Board of Governors
Halim Dhanidina is a Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County, where he has worked for the past 12 years. He was the first South Asian American attorney in his office to be assigned to the prestigious Hardcore Gang Division where he prosecuted violent gang members for murder and attempted murder. He is currently assigned to the elite Major Crimes Division, a 12 person unit handling the most complex and high profile cases in Los Angeles County. He is the youngest Deputy District Attorney ever to be given this assignment. Halim has been recognized for his achievement in his field. He was named the Deputy District
Attorney of the Month in November 2002 by the Association of Deputy District Attorneys. In 2007, he was given the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors’ Victims’ Rights Week Award for his work on behalf of crime victims. He has also received multiple awards from Justice for Homicide Victims for the successful prosecution of murder cases. Halim has been committed to public service since his college days when he built houses for Habitat for Humanity, raised money for the House of Ruth shelter for battered women and children, and founded the first Muslim Students Association at Pomona College. In law school, he helped to organize the student campaigns against Propositions 187 and 209 as the first South Asian American co‐chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Law Students Association at UCLA. Halim currently uses his training and experience to conduct gang intervention programs and domestic violence law training for the Asian Youth Center and South Asian Network as part of his work on the boards of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles and the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California. He is also one of the founding members of the Association of South Asian Prosecutors as well as a member of the faculty of Glendale University Law School, where he teaches criminal law.
Asha Saund Greenberg is an Assistant City Attorney with the City of Los Angeles. She currently manages the Citywide Nuisance Abatement Program which focuses on abating properties that are plagued with gang, drug and other types of nuisance activity. Asha spearheads the Los Angeles City Attorney’s enforcement against medical marijuana dispensaries and has secured Superior Court rulings that sales of marijuana are not allowed under the Compassionate Use Act or the Medical Marijuana Program Act. Under her direction, the City Attorney’s Office has obtained the evictions of several dispensaries. Asha also frequently addresses legal audiences on the issue of medical marijuana. In the City Attorney’s Office, Asha has engaged in both civil litigation and criminal prosecution. She has tried several cases to verdict, handled appeals, trained law enforcement and drafted many local and state laws. In addition, she was twice elected to the Santa Monica City Council where she served from 1992‐1998. She is currently the Legislative Chair for the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California and a member of the Anti-Defamation League’s Regional Board. She also co‐chairs the Asian Jewish Initiative of the Anti-Defamation League. She is a former president of the League of Women Prosecutors and a member of the California District Attorneys’ Association. Asha graduated magna cum laude from Whittier College, School of Law as class valedictorian and also served as a Research Editor on the Law Review.
Derek Ishikawa is an associate in the Litigation Department at the Los Angeles office of Loeb & Loeb LLP. Derek graduated from UCLA with a joint J.D./M.P.P. degree and served as Co-Chief Managing Editor for the Asian Pacific American Law Journal. While at UCLA, Derek worked for the Community Redevelopment Agency for the City of Los Angeles, performing legal research and assisting with grant writing efforts, and the California Department of Real Estate, reviewing and pleading criminal history cases and assisting with hearing preparation. In addition, Derek was a summer associate at a national labor and employment firm
and externed for United States District Court Judge Dean D. Pregerson. Prior to law school, Derek worked as a Management Aide for the City of Torrance, as a California Senate Fellow in Sacramento, and as an Assistant English Teacher in Ibaraki, Japan. Derek graduated from Pomona College with a B.A. in Public Policy Analysis-Politics.
Robin Jung currently practices products liability defense at O’Hagan Spencer LLP. Previously, he clerked at the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office ©\ Domestic Violence Prosecution Unit and the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, Asian Pacific Islander Unit. A graduate of Loyola Law School and UCLA, Robin was one of the APABA’s law student representatives before becoming a board member. He was also a recipient of the Honorable Kenneth B. Chang Memorial Scholarship and the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association’s Loyola Alumni Scholarship. Recently, Robin served on the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Inspire Convention host committee.
Kasie Lee is a Deputy Public Defender at the Los Angeles County Public Defender¡¯s Office. She is currently in her felony assignment at the Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles. Prior to becoming a public defender, she served as a staff attorney for the Asian/Pacific Islander Unit of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. Kasie graduated from the University of Southern California School of Law in 2003. During law school, she worked for Litt & Associates (now Litt, Estuar, Harrison & Kitson, LLP), a Los Angeles-based law firm focused on civil rights litigation. She also served as a law clerk for the Hon. Robert M. Takasugi of the U.S. District Court, Central District of California. Kasie is a past recipient of scholarships from the Korean American Bar Association, Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association, and Orange County Asian American Bar Association and has also been honored with the Los Angeles County Pro Bono Award. In law school, she served as a student representative to APABA. Currently, she is the Vice-President of the Asian American Public Defenders Association.
Cynthia Loo is a judicial officer with the Los Angeles County Superior Court. She is currently assigned to the Eastlake Juvenile Courthouse where she hears juvenile criminal matters. Following her graduation from the University of Southern California School of Law in 1990, Cynthia worked for nearly a decade representing children in child abuse and neglect juvenile dependency matters. Since 2005, she has been a volunteer adjunct professor at the People’s College of Law, where she has taught criminal procedure and “Children in the Legal System.” Cynthia was appointed a Superior Court Referee in 2000 and was named the Los Angeles County Juvenile Court Bar Association’s 2004 Outstanding Judicial Officer. She is a current board member of the Asian Pacific American Women Lawyers Alliance, the American Bar Association Judicial Division’s Standing Committee on Minorities in the Judiciary, and the State Bar of California’s Council on Access & Fairness; she is a former board member of the California Asian American Judges Association and the Women Lawyer’s Association of Los Angeles.
Jane Oak has her own practice, the Law Offices of Jane Oak & Associates, P.C. Previously, she was an associate at Pircher, Nichols & Meeks. She graduated from the UCLA School of Law (J.D. 1998) and Michigan State University (B.A. 1992). Jane is a board member and 2011 President-Elect of KABA, a board member of Christian Legal Society-Los Angeles, a former board member of Korean American Chamber of Commerce of L.A., and a member of American Immigration Lawyers Association and LACBA.
Carmina Ocampo is a Staff Attorney at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC). Carmina began her career at APALC as a Skadden Fellow in 2008. The Skadden Fellowship is awarded to recent law school graduates and provides funding for public interest projects for two years. At APALC, she has worked on cases in the areas of workers’ rights, employment discrimination, First Amendment rights and housing. Carmina received her J.D. from UCLA School of Law and specialized in Critical Race Studies. During law school, she interned at APALC and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. She served as co‐chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Law Student Association and staff editor of both the Asian Pacific American Law Journal and Chicana/o Latina/o Law Review. Carmina serves on the board of the Pilipino Workers’ Center and is a member of the Philippine American Bar Association (PABA).
Jason Pu is an experienced business attorney and founder of jd8 Records (www.jd8records.com), an independent music company that supports Asian Pacific American musical artists. He began his practice at the law firm of Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, working with public and private technology companies, venture capital firms, banks and financial institutions in the firm¡¯s flagship Palo Alto office. Since then, he has established his own law practice with expertise in a broad range of business transactions including debt and equity financings; work-outs and re-structurings; entertainment, music and Internet licensing transactions; customer contracts and commercial transactions; mergers and acquisitions; commercial real estate; and intellectual property. Jason received his B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University in 1995 and his J.D. from the UCLA School of Law in 1999.
Judith Sethna is an associate at Nagler & Associates. Her practice focuses on complex business litigation. Prior to joining Nagler & Associates, Judy clerked for the Honorable Manuel Real of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Judy earned her J.D. degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, where she graduated Order of the Coif. While at Loyola Law, Judy worked as a judicial extern to Magistrate Judge Carolyn Turchin of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. She also served as an Articles Editor of the Loyola Law Review and was a certified law clerk for the District Attorney’s Office. Judy is currently PABA’s President-Elect for 2011. She is also a member of the South Asian Bar Association,
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) and the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Judy received her undergraduate degree from Barnard College, Columbia University.
Byron Shibata graduated from UCLA with a double major in History and East Asian studies and from the University of Hawaii law school. He worked for many years in Japan, including as an assistant professor in the law department of a private university, and served several years as an active-duty Air Force Judge Advocate officer. Currently, he is an attorney at the Los Angeles Office of the County Counsel.
William C. Sung is a third-year law student at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, where he serves as a Senior Content Editor on the Southern California Law Review. His Note, “Taking the Fight Back to Title VII: A Case for Redefining ‘Because of Sex’ to Include Gender Stereotypes, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity,” is slated to be published in January, 2011, in Volume 84:2 of the Southern California Law Review. While in law school, Billy has served as a law clerk for the General Counsel of JM Eagle, an extern for the Hon. Ernest M. Robles of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, a clinical fellow on USC Law School’s Employer Legal Advice Clinic, and a volunteer on the Asian/Pacific Islander Unit of the
Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. Billy received his B.A. in Philosophy from UC Irvine. Before law school, he worked as a Training Specialist for Cathay Bank and as a tour guide in the East Coast and Canada.
Judy Suwatanapongched is an incoming associate in the business litigation group at the downtown Los Angeles office of Sheppard, Mullin, Hampton & Richter LLP. She received her J.D. from University of Southern California (USC) Gould School of Law in 2009 and her B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from Northwestern University in 2005. As an undergraduate, Judy was actively involved in the Asian and Asian American community on campus and served as president of Northwestern¡¯s Thai Club. Before coming to law school, Judy taught Thai Classical Dance at the Thai Cultural and Fine Arts Institute in Chicago and at various universities. At USC, she was internal vice-president of the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association. Judy also served for two years as a law student representative to the APABA board.
Cheryl Tao is a third‐year student at Southwestern Law School, where she is the president of the Federalist Society. Previously, she was the academic chair for the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, a staff member on the Southwestern Journal of International Law, and an extern for the United States Attorney’s Office Tax Division. She also served as a Student Ambassador and was on the Faculty Selection Committee for Southwestern Law School. Cheryl is an active member and supporter of the various API bar associations and fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin.
Stacey H. Wang, a litigation associate in the Los Angeles office of Holland & Knight, practices in the area of complex civil and class action litigation. Her representations range from high net-worth individuals to middle‐market businesses and nonprofit organizations to foreign multinational businesses involved in contract and intellectual property disputes, tort claims (including product liability defense), unfair competition actions, qui tam actions, trust/probate proceedings and as creditors in bankruptcy proceedings. Stacey is committed to pro bono work and issues affecting the Asian-American community. She has been awarded the Chesterfield Smith Fellowship by her firm, an award which is given to one litigation associate firm‐wide, and will be dedicating the 2011 year solely to pro bono matters. She has
been a member of the Board of Governors of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association since 2007 and currently serves as Treasurer. Stacey earned her law degree and masters in business administration in 2006 from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and her undergraduate degree in 2000 from the University of California, Berkeley. She served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Margaret M. Morrow of the United States District Court, Central District of California.
Mia F. Yamamoto, a 1971 graduate of UCLA School of Law, is in solo practice specializing in criminal defense. She is a former Deputy Public Defender for the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office. Mia is a former co-chair of the Multicultural Bar Alliance, past president of the Japanese American Bar Association and past co-chair of the Asian Concerns Committee. Among her many honors, Mia received the American Bar Association¡¯s Spirit of Excellence Award in 2008 and has been named Criminal Defense Attorney of the Year by the Los Angeles County Bar Association and one of the ¡°100 Most Influential Lawyers in California¡± by the Daily Journal.
Bryant Yang is a law clerk for the Honorable S. James Otero, District Judge for the Central District of California. Previously, Bryant was an associate in the Litigation Department of Morrison & Foerster’s Los Angeles office, where he specialized in patent litigation and employment law. He received his B.A. from UC Berkeley, where he graduated with High Honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He obtained his J.D. from UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law, receiving an American Jurisprudence Award in Introduction to Intellectual Property. During law school, he served as co‐Chair of the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association, participated in the VIS International Moot Court in Vienna, and was a member of the Asian American Law Journal and the Berkeley Technology Law Journal. Bryant also externed for the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission in Beijing, the Human Rights Law Network in New Delhi, and the International Organization for Migration in Bangkok. He has taught classes at UC Irvine and Harvey Mudd College.
Christina Yang is an associate in the litigation and dispute resolution practice group of Mayer Brown LLP, focusing primarily on commercial litigation. Prior to joining the firm, Christina participated in the Mayer Brown Public Interest Fellowship Program, completing a one‐year fellowship with the impact litigation unit of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC). While at APALC, she engaged in both federal and state motion practice, and gained experience in the areas of employment law, consumer fraud, immigration law, and constitutional law. Christina is a 2009 graduate of the UC Berkeley School of Law, and received her undergraduate degree summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania. During law school, she was a Publishing Editor for the California Law Review and a Senior Articles Editor for the Asian American Law Journal. In 2009, she published an article regarding Korean adoptee identity in the Asian American Law Journal, which also awarded her piece the Akiyu Hatano Student Writing Award
Deborah Yim is an Assistant United States Attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney¡¯s Office for the Central District of California. She was formerly an associate at Reed Smith LLP, where she practiced commercial and financial services litigation. Deborah obtained her B.A. from UC Berkeley in 1998 and her J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 2001, where she served as an editor-in-chief of the Asian Pacific American Law Journal and co-chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Law Student Association. While in law school, Deborah received the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association¡¯s presidential scholarship and she externed for the Hon. Arthur L. Alarcon of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the State Bar of California. She is the founder and program coordinator of Kids Reading for Success, a children¡¯s literacy program in Pasadena. Deborah has also sat on the State Bar of California¡¯s Committee on Federal Courts and the Los Angeles County Bar Association¡¯s (LACBA) Judicial Elections Evaluations Committee, and she currently sits on the LACBA Diversity Committee. In addition, she has served on the board of directors of the Junior League of Pasadena and as Pasadena’s representative to the State Public Affairs Committee of the Junior Leagues of California.
Steven K. Yoda is an associate at Bird Marella Boxer Wolpert Nessim Drooks & Lincenberg, P.C., where his practice focuses on civil commercial litigation and white collar criminal defense. Steve has represented clients in a wide array of matters relating to contract disputes, professional malpractice, fraud, intellectual property, defamation, securities, real estate, consumer class actions, antitrust, money laundering, and money transmitting. Steve received his B.A. and M.A. degrees (both in History) from Stanford University in 1999 and 2000. Steve graduated from the University of California, Berkeley (Boalt Hall) School of Law in 2004, where he was Executive Articles Editor of the California Criminal Law Review and Director of the James Patterson McBaine Honors Moot Court Competition. After law school, Steve served as a law clerk to the Honorable James Ware, United States District Judge for the Northern District of California. From 2005 to 2006, Steve worked as an associate at Keker & Van Nest LLP in San Francisco. Steve currently serves as a Board member of the Japanese American Bar Association (JABA), Asian Pacific American Friends of the Theater (APAFT), and Taiko Project. In 2009, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) named Steve one of its “Best Lawyers Under 40.
