I was truly honored to have served as the 1996-1997 President of SCCLA. For me, the March 21, 1997, Installation Dinner was the culmination of ten years of volunteering in Bar activities including volunteering at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center and receiving their pro bono award in 1991. At the 1986 Tom Loo Party, I met past SCCLA Treasurer Bill Hom who hired me as his law clerk. At the 1987 SCCLA Installation Dinner at NBC Restaurant in Monterey Park, I was the recipient of the SCCLA Y.C. Hong Scholarship. I was standing on the stage listening to Noland Hong speak about his father, the first Chinese lawyer in California. I heard him say how proud his father would have been to see how SCCLA had grown. I wished to myself that my parents could have been there too to share that special moment. They were home in Hawaii at the time. They flew from Hawaii to attend the Installation dinners in 1996 and 1997 and I’m happy that they could share these special moments with me.

At the 1996 Installation Dinner in his keynote speech, California Supreme Court Justice Ming Chin outlined three goals:

(1) To promote “civility” in the profession;

(2) to promote “professionalism”;

(3) to continue our “dedication to public service”.

We also sponsored many networking events thanks to the organizers and sponsors including:

Joint Spring Reception (Wendy Huang/CACPA/OCA)

1996 Golf Tournament (Curtis Jung/ABL)

End of Summer Party (Tom Loo/Frank Chen)

Downtown Lawyers Lunch (Ben Chin)

Commercial Attaché Meetings

Japan (Wendy Chang/Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker)

Taiwan (Wendy Huang/Knapp, Marsh, Jones & Doran)

Singapore/Malaysia/At the Hotel Niko, Beverly Hills thanks to:
Indonesia (Merrill Lynch/Francis Chan)
China/Hong Kong (O’Melveny & Myers/Warren Loui)

Special thanks to the founder of the Commercial Attaché program Adam Ritter, Co-Chair, Pacific Rim Committee. Also thank you to Bill Dickson then with the Daily Journal for his support of this program.

Marco Polo Night which featured Martial Arts Exhibitions by: Ron, Rose Hom, Brian Sun, Fred Fujioka, Tim Saito, Kevin Quock, Mike Murata, Mike Cacciotti, Joe Rose and David Huang. Thanks to Frank Chen for helping organize the event.

SCCLA Christmas Party (Joe Tseng of Tseng, Lee & Huang, CPA’s, Roberta Yang).

(2) To promote “professionalism”, SCCLA sponsored many Continuing Education programs including:

“Real Estate Is Hot” at the Omni Hotel. This program featured brokers of major real estate transactions including Eddie Chow and Randy Lee. This program also featured attorneys Frankie Leung and Jack Liu. This program was the genesis of future joint SCCLA programs with the L.A. County Bar; State Bar Real Property Section Retreat NAPA; and the 1997 State Bar Convention in San Diego. Thanks to Francis Chan and Ken Fong for coordinating these events.

“How to Become a Judge” at the LA Athletic Club. Thanks to Judges Owen Lee Kwong, Art Lew, Ronald Lew, Ruth Kwan and also thanks to Dolly Gee, Peter Hwu and Mary Chu.

“What Litigators Can Teach Transactional Lawyers About Document Preparation” at the Biltmore Hotel. This event was co-sponsored with the L.A. County Bar and JABA. Thanks to Brian Sun, Bruce Ishimatsu and Ken Fong.

“China Trade and Intellectual Property” at the Los Angeles Superior Court. This event was co-sponsored with the Lawyers Club of LA. This program featured the General Counsel from McDonnell Douglas Eddie Island; Bill Robbins of Robbins, Berliner and Carson; and Hillel Cohen of Graham and James. Thank you to Francis Chan and Clark Gross.

“Medical Malpractice Forum” at the Empress Pavilion. This event featured four speakers including Dr. John Chou, Vincent D’Angelo, Dr. Bruce Pagel, and Dr. Arthur Lurvey. Thank you to Kermit Marsh, Wendy Huang and Eric Tazlitz of Merrill Lynch.

“How to Counsel Clients on Collection of Commercial Debts” at Sam Woo Seafood Restaurant, San Gabriel. This event featured Peter Hwu, Esq. Thanks to Maria Mak and Joe Tseng and the Chinese American CPA Association.

We were fortunate to be able to publish a monthly SCCLA Newsletter. Thank you to Tracy Glover.

(3) To continue, our “dedication to public service”, SCCLA sponsored public service programs free to the public including:

Law Day co-sponsored with the L.A. County Bar at two locations: Alhambra Public Library and the Chinatown Service Center. Thanks to Vanessa Huey, Francesca Frey and Frances Chan for organizing this event.

Blue Car Program at Mark Keppel High School and Alhambra High School. Thanks to Louis Brown, Past President of Beverly Hills Bar for teaching us this program. Mr. Brown passed away in 1996. His widow, Mrs. Brown, continues to support our program in his name and told us that he was very proud of our program. Thanks to Vanessa Huey and the approximately 20 volunteers who participated.

Community Law School at the Los Angeles Public Library, Chinatown Branch. This program featured over 12 instructors and translators. The instructors included: Al Chang, Thomas Yong, Bentley Soo Hoo, James Yan, Llwellyn Chin, Ken Fong, Francesca Frey, Shun Chen, Winnie Yang, and Jessie Shaw. They taught six subjects, two per Saturday for three weeks. Thanks to Francesca Frey and Frances Chan for organizing this program.

Holiday Food Basket Program at the Chinatown Service Center. This program raised funds and provided 200 food baskets worth about $45.00 each to needy families. Thank you to Robert Chong, Wendy Chang and Rose Chan and all of the volunteers and contributors.

Thanks to all the 1996-1997 Board Members for their dedicated service. Thanks to our entire 1996 and 1997 Installation Dinner committees, especially thanks to Frank Chen and Ken Fong, the dinner co-chair persons, who helped coordinate the tremendously successful events.

It was my privilege as President to choose the recipient of the SCCLA Most Valuable Member Award (MVM). SCCLA’s version of the Heisman Trophy. It was a difficult choice because so many devoted members contributed so much. Special mention went to Adam Ritter for organizing the commercial attaché meetings and to Francis Chan for RE Hot, China Trade Intellectual Property. Bentley Soo Hoo, CPA/Attorney who served as our treasurer for two terms. The 1996-97 MVM went to a member who coordinated our MCLE programs, took SCCLA to a new level having our programs co-sponsored with the L.A. County Bar and State Bar at the Section Meetings and State Bar Convention. He also co-chaired our years biggest event, the Installation Dinner. You now know him as your 1999-2000 SCCLA President. Congratulations again to MVM, Ken Fong.

Also thanks went out to JABA, Dee Hayashi and Mike Yamamoto, KABA, Ann Park, and Angela Oh, PABA, Hyacinth Leus and Paul Estuar and the ACC, Mike Murata and Vera D’Vera for their support.

We were not in the business of providing MCLE, Networking and Community service. Together we were and are continuing to change the shape of our mountain and make this community a better place to live.