Asian Bar Association of Washington (ABAW)

04/27/2026

Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month: Voices From The Bench
Friday, May 29, 2026 | DOORS OPEN 1:30 p.m. | Judges Panel - 2:00 p.m. | Hosted Reception - 3:30 p.m.
Join ABAW, FLOW, KABA, SCBA, SABAW, and VABAW as we celebrate AAPI Heritage Month with a special panel of trailblazing judges! Following the panel, there will be a reception with heavy appetizers and beverages!

Event Details
Date: Friday, May 29, 2026, 2pm - 5pm
Program Schedule: DOORS OPEN at 1:30pm - Please be seated by 1:55 pm so the panel may begin promptly
Panel: 2pm-3:30pm | Reception: 3:30pm-5pm
Venue: WSBA Conference Center, 1325 Fourth Avenue, Suite 600, Seattle, WA 98101
Hosted Reception: Following the panel, heavy appetizers and beverages beginning at 3:30pm. Vegetarian options available.

Registration: This event is open to members of ABAW, FLOW, KABA, SCBA, SABAW, and VABAW and registration is free
Register Here: Joint AAPI Heritage Month Celebration 2026 - May 29, 2026 Tickets, Friday, May 29 • 2 PM - 5 PM | Eventbrite

Thank you to our sponsors Davis Wright Tremaine and Seyfarth Shaw, and to our host, the Washington State Bar Association!

04/27/2026

Please join us for our next Pro Bono Clinic on May 30th hosted by CISC. All experience levels are welcome!

04/27/2026

The ABAW In‑House Counsel Network is excited to host our AANHPI Heritage Month Celebration on May 21st — Hot Topics for In-House Counsel in a Geopolitically Changing World: Cybersecurity, Sanctions, & Digital Sovereignty.

Join us for a CLE and Happy Hour sponsored by Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP. As global regulatory and geopolitical pressures continue to evolve, in-house legal teams face increasingly complex challenges. This CLE will explore emerging issues at the intersection of cybersecurity, sanctions enforcement, and digital sovereignty, with practical insights for in-house counsel navigating these risks.

When: Thursday, May 21, 2026
Where: The U.S. Bank Center, Arbor Room, second floor, 1420 5th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101.
Time: 4:30-5:30 p.m.: Registration and Networking Reception
5:30-6:30 p.m.: CLE Program
6:30-8:00 p.m.: Happy Hour and Dessert

This event is limited to in-house attorneys and attorneys from our sponsor firm.

For more information and to register, please visit: https://ABAW-ICN-Heritage-Month-CLE-and-HH.eventbrite.com

04/17/2026

ABAW, FLOW and VABAW are again teaming together to participate in the 2026 Walk for Rice to benefit the ACRS Food Bank! The walk is much earlier this year due to scheduling conflicts, so it will be held Saturday, May 16, 2026 at Seward Park. Please be sure to sign up for the walk and for the afterparty!

Our team can be found here to join: https://give.acrs.org/JointAsianBar, or search for Joint Asian Bar Associations on the ACRS page.

04/15/2026

ABAW has expanded our pro bono clinics, we are now serving the Rainier Valley community twice a month! Sign up for an upcoming clinic and join our email listserv to get involved with pro bono opportunities!

04/03/2026

Please join us to meet the Asian Bar Association of WA (ABAW) board and to network with other ABAW members in Bellevue for a happy hour from 5:30-7:30pm on Thursday, April 9, hosted by Oseran Hahn!

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/abaw-happy-hour-on-the-eastside-hosted-by-oseran-hahn-tickets-1985608736181

04/03/2026

On March 21st, the Asian Bar Association of Washington (ABAW) was proud to partner with Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) and the Chinese Information and Service Center (CISC) to host our first quarterly Pro Bono Day at ACRS’s main campus in Rainier Valley.

Thanks to the incredible dedication of 37 volunteers on an early Saturday morning, we were able to serve 47 clients across a wide range of legal needs, including housing and landlord-tenant matters, family law, immigration, trust and estates, and business law. This impact would not have been possible without the time, expertise, and compassion of our volunteer attorneys, interpreters, law students, and community members. We are deeply grateful to everyone who contributed to making this event a success and to our partners, ACRS and CISC, for their collaboration and commitment to serving the community.

ACRS and CISC are proud to partner on this pro bono legal clinic in support of immigrants, refugees, elders, and working families in our communities. At a time when many people face language, cultural, and financial barriers to legal help, this collaboration reflects a shared commitment to expanding access to trusted, community-based support. We are deeply grateful to the attorneys and volunteers making this effort possible. For those who would like to further support this work, we invite you to make a gift to ACRS and CISC at the link below to help provide critical, culturally responsive care and services to the communities we serve. Support legal clinics at ACRS and CISC

If you’re interested in giving back and making a meaningful difference, we invite you to join us at our next Pro Bono Day on May 23, 2026. Together, we can continue expanding access to justice for those who need it most. You can contact ABAW Pro Bono Co-Chairs Gabriela Dionisio ([email protected]) and Monica Keo-Newton ([email protected]) or check out our website https://abaw.org/ProBono for additional information and pro bono volunteer opportunities.

04/03/2026

On Saturday, February 7, 2026, ABAW and Seattle University School of Law’s Access to Justice Institute (ATJI) jointly hosted the inaugural ABAW Pro Bono Day Training, focused on language access and practical skills for volunteering at pro bono clinics. This training was made possible through the generous support of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and its grant supporting ABAW’s Language Access Project.

The program opened with remarks from ATJI Director Lily Su, followed by an overview of ABAW’s Language Access Project and volunteer opportunities presented by Immediate Past Pro Bono Co-Chair Charles Chen and current Pro Bono Co-Chairs Gabriela Dionisio and Monica Keo-Newton. Attendees also heard from a panel on volunteering at pro bono clinics and best practices for working with clients who are not native English speakers, featuring Serin Ngai, Vanessa Lee, and Ellen Yoon, and moderated by Theana Aromin and Tan Vu. The training concluded with an interactive workshop on working effectively with interpreters and translators, led by Professor Gillian Dutton and Amy Tung.

Thank you to the community members who joined us on a Saturday morning. We look forward to seeing you at the next ABAW Pro Bono Day on March 21!

To sign up for future ABAW Pro Bono Clinics with our community partners, CISC, ACRS, and KCBA, please check out: https://abaw.org/Pro-Bono-Opportunities. Email Pro Bono Co-Chairs Gabriela Dionisio ([email protected]) and Monica Keo-Newton ([email protected]) with any questions or feedback.

03/25/2026

Attention law students working in public interest or service organization this summer—applications for the Spring Blossom Fellowship open March 25, 2026!

This fellowship awards up to $5,000 to support JD students (Gonzaga, Seattle U, or UW) whose work advances the rights of women and/or immigrants.

Deadline to apply: April 15, 2026 at 5:00 pm

Information on how to apply: https://www.abaw.org/Scholarships

Completed application packets must be submitted to Bernadette Pena at [email protected].

03/20/2026

Don’t forget to join us for our pro bono event this weekend!

PRO BONO VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY!

In partnership with ACRS, ABAW is hosting its first Pro Bono Day of 2026! This will be a general topic in-person clinic where volunteers will see clients with a range of legal needs. Please volunteer using the link below if you are interested and available to attend! More details to follow for volunteers closer to the Pro Bono Day!

When: Saturday, March 21, 2026, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm PT.
Where: ACRS Rainier Valley Campus, 3639 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S, Seattle, WA 98144
Who: Volunteer Attorneys, Intake Volunteers, Law Students and Translators
Sign up to volunteer today using this link (https://forms.office.com/r/w074cEcNPq).

Please contact Pro Bono Co-Chairs Gabriela Dionisio ([email protected]) and Monica Keo-Newton ([email protected]) if you have any questions.

03/17/2026

REMINDER: Don’t forget to join us for our first member Dim Sum of the year on March 28! As a bonus, the guest fee is now $20 (reduced from $30) and members are still only $10. You must register to attend. RSVP here: http://bit.ly/4rosSSA

03/10/2026

PRO BONO VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY!

In partnership with ACRS, ABAW is hosting its first Pro Bono Day of 2026! This will be a general topic in-person clinic where volunteers will see clients with a range of legal needs. Please volunteer using the link below if you are interested and available to attend! More details to follow for volunteers closer to the Pro Bono Day!

When: Saturday, March 21, 2026, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm PT.
Where: ACRS Rainier Valley Campus, 3639 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S, Seattle, WA 98144
Who: Volunteer Attorneys, Intake Volunteers, Law Students and Translators
Sign up to volunteer today using this link (https://forms.office.com/r/w074cEcNPq).

Please contact Pro Bono Co-Chairs Gabriela Dionisio ([email protected]) and Monica Keo-Newton ([email protected]) if you have any questions.