Annual APABA-DC Awards

APABA-DC is proud to honor achievements within the APABA-DC community at our annual Awards Ceremony and Board Installation Dinner. Nominations are accepted for the following awards each year:

• Member Appreciation Award: Recognizes an individual’s outstanding service to APABA-DC (including service to our charitable affiliate, AEF). The purpose of this award is not to recognize a single achievement, but rather to recognize continuous contributions that exemplify the objectives and goals of APABA-DC.
• Pioneer Award: Recognizes the outstanding achievements, commitment, and leadership of an individual who has paved the way for the advancement of APA attorneys.
• Rising Star Award: Recognizes talented individuals within the APABA-DC community, which may include the AEF community, who are under the age of forty and have achieved prominence and distinction in their respective field while demonstrating a strong commitment to APABA-DC and the APA community.
• Community Appreciation Award: Recognizes an individual or organization in the greater Washington area such as community leaders, judges, or leaders of other bar associations who may not be an APABA-DC member but has demonstrated strong support for APABA-DC and its members.

2012 APABA-DC Award Recipients:

• Member Appreciation Award: Tina Matsuoka (Executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)
• Pioneer Award: Stuart J. Ishimaru (Director of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)
• Rising Star Awards: 

  
  Christopher D. Kang (Special Assistant to President Obama and Senior Counsel to the President, in charge of the selection, vetting, and confirmation of President Obama’s judicial nominees)

  Vasu Muthyala  (Counsel at O'Melveny & Myers LLP)

• Community Appreciation Award: Darrell G. Mottley (Principal shareholder of Banner & Witcoff, Ltd)

Annual NAPABA Awards

In addition, please contact awards@apaba-dc.org by August 8th if you wish to nominate an individual for this year's NAPABA awards. Click here for the nomination form.

• NAPABA Trailblazers Award: Recognizes the outstanding achievements, commitment, and leadership of lawyers who have paved the way for the advancement of other Asian Pacific American attorneys. As part of its annual convention, NAPABA honors a member from each region who meets these criteria. 
• NAPABA "Best Lawyers Under 40" Award:  Recognizes talented individuals within the Asian Pacific American legal community who are under the age of 40 and who have achieved prominence and distinction in their fields of endeavor (e.g., the practice of law, academia, business, civic and charitable affairs, the judiciary, or politics), and who have demonstrated a strong commitment to civic or community affairs.
  

Past NAPABA Award Recipients from APABA-DC:

• Trailblazers Award
  

• Nicholas V. Chen (2012)
• Stuart J. Ishimaru (2010)
• Preeta D. Bansal (2008)
• A.B. Cruz III (2008)
• Neal Kumar Katyal (2007)
• Frank H. Wu (2007)
• Wan J. Kim (2006)
• Hon. Jeannie J. Hong (2005)
• Hon. Brian G. Kim (2005)
• Harold Koh (2003)
• Viet D. Dinh (2001)
• Ivan K. Fong (1998)
• Robert Gee (1997)
• Paul Igasaki (1995)
• Francey Lim Youngberg (1995)
• Wallace Loh (1995)
• Angela Oh (1994)
• Les Jin (1994)
• Karen Narasaki (1994)

• Best Lawyers Under 40 Award

• James Derry and Marita Etcubañez (2012)
• Jessie K. Liu (2011)
• Anh-Thu P. Mai-Windle (2011)
• John C. Truong (2009)
• Nimesh Patel (2008)
• Theodore Cheng (2007)
• Vincent A. Eng (2007)
• Jennifer Choe Groves (2007)
• Minh-Duc "Ducie" T. Le (2007)
• James C. Ho (2006)
• Thomas Kim (2005)
• Wan Kim (2005)
• Esther Lim (2005)
• Marisa Chun (2004)
• Mark Keam (2004)
• Frank Wu (2004)
• Zenobia Lai (2003)
• Viet D. Dinh (2002)
• Jeannie Hong (2002)
• John C. Yang (2002)
• John Yoo (2002)

If your name is missing from this list, please contact Marvin Liang & Jennifer Kang, Co-Chairs, awards@apaba-dc.org