Minami Tamaki Partner Dale Minami was asked to participate with San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, Judge Chen (the “Two Eds”) and Attorney General of Hawaii David Louie at two special events

The first event, sponsored by the Chinatown Historical Society of America in San Francisco, honored Mayor Lee, Judge Chen and Attorney General Louie for their remarkable ascension to public positions in 2011. Having known all three honorees for over 35 years, Minami had the honor of introducing each of them, who coincidentally lived together in the same household while law students at U.C. Berkeley.

On October 1, Minami moderated a panel discussion at U.C. Berkeley’s School of Law that featured, Judge Chen, Mayor Lee, Attorney General Louie, as well as Holly Fujiye, another graduate of Boalt, and former President of the State Bar of California among other notable achievements, and Judge Ralph Ongekko of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Judge Ongekko was as a former roommate of Judge Chen and Mayor Lee.

The panelists shared with the diverse audience stories about their respective journeys to prominence and success. The Civil Rights Movement was a significant influence, as was their experiences at Boalt Hall, which encouraged the pursuit of social justice.

Minami remarked during the panel that he first thought that their individual successes were a coincidence, but noted that demographics and the confluence of the opportunities afforded to Americans and the ambition of immigrant families made their accomplishments inevitable.