Vietnamese American Bar Association of Washington (VABAW)

06/09/2026

On May 16th, 2026, VABAW members Dede Tran, David Tran, Furhad Sultani, and Jerrald Callanta attended the Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) Walk For Rice. Walk for Rice is a fundraising event that raises awareness for food insecurity within the AANHPI community. Dede, David, Furhad, and Jerrald represented VABAW in the Joint Asian Bar Association team with Asian Bar Association of Washington (ABAW) and Filipino Lawyers of Washington (FLOW), which surpassed its fundraising goal and raised $3,775. After Walk for Rice, VABAW attended the FLOW Potluck, hosted by Eric de los Santos at his home. VABAW would like to give a special shoutout to Lisa Dickinson and Eric de los Santos for coordinating Walk for Rice and potluck among the different Asian bar associations.

To get involved with VABAW, become a member, follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter! To get involved with more VABAW events, join our Social Committee or reach out to our Social Committee Chair Jerrald Callanta at [email protected].

05/27/2026

The Asian Bar Association of Washington (ABAW) is seeking 2 Vietnamese-speaking attorneys or translators to volunteer at its Q2 Pro Bono Clinic on Saturday, May 30 from 8:30 AM to 2:00 PM.

Register here to volunteer: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=8eH8nKJFaUS3x7ijsJiCTNTIaBbjWM1GmU6f67B84hlUNTdEMkUzME9NWDZFUEZQNFlJUVpNOU1TVy4u&route=shorturl

05/26/2026

Join ABAW, FLOW, KABA, SCBA, SABAW, and VABAW on Friday, May 29 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.

Registration is required to attend. RSVP here for free: https://lnkd.in/gEuHscfd

Thank you to the Asian Bar Association of Washington (ABAW), Filipino Lawyers of Washington (FLOW), Korean American Bar Association of Washington (KABA), Seattle Chinese Bar Association, and South Asian Bar Association of Washington (SABAW) for collaborating with us on this event.

05/14/2026

Three more days until ACRS's Walk for Rice on Saturday! Register to join VABAW/ABAW/FLOW's team and potluck. Can't go? Donate to help meet our $3500 fundraising goal. We're only $500 away. So close! Your contributions will support ACRS's food bank, which helps to feed about 5,000 families in King County each year. Link: https://give.acrs.org/team/813748

VABAW, ABAW, ane FLOW are coming together on Saturday, May 16 to walk and raise money for the Asian Counseling and Referral Service’s food bank! Join our Walk for Rice team and help our legal communities meet our fundraising goal of $3500. We will share a meal together afterwards 🍲 Sign up below!

Donate and join the team: https://give.acrs.org/team/813748

RSVP to the potluck: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C044BA8A923A4FACE9-63359339-walk #/

04/30/2026

Today, April 30th, is a meaningful day for our community. Take a moment to read VABAW's for a message from our Board President Deanna Tran reflecting on this day and what it means for VABAW today. Our latest newsletter also includes VABAW news, upcoming events, and ways to get involved, including our events in May.

👉 Read and to our quarterly newsletter here: https://www.vabaw.com/newsletter

Thank you to VABAW's communications Committee for helping to put together our newsletter and social media content: Liem Tu, Joanne Kalas, Tan Vu, Isabel Dorn.

04/24/2026

VABAW proudly congratulates our co‑founder, Alice Truong, on receiving the 2026 Cornerstone Award from National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys - NCVAA. 🎉

More than 20 years ago, in 2005, Alice helped found VABAW alongside a group of dedicated leaders. Her commitment to the Vietnamese American legal community in Washington has never wavered - she continues to champion our mission today as a member of VABAW’s Board of Advisors. Simply put, VABAW would not be what it is without her.

Congratulations, Alice, on this truly well‑deserved honor! 💐

We invite you to attend NCVAA’s upcoming conference in San Francisco, May 14–17, where Alice will be recognized for this incredible achievement.

From NCVAA: “NCVAA is thrilled to recognize Alice Truong as the recipient of our Cornerstone Award to be conferred during our annual gala at Hyatt Regency SF on Saturday, May 16th.

Alice Truong serves as Corporate Counsel for Costco and heads the Legal Real Estate Management team that oversees Costco’s existing real estate portfolio in the United States and Canada.

Alice is currently a board member of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC. Alice is a former President of the Asian Bar Association of Washington Student Scholarship Foundation (2020-2021), has served as Regional Governor (2007-2009) and VP of Communications (2010-2012) for the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, is a co-founder and past president (2006) of the Vietnamese American Bar Association of Washington; and has served on the Asian Bar Association of Washington for eight years in varying capacities, including President in 2007.

Prior to joining Costco, Alice was Senior Counsel at Nordstrom, Division Counsel at D.R. Horton’s Seattle Division, a partner at Summit Law Group, a partner at Cairncross & Hempelmann, and an associate at Davis Wright Tremaine. Alice was born and raised in Seattle. She attended Seattle University and the University of Washington School of Law. When she can take time away from being a mother, she enjoys cultivating her shoe and handbag collection, improving her billiards skills, and tackling escape rooms.”

04/18/2026

VABAW, ABAW, ane FLOW are coming together on Saturday, May 16 to walk and raise money for the Asian Counseling and Referral Service’s food bank! Join our Walk for Rice team and help our legal communities meet our fundraising goal of $3500. We will share a meal together afterwards 🍲 Sign up below!

Donate and join the team: https://give.acrs.org/team/813748

RSVP to the potluck: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C044BA8A923A4FACE9-63359339-walk #/

04/08/2026

On March 28, 2026, the Vietnamese American Bar Association of Washington (VABAW) came together to celebrate a historic milestone: Judge Tam Bui becoming the first Vietnamese American to serve on the Washington State Court of Appeals.

Our community gathered for a special fireside chat between Judge Bui and 2011 VABAW President Ty Ho (Founder, Ho and Associates Attorney at Law). Listening to Judge Bui reflect on her personal and professional journey was both powerful and affirming—and a reminder of why representation in the judiciary matters. At a time when our country feels especially challenging, celebrating this achievement offered a meaningful moment of joy and collective pride. VABAW hopes that her story—and the path she has lit—will show many other Vietnamese Americans what is possible and imagine themselves as the next Vietnamese American judge in Washington.

VABAW members—both returning and new—also had the opportunity to mingle, connect, and strengthen our growing community. This event would not have been possible without the thoughtful moderation by Ty Ho; the seamless planning and leadership of VABAW cofounder and 2006 VABAW President Alice Truong (Costco); and the generous support of student volunteers Brandon, Sydney and Logan. Thank you as well to VABAW’s Membership Chair Julie Do (Founder, Jules Legal PLLC) for strengthening recruitment through this celebration.

We also appreciate the participation of our local Vietnamese-owned businesses: Anchovies and Salt for hosting us at their beautiful venue and serving delicious Vietnamese food, and Tamarind Tree Restaurant and Anh Oi Bake Shop for providing prizes to our networking icebreaker.

For those interested in pursuing the bench, explore the Judicial Institute, a nonprofit co‑sponsored by VABAW that works to diversify Washington’s judiciary through clinics, mentorship, and programming, or join VABAW’s Joint Asian Judicial Evaluation Committee (JAJEC) to meet judicial candidates and ensure they are aware of and consider the issues important to the Asian minority bars.

Grateful to celebrate history, leadership, and community - together.

To learn more about VABAW, join as a member today, attend our events, or sign up for our newsletter at www.vabaw.com.

Photos courtesy of Logan Le.

04/02/2026

The Vietnamese American Bar Association of Washington (VABAW) is proud to join NAPABA - National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and a coalition of nearly 50 bar organizations in defending birthright citizenship today.

NAPABA has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court underscoring the constitutional promise of the Fourteenth Amendment, the historic significance of United States v. Wong Kim Ark, and the disproportionate harm that a recent executive order would impose on Asian American communities, including Vietnamese Americans.

As the case proceeds, we stand with NAPABA and this coalition in affirming that citizenship by birth is a foundational principle of equal under the law.

⚖️ Read VABAW’s full statement and NAPABA's amicus brief here: https://www.vabaw.com/birthright-citizenship-coalition-release

02/02/2026

3 Days Left To RSVP for VABAW Tết Celebration & Annual Meeting! As VABAW relaunches in 2026, we invite you to attend—and help share—VABAW’s first event of the year. We will celebrate the lunar new year with introductions to the new board, complimentary Vietnamese lunch, professional headshots, and ways to get involved. 📸🧧

To attend, you must be a member of VABAW and RSVP by Wednesday, February 4.

📅 Sunday, February 8, 2026
🕛 12:00–2:00 PM PT
📍 Tamarind Tree Restaurant (Seattle)

Celebrate the Lunar New Year with VABAW! Enjoy great food, a new headshot, meet attorneys and law students, and learn how to get involved.