CBA Record May-June 2024

Jeanah Park

Sandra Yamate

Judge William Yu

ization from a New York judge. The New York state legislature passed a special act allowing Chang to take the New York State Bar exam. In 1888, he was finally admitted to practice law and became the first Chinese lawyer in the United States. But his story does not end there. In 1890, Chang moved to California, where his California bar application was denied. Per a California statute, the only people who could be admitted to practice in California on showing a license to prac tice from another state were United States citizens or persons “who have bona fide declared their intention to become such in a manner provided by law.” Not only was his petition denied, but the Court also voided his naturalization certificate. Unfortunately, Chang’s story is reflective of that period in U.S. history. In 1972, the California Supreme Court held it was “constitutionally indefensible to forbid noncitizens to practice law, call ing such a ban the lingering vestige of a xenophobic attitude that should now be allowed to join those anachronistic clas sifications among the crumbled pedes tals of history.” In 2015, 125 years after denying Chang’s application, the Cali fornia Supreme Court granted him post humous admission to the California Bar, “affirm[ing] his rightful place among the ranks of persons deemed qualified to serve as an attorney and counselor of law in the courts of California.” In re Hong Yen Chang, 60 Cal. 4th 1169, 1170 (2015). Where We Are Now We have come a long way from when AAPIs experienced exclusion from the

legal profession by xenophobic attitudes and discriminatory laws. Today, Asian Americans are present in every sector of the field. First published in 2017, the Portrait Project was the first comprehen sive study examining the state of AAPI attorneys in the legal profession. Eric Chang, Samuel Dong, Xiaonan April Hu, Christine Kwon & Goodwin Liu, A Portrait of Asian Americans in the Law (2017). The authors studied five questions related to AAPI distribution, influences, motivations, general navigation through the legal profession, career satisfac tion, presence in leadership, and mental health challenges. In 2022, Portrait Proj ect authors recanvassed Asian American attorneys and noticed some changes, spe cifically an increase in enrolled AAPI law students, and that more AAPI attorneys engaged with social and political issues. Regarding career advancement, while there are more AAPI federal judges and Fortune 1000 general counsels, AAPIs remain underrepresented in clerkships and leadership positions. From conversations with local AAPI legal professionals, three main areas for improvement exist: mentorship, par ticipation in bar associations and net working, and seizing opportunities and following one’s passion. Mentorship Never underestimate the power of a mentor. The individuals we interviewed agreed that their mentors had impacted How to Overcome Current Challenges

their careers. The mentors taught Asian associ ate lawyers to be strategic and develop business relationships with partners to increase billable assignments, gain more experience and visibility within the firm. The AAPI community’s most impactful mentor was the late Judge Sandra Otaka. Otaka was Cook County’s first elected Asian American judge. Her commitment to the AAPI community elevated its voice to propel AAPI issues into the forefront of the legal community’s dialog about inclu sion. Reflecting on Otaka’s impact, Judge Desierto shared, “She helped propel you to the top, reminded you to reach back and help others, and then asked you what you were going to do next.” Otaka created a foundation for us to build upon when nominating Asian American judge candidates in Cook County. Desierto does not want to lose sight of those standards. The Value of Bar Association Networking The Portrait Project found that while AAPIs are present in every sector of the legal profession, they faced constraints to career promotion and barriers to suc cess. To overcome those institutional challenges, it has often been advised to develop networking skills and cultivate professional relationships by actively par ticipating in bar associations. That is why Yamate co-founded the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association after noticing the lack of visibility of Asian Americans in the profession.

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