The Fourth Annual Dale Minami Boalt Alumni Fellowship Dinner on January 28, 2011, honored Holly Fujie, the 84th President of the State Bar of California, the third woman and the second Asian American to hold that position. Fujie (pictured below with Dale) is a litigation Shareholder with the Los Angeles-based law firm of Buchalter Nemer, APC.
The fellowship dinner, organized by the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association at the University of California, Berkeley, raises funds for the endowment of the Dale Minami Public Interest Fellowship, which provides financial support to outstanding individuals committed to serving the public interest.
The organizers this year awarded the Fellowship to Stella Kang (pictured above), a 2010 graduate of University of California, Berkeley School of Law, and currently working at API Legal Outreach as a Borchard Fellow in Law & Aging. Kang received her B.A. with high honors in Russian Language and Literature from Smith College in 2001 and from 2005-2006 worked in Russia as a Fulbright Fellow on women’s human rights issues. She speaks Russian, Korean and Spanish and has extensive experience working with low income immigrants and refugees in the Bay Area and abroad.
While in law school, Kang interned at the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach and the East Bay Community Law Center. Her work at API Legal Outreach includes developing, strengthening and implementing a sustainable model for the provision of culturally competent legal services to Asian Pacific Islanders facing elder abuse.
The Dale Minami Fellows are selected for their diverse backgrounds, record of exceptional academic and professional accomplishment, leadership in community service and commitment to social justice and public interest work.
Minami Tamaki LLP partner Don Tamaki (pictured above) introduced Fujie, this year’s honoree. Fujie is currently the 2010-2011 President of the Boalt Hall Alumni Association, the 2010-2011 Vice President of the Chancery Club, and Chair-Elect of Bet Tzedek (the House of Justice) Legal Services. She also serves on the Board of Governors of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles; the Boards of Directors of VIP Mentors, the Federal Bar Association (Los Angeles Chapter) and the California Bar Foundation; and sits on the Advisory Board of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles.
Previous dinner honorees include United States Magistrate Judge Edward Chen and Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund attorney Khin Mai Aung.
Glen S. Fukushima and Minami Tamaki LLP were Platinum Sponsors of the event.
All photos courtesy of Grace Keh.