPo



PANELIST

The Honorable JACQUELINE MY-LE DUONG Judge, Superior Court of California, Santa Clara County


J udge Jacqueline My-Le Duong, appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger on May 23, 2007, is the first Vietnamese American woman appointed to the bench in Northern California. Judge Duong was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the United States with her family in April of 1975. She received her Juris Doctorate degree from the University California, Davis School of Law and Bachelor of Arts degree from San Jose State University. She is currently the Supervising Judge of the South County Courthouse handling both direct felony and misdemeanor cases. Her prior assignments include Criminal Felony Trial, Family Court, Juvenile Justice Court, and Presid-

ing Judge of the Appellate Division. Judge Duong has served on the Judicial Branch Ethics and Fairness Curriculum Committee for the past six years, and previously served on the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) Access and Fairness Advisory Committee. Judge Duong taught a Trial Advocacy Workshop for Stanford Law School. Judge Duong has been the recipient of various awards, including the East Side School District Hall of Fame, the Santa Clara County Bar Association Women Lawyers Award, the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Distinguished Alumni Award, National Conference of Viet-namese American Attorneys Trailblazer Award, Asian Law Alliance Legal Impact Award, the Vietnamese American Bar Association of Northern California Trailblazer Award and the Santa Clara County Bar Association Unsung Heroes Award. Judge Duong has Co-Founded several organizations that serve the community, including the Vietnamese American Bar Association of Northern California, the inaugural National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys, and the Vietnamese American Professional Women of Silicon Valley. She has collaborated with various community organizations to host community events like the Education Forum at Yerba Buena HS regarding issues like gangs and mental health. Judge Duong has been the recipient of various awards, including the East Side School District Hall of Fame (2011), the SCCBA Women Lawyers Award (2010), she was named as one of the "Women of Influence in Silicon Valley" by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Busi-ness Journal in 2008, the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Distinguished Alumni Award (2009), National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys Trailblazer Award (2008), Asian Law Alliance Legal Impact Award (2008), the Vietnamese American Bar Association of North-ern California Trailblazer Award (2007), the Santa Clara County Bar Association MAC Unsung Heroes Award (2007), the County of Santa Clara County Executive Unity in Diversity Award (2006). Judge Duong is a firm believer in giving back to her community through opportunities to mentor students and young professionals.



EMCEE

FABIAN DE ROZARIO GlobalConnect


F abian J. De Rozario is an Engagement Consultant & Trainer and also a member of the National Board of Directors of the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP). Fabian De Rozario is a community and business leader who has led, coached, and trained thousands of people globally. Fabian has a consulting & training practice, GlobalConnect, and is an On-Call Consultant with Korn Ferry, the world’s largest talent advisory service. Fabian previously served as NAAAP’s National President/CEO.

Fabian travels extensively and delivers more than 100 workshops and seminars each year across the globe. He has worked with more than 150 corporations including Kimberly-Clark, Capital One, PwC, P&G, PGA of America, Raytheon, Chevron, A&F, NBA, Macy’s, and a variety of government agencies and NGOs. He is a subject expert of diversity & inclusion, engagement, unconscious bias, cultural agil-ity, and leadership, and is also a talent coach specializing in executive presence, charisma, and public speaking. He draws from his unique personal background as an immigrant from Malaysia, of Portuguese-Eurasian and Chinese ethnicities, having lived in three continents and worked in four uniquely different careers. He previously served in student services leadership, instructor, and corporate trainer roles at Northern Illinois University and at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (as Director of the Donaghey Student Center). From 1998 to 2006, Fabian was the Director of U.S. University Relations and the Director of Global Operations for the Golden Key International Honour Society headquartered in Atlanta. Fabian currently resides in Atlanta, U.S.A., and is a well-recognized leader in the community. In 2017 he received the Outstanding Asian American Leader Award from the U.S. Pan Asian Chamber of Commerce – Southeast Region. He has served as a board member of the Center for Pan Asian Community Services and the Cosmo Health Center (a Federally Qualified Health Center). Fabian is a recipient of the President’s Award from the Georgia Society of Association Executives and was named a “Mover & Shaker” of the association. He is a graduate of the 2009 class of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Regional Leadership Institute, and is a member of the 2011 Class of Leadership Atlanta. Fabian currently resides in Lawrenceville, Georgia with his wife Jesslyna. Fabian’s 30 years of work experiences and volunteer experiences have equipped him to now consult and train people across the globe, allowing him to pursue his deep passion, which is developing people.



HEADLINER

KEN FORD


K en Ford is known as “King of Strings.” Electric. A word that describes not only Ken Ford’s violin but aptly describes the man himself, with electrifying and deeply physical live performances that have audiences up on their feet and into the aisles, feeling the music as much as he does, jumping and dancing around on stage. Far from being any quiet instrument, Ken’s infectious energy takes the violin center stage with amazing artistry and creativity, rocking out on the violin with a passion and fervor that rivals the biggest and baddest guitar solos!

A wonder to behold on stage, Ken’s evocative playing and passion for strings on the electric violin have enthralled fans of all ages, as well as peers from diverse genres, from jazz to blues, R&B to hip-hop and more. With a soul-stirring style that highlights all the voices of the violin, from sensuous and genteel to dramatic and muscular, Ken’s talents have brought him on stage and into the recording studio with a range of superstar artists including Bruno Mars, Jill Scott, Wyclef Jean, Chaka Khan, Ledisi, Brian Culbertson, the late Barry White, Erykah Badu and more. Additionally, Ken had the pleasure and honor to play for our beloved First Lady of the United States of America, Michelle Obama!! Growing up in a home filled with the diverse sounds of jazz, blues, and R&B, from the records his dad spun as a DJ to hearing the sounds of Earth, Wind & Fire and other acts in concert, Ken was born in St. Louis, MO and lived in Detroit, MI before his parents settled in Atlanta, GA. His parents recognized a special gift in their only child one night when they overheard him at a party, playing along with an Al Green song note for note on a toy keyboard - long before his first music lesson! From that point on, they kept an instrument in his hands but he never had a formal lesson until he settled on violin at age nine, picking violin in class to be different from his peers. With a great curiosity for music, Ken’s connection with the violin was cemented upon hearing his dad’s Noel Pointer album in elementary school, with the celebrated jazz violinist being his first and most important influence. Hearing Pointer’s cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)”, Ken says, “He was the first music I heard that I realized you can do something dif-ferent on violin besides classical”. In his classical training, Ken became a founding member of the DeKalb Youth Pops Orchestra, and joined the African American Philharmonic Orchestra (AAPO), where he had the rare opportunity of performing for the late, great Barry White and worked his way to the honored position of Concert Master. During his school years, he also trained himself to play by ear the popular music on the radio, which marked a turn-around with kids jamming to his performances instead of teasing him for studying violin. Early in his career, Ken followed his passion for violin but lived a dual life, working as an IT programmer while honing and indulging his love of music at night, bringing his violin everywhere to jam at some of Atlanta’s hottest jazz spots. He established himself on the scene with local artists and newcomers, attracting more and more fans and attention from national and international promoters and peers. From his first CD, “Burnt Toast” down “Chevelle Lane” into “Right Now” with the “State Of Mind” and the latest release “Eleven”, Ken’s exhilarating performances have left music lovers awestruck, with some of his most memorable accolades including a standing ovation from over 20,000 people at the Sea Breeze Jazz Festival; being the first opening artist to ever get a standing ovation at the Omaha Riverfront Jazz Festival and first repeat artist on the same festival; receiving at least three proclamations (Ken Ford Holidays) from three different cities! Since his first taste of music and captivating audiences as a kid, Ken’s love of music continues and he is sharing that love through the Ken Ford Foundation. Teaching workshops to kids from ages 4 to 18, Ken opens their world to music, shows them how to embrace their unique talents, and encourages keeping music education in the schools. “Once music opens their world, you cannot close it,” he says. “Living in the present moment” as a constant frame of mind, Ken’s steadfast passion for violin and popular music has brought him from childhood to where he is today, indulging his passion for violin full-time before worldwide audiences, firing up everyone from kids to seniors to change their state of mind about the violin, and embrace the power of music.



SPONSORS



SPONSORS



SPONSORS



SPONSORS







THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS FOR YOUR SUPORT

OF THE TWELFTH ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF

VIETNAMESE AMERICAN ATTORNEYS

Diamond Sponsor

Nguyen & Pham, LLC

Platinum Sponsors

Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP

Polsinelli LLP

Gold Sponsors

Bondurant Mixson & Elmore LLP

Enenstein Pham & Glass

Silver Sponsors

Duy Thai Law Firm

Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP

Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association

Messner Reeves LLP

Nguyen Tran Law Firm, LLC

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Orthodontics of Atlanta

Pham Law Group, Inc.

Stragmalia Luu LLP

The Davis Injury Firm LLC

Vietnamese American Bar Association of Northern California

Vietnamese American Bar Association of Southern California

Bronze Sponsors

Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta

Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP

Cruz and Associates PC

Dr. Michael Nguyen & Tita Nguyen, Esq.

Foley & Lardner LLP

Hotshot, Inc.

Turley Law Firm

Sponsors In Kind

Alston & Bird

Kim Chi Ngo

Kuroshio Midtown Sushi and Lounge

Martin Nguyen, Esq.

National Association of Asian American Professionals

NextClient.com, Inc.

Queenie Ngo, Phu Nu Cali Magazine

VN Printing, Inc.

Wes Carter

Atlanta, Georgia August 3 4, 2018 - NCVAA · Atlanta, Georgia August 3-4, 2018. 2 12th Annual National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys August 3-4, 2018 Atlanta, Georgia

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