Nelson Dong Honored With a Prestigious 2008 National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Award
The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) honored Partner Nelson Dong with the prestigious 2008 NAPABA Trailblazers Award at the “Building on Our Legacy: 20 Years of NAPABA” conference (November 19-23, 2008).
With more than 40,000 attorneys belonging to NAPABA, Dong was singled out for the award on behalf of his outstanding achievements, commitment to the practice of law and overall leadership. The Association’s regional governors and affiliates chose to dignify Dong as someone who has paved the way for the advancement of other Asian Pacific American attorneys.
Dong is regarded as a “pioneer” for many efforts and undertakings, including:
• Noted practitioner, author and lecturer in U.S. export control and national security law;
• Co-founder and first secretary of Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area (AABA), the first APA bar association in the nation and one of the lead bar groups that came together to form NAPABA in 1988;
• First Asian American partner in three law firms in California, Minnesota and Washington;
• First Asian American lawyer to chair the California State Bar’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct (the state bar’s ethics committee) and co-chair of the California State Bar’s Special Committee to Revise the California Rules of Professional Conduct;
• First Chinese American elected to Stanford University’s Board of Trustees;
• First Chinese American lawyer selected as a White House Fellow and first Asian American to serve as a Special Assistant to the U.S. Attorney General;
• First Asian American to serve as Deputy Associate Attorney General of the United States, responsible for constitutional and international law matters, including U.S.-China relations and the U.S. legal responses to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Iranian seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, for which he was awarded the Justice Department’s Special Commendation for Outstanding Service;
• First Asian American to be an Assistant U.S. Attorney (Criminal Division) in the District of Massachusetts (Boston);
• First Asian American lawyer on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s President’s Export Council Subcommittee on Export Administration (PECSEA), the nation’s highest civilian export control policy advisory body;
• First Asian American to be President of the Washington State China Relations Council, the nation’s preeminent state trade promotion group for China (two terms);
• First Asian American lawyer to serve on Board of Directors of Puget Sound Public Radio (KUOW), the Seattle affiliate of National Public Radio (NPR);
• Member of the Board of Directors of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (NCUSCR), the New York-based nonprofit group that is widely recognized as the nation’s most influential public policy educational group in U.S.-China relations;
• Member of the Board of Directors and Vice President of the White House Fellows Foundation and Association, the alumni body of the White House Fellows program;
• Member, director and general counsel of the Committee of 100, the New York-based nonprofit group that works on civil rights for Asian Americans and better U.S.-China relations; and
• Mentor to many Asian American law students and young lawyers nationally and locally.
“Nelson’s career demonstrates vision and dedication,” said Mike Droke, Partner and head of the Dorsey Seattle office. “His contributions to our firm and the Asian Pacific American legal community have been significant and long-lasting. He is an inspiration to the profession.”
Since its inception in 1988, NAPABA has been at the forefront of national and local activities in the areas of civil rights, combating anti-immigrant backlash and hate crimes and increasing the diversity of the federal and state judiciaries. NAPABA also serves as a resource for federal, state, and local agencies; members of Congress and staff; and public-service organizations. The 2008 conference hosted more than 1,200 legal professionals and guests.