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COMMENTARY: Living the American Dream Author(s): PETER M. SUZUKI Source: ABA Journal, Vol. 85, No. 11 (NOVEMBER 1999), p. 73 Published by: American Bar Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27841281 . Accessed: 17/06/2014 19:58 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . American Bar Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to ABA Journal. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 91.229.229.96 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 19:58:15 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

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Page 1: COMMENTARY: Living the American Dream

COMMENTARY: Living the American DreamAuthor(s): PETER M. SUZUKISource: ABA Journal, Vol. 85, No. 11 (NOVEMBER 1999), p. 73Published by: American Bar AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27841281 .

Accessed: 17/06/2014 19:58

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

American Bar Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to ABA Journal.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 91.229.229.96 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 19:58:15 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Page 2: COMMENTARY: Living the American Dream

COMMENTARY

Living the American Dream

BY PETER M. SUZUKI

The success

of Asian Pacific Americans, one

of the fastest growing groups at all levels

of the legal profession, is impressive in light of the

challenges along the way.

J

m

When I was growing up in Los An geles in the 1960s, my parents taught me a lesson about the American Dream: "Success comes to those who work hard and give it their best."

The proof of this lesson is the suc cess of the 15,000 Asian Pacific American lawyers, judges and law professors in the

United States today. Their success is the story of bright, hard-working individuals committed to serving society in the legal profession. And it is a story of living the American Dream.

Fifty years ago, it was difficult to find an Asian Pacific American in law practice. Following the conventional wis dom back then, many Asian Pacific American parents encouraged their chil dren to study the sciences. The sciences were viewed as being more objective and less political than the law?and thus less open to discrimination. Harold H. Koh, a

distinguished international human rights expert and former Yale law professor, recalls that his father gave him three words of advice for success in the work ing world: "Harold, study physics!"

Fortunately for the profession, how ever, Koh and many other Asian Pacific Americans challenged the conventional wisdom of studying the sciences and pur sued legal careers. Koh now serves our nation as U.S. assistant secretary for de mocracy, human rights and labor in the State Department.

Today, Asian Pacific Americans are one of the fastest growing groups at all levels of the legal profession. For example, a survey last year by a national legal publication determined that the number of Asian Pacific American associates at the 250 largest firms grew at a phenome

nal rate of 72 percent, to more than 2,000. The number of Asian Pacific Amer

ican partners in large U.S. law firms ?is on the rise, according to Wilson Chu, chair of the

Partners Forum at the National Asian Pacific American Bar Associa tion headquartered in

Washington, D.C. More than 100 partners are now participating in the forum.

"Asian Pacific Amer icans have hit a critical

mass in the legal pro fession today," Chu says. "Asian Pacific Americans are handling major busi ness transactions and cut

ting-edge litigation across America and the world."

Chu's accomplishments at his own firm are noteworthy. A partner at Haynes and Boone in Dallas, he built the South west's largest Asia practice group support ed by 10 multilingual Asian Pacific Amer ican lawyers, all educated in the United States.

The success of Asian Pacific Ameri cans practicing as in-house counsel is equally impressive, and the list of Asian Pacific American in-house counsel has topped 1,000.

"There are great opportunities for Asian Pacific American in-house counsel at this time, especially those with Asian language abilities, given the growth in Asian markets," says Naoko Fujii, corpo rate counsel at Pfizer Inc. and chair of napaba's corporate counsel forum.

Presumptions of Noncitizenship The success of Asian Pacific Ameri

can lawyers today is all the more impres sive in light of the challenges they have faced. One problem regularly faced by Asian Pacific Americans, some of whom ar? third- and fourth-generation Ameri cans, is th? tendency of non-Asians to treat them as noncitizens, at best.

An Asian Pacific American lawyer serving in the U.S. Air Force described a recent incident that illustrates this prob lem. Capt. Ted Lieu was at an awards dinner in his dress-blue uniform, com plete with captain's bars, military in signia and medals. An elegantly dressed lady sitting next to him asked, "Are you in the Chinese Air Force?" Capt. Lieu was left speechless. Her question made him realize that even Air Force blue was not enough to reverse presumption that people with yellow skin and Asian fea tures are somehow not American.

Despite these obstacl?s, the growing success of Asian Pacific American law yers is a tribute to the American legal profession and the power of the Ameri can Dream. Thanks to the efforts of orga nizations such as the aba and minority bar associations like nap?ba, we all are

improving the richness and diversity of the American legal profession, and ad vancing justice in the United States.

What better lesson could I have asked for from my parents?

Peter M. Suzuki (left), corporate counsel at Lucent Technologies in Murray

Hill, N.J., is president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

^^^^^^^^j^^^^^^^^^^^^ABAj/MicHAEL paras JOURNAL NOVEMBER 1999

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