Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania (APABA-PA) Information

Our Mission: The Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania’s mission is to support the advancement of Asian Pacific American attorneys and to promote justice, equity, and legal access, especially for all Asian Pacific American communities. The Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania (APABA-PA) was organized by ten lawyers in 1984 as The Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Delaware Valley (AABADV) to provide a legal resource in the underserved Asian Pacific American (APA) communities and a voice for APA attorneys in the organized bar and judiciary in the Greater Philadelphia area. Recognizing the potential for growth of APA lawyers in Allegheny County and throughout the Commonwealth, in 2007 AABADV re-named itself APABA-PA to include the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. AABADV was a founding member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) in 1988. Since its inception, the APABA-PA has gained a permanent seat on the Philadelphia Bar Association (Philadelphia Bar) Commission on Judicial Retention and Selection, a rotating seat on the Philadelphia Bar Board of Governors, and liaison slots with many Sections and Committees of the Philadelphia Bar. Over the last twenty-five years, APABA-PA members have served in state and local bar leadership positions, from which they have advocated issues of concern to APA communities. Members of APABA-PA are also members of NAPABA. NAPABA is the national association of Asian Pacific American (APA) attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students, providing a national network for its members and affiliates. NAPABA monitors legislative developments and judicial appointments, promotes APA political leadership, advocates for equal opportunity in education and the workplace, works to eliminate violence against APAs, and builds coalitions within the legal profession and the community at large. Join APABA-PA Family to gain access to our membership benefits.