It’s with a heavy heart that I must announce the cancellation of APABA Silicon Valley's 35th Annual Gala, originally scheduled for October 9, 2020 at Levi's Stadium. Like many of you, I look forward to APABA's Gala each year as an opportunity to reconnect with old friends, make new friends and business connections, honor deserving scholarship and diversity award recipients, and just have an all-out great time. But the safety of our community is paramount above all else, and there is simply no way to host a live event of this scale in a safe and responsible manner. While I'm sure this will come as a tremendous disappointment to many, we are grateful for your understanding and are actively planning our 36th Annual Gala in Fall 2021, at a date to be announced.

The Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Silicon Valley (APABA Silicon Valley) applauds the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, holding that protections under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination “because of sex,” applies to protect LGBTQ individuals from employment discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

This has been an incredibly difficult year for our membership. At the beginning, we all had to endure the rapid shift to a “new normal” with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, which contributed to a struggling economy and uptick in harassment of Asian Americans. That “new normal” was shattered with the senseless killing of George Floyd which rocked the nation and resulted in peaceful and powerful demonstrations by many, violent confrontations by some, and opportunistic looting by a few.

APABA Silicon Valley stands with the Black community and the chorus of voices across the globe in condemning the racism, bigotry, and prejudice that has led to the senseless killing of George Floyd and so many others.

In light of the many hardships our colleagues now face due to COVID-19 and the accompanying shelter-in-place orders, APABA Silicon Valley will offer free memberships for a limited time.

Dear Members of APABA Silicon Valley,

Given the current public health crisis in the Bay Area and elsewhere, APABA Silicon Valley has canceled or postponed all in-person events through at least the end of April. The safety and well-being of our members is of paramount importance, and we will continue to carefully monitor this evolving crisis and plan in-person events and gatherings only if and when it is safe to do so.

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is conducting a survey to assess Asian Pacific American attorney and law student engagement with bar associations and in particular affinity bar associations. The results of the survey will aid NAPABA in measuring our reach and effectiveness and assessing our priorities.