Legal Awareness Workshop
OCA-GS sponsored its second in a series of legal awareness workshops October 8th. There was close to a standing-room only crowd of about 70 people. Held at Dorsey & Whitney LLP office in downtown Seattle. OCA-GS expressed thanks to Dorsey & Whitney for its help and the participation of its staff. The City of Seattle provided some of the funding for the workshop.
The workshop began with a keynote address by Mr. Nelson Dong, a Dorsey & Whitney partner, who spoke about U.S. and China relations and how the perceptions of the two governments affect business and trade. The topic of trade was dealt with more deeply by Mr. Kenneth Sam, also a partner at Dorsey and Whitney. Mr. Sam discussed trends in business law and went into some depth on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, security clearances, intellectual property and tax laws governing offshore transactions.
Ms. Yvonne Kinoshita, chair of the Washington Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs led an engrossing discussion of civil rights issues affecting Asian Americans. Audience participation was welcomed and revealed some of the issues being faced by the attendees.
From left to right: Shiang-Yu Lee, OCA-GS/ Chinese Institute of Engineers Society of Seattle and the Northwest coordinator; Nelson Dong and Kenneth Sam, Dorsey and Whitney; Miyuki Yoshida, Lane Pwell LLC; Yvonne Kinoshita, Washghton Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs; Gloria Wakayama, Harris, Mericle & Wakayama
The broad range of legal topics important to many in the audience were addressed in presentations by Ms. Miyuki Yoshida, Lane Powell LLC, who spoke about immigration law and hiring and the Immigration Reform and Control Act; Ms. Gloria Lung Wakayama, representing Harris, Mericle & Wakayama, PLLC discussed the changes in trust and tax laws that affect everyone as well as the special concerns faced by immigrants and non-citizens; Mr. Hassan Abedi, Dorsey and Whitney discussed the somewhat frightening aspects of litigation law and the needs of people to keep good records of their business agreements and dealings; and Ms. Ahoua Kone', representing the Access to Justice Institute at Seattle University discussed the work of the Community Justice Centers and how they provide help to the Asian community in and around Seattle.
Lunch was spent in two breakout sessions where participants and attendees split into two groups. One group discussed general legal questions and resources while those more interested in civil rights issues attended the other group. Mr. Mike Brown, a local attorney involved in civil rights cases joined the latter discussion.
It was apparent that all valued the workshop. Lei Zhou said, "I would say this is a wonderful workshop. The staff, the speakers and the food are just awesome." Michael Woo commented, "I sincerely thank the workshop provided for the Asian community. Although I have a good education background, professional job, and more than 26 years of living in this country, I still struggle for fairness in this society. Especially when I need a lawyer to speak out for me." John Zheng observed that, "It was a great and successful workshop. I also signed up to become an OCA member."
The audience was polled for suggestions. One suggestion that was met with the backing of the attendees was that there be more workshops of this type and to have them in more locations. Bettie Luke reported that, “many topics were checked as being of interest in future workshops. These included immigration law, business law, estate/wills, racial discrimination, property right/real estate, financial planning, hate crimes, employment law, medicare/medicaid and others. Many participants checked 6-7 categories, so the interest is high.”
© 2005 OCA-Greater Seattle
OCA - GREATER SEATTLE CHAPTER