Written by Deborah Levine, Editor of the American Diversity Report

Sylvia Chin, a corporate partner in the New York office of White & Case LLP, has promoted and supported Asian Pacific Americans (APA) in the legal profession with long-standing expertise.  I spoke with her about a recent symposium in New York City on Asian Pacific American diversity in law firms.  The symposium followed a similar gathering in Los Angeles a few weeks prior to our conversation and I asked her about the two events and their impact. Sylvia began by describing the NYC symposium, which was sponsored by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the NAPABA Law Foundation and sponsored by White & Case. “We were able to build on the discussions in LA with a slightly different audience.  In NY, we managed to get a larger number of partners from the large law firms.  We had over 100 attendees in NYC and only slightly less in Los Angeles.  In the last 10 years, we at NAPABA have seen an increase in Asian Americans entering law school and associate ranks, but the number of partners remains low – lower conversion rates from associate to partner at some firms than for other minorities.  At White & Case in NY our conversion rate is fairly good, 14-15 % of APA associates in NY and 9% partners are APA (11 APA partners).  Of course, we would like to see the percentages be more equitable.  The numbers change as eligibility for partnership and attrition change the numbers.  The average of APA partners in many other NY law firms is considerably lower.  The 2005 City Bar report said that while 19% of eligible associates were attorneys of color, Asians Americans were only 1.5% of partner promotions.  The San Francisco Bar reported in 2005 that only 4% of partners were Asian American despite a larger APA population.”

The numbers were not encouraging.  Sylvia reports, “As NAPABA looks at these statistics, we became very alarmed.  The associate ranks are increasing but the attrition rate of good APA associates is high.”  Apparently, not all of the issues are related to their APA background. “We have the same issue regardless of race or ethnicity.  They go to other law firms and other jobs.”  Family demands are a consideration and Sylvia notes, “All law firms lose many good women attorneys.”

The symposium was divided into two sections in order to examine some of these issues more closely.  The first section looked at the bias and invisibility factors. “A lot of people APA and non-APA don’t always think of issues related to APA as a diversity problem.  It is a double-edged sword.  There is a lot of focus on diversity on African and Hispanic Americans and usually less on Asian Americans.  Some of the partners in the breakout sessions said that their firms were getting better conversion rates on African Americans than on Asian Americans.   The foreign-factor is that Asians do not look like the person next door to most of the leadership in law firms.  Some partners may be concerned that the APA associate to whom they are giving out assignments may not read and write English as well as others, or may have little in common with clients.  The implicit bias factor is that Asians are taught to respect their elders and speak when spoken to, which is contrary to the American concept that lawyers must be very aggressive on behalf of their clients.  If the Asian is quiet walking in the room, will there be a question of whether this person can plead a case. Asians work hard but may not be viewed as having leadership qualities.”

The second panel looked at best practices for addressing APA challenges such as mentoring programs, diversity training and issues of firm culture. Sylvia talked about her own experience at White & Case.   “Our firm was very lucky to have our chairman, Hugh Verrier, give the welcome at the symposium and participate in the first panel.”  She shared a comment from one of the evaluation forms, “Hugh Verrier’s presence and personal commitment to advance APAs in his firm is a good role model.”   The discussion was apparently quite frank.  Formal mentoring programs were closely questioned.  Rolling out a mentoring program without appropriate training and coaching not only accomplishes little, but can engender resentment and resistance.    Sylvia brought up the issue of a reverse mentoring program wherein an associate mentors a partner in terms of a diversity issue.  “At White & Case, we encourage formal and informal mentoring, but we haven’t instituted a reverse mentoring program yet.  That has to be done formally for obvious reasons.  A few firms have instituted it in the early stages and the symposium enabled sharing of this information in a supportive, non-confrontational way.  When asked about next steps, Sylvia said “NAPABA was able to sponsor these conferences through a grant from the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. We are looking for funding to continue this discussion in San Francisco, Chicago and possibly Atlanta next year.”

Sylvia discussed the issues that the APA community faces, in particular, the issue of invisibility.  “The general perception is that APAs are doing well compared to other minorities.  But many APAs are still struggling to obtain education and status in the United States.  One of our concerns is that with economic and job market declines, there is a risk that APAs will be viewed as foreigners taking away American jobs.  We’ve seen in past recessions that there have been repercussions for APAs, and the issues around immigration remain difficult.”

Sylvia’s activism on behalf of Asian Americans includes not only advocacy but also a substantial amount of organizational work.  She is immediate past president of the NAPABA Law Foundation and is treasurer of the Asian American Law Fund of New York (AALFNY), the local NY affiliate of the umbrella NAPABA.  “The Asian American Law Fund of New York is a nonprofit organization that I helped established when I was president of the Asian American Bar Association of New York.  We are looking at ways to assist APA students in New York.  AALFNY has an internship program and White & Case and other firms contribute to it.  AALFNY awards selected law students a small stipend towards tuition and the students work towards helping the APA community in New York.”   

While a dedicated lawyer and recipient of the Fordham Law Review Leonard F. Manning Achievement Award, Sylvia’s activism goes beyond the legal profession.  “Among the passions I have, in addition to advancing Asian Americans, are women’s issues and the alleviation of poverty.  I got involved in Women’s World Banking more than 25 years ago when I first started at White & Case.  WWB is a nonprofit organization, a global microfinance network of microfinance institutions around the world.  Our focus is women’s leadership in microfinance and the alleviation of poverty through initiatives directed towards to women. Women are a very important component of the economies of many third world countries.  In India, women pick up dung along the streets, take it home and dry it and sell it for fuel so they can educate and feed their children.” Sylvia notes that the organization changed over time, “The organizations was founded during the first UN conference on women more than 30 years ago as a reaction to the prevailing view that women in poverty could only be assisted through donations and grants.  Now microfinance has become a big movement, and the commercial banks moving into the sector present a different set of issues.”

Sylvia’s path also changed over time, veering away from the journalism degree earned early in her career.  “When I graduated 40 years ago, there were not a lot of Asian Americans in the media, particularly print media.  I did work in internal communications and public relations for the Medical Society of the State of New York and the American Heart Association before they moved to Dallas.  I went to law school at night.  Journalism honed my communication skills and my writing skills and taught me to listen well to what people say, which is very important and helps differentiate good lawyers.”

Today, Sylvia enjoys mentoring and working with young people.  “Young people look at life and issues differently, but there are a lot of similarities, too and my advice may not be different for them.  I like to get to know a person and focus on individual abilities.  A lot of times young people do not appreciate the importance of networking.  It is not good enough to just sit in one’s office and turn out research.  Any attorney needs to be the best attorney they can be, whether as a legal advocate, a careful drafter of documents or a good negotiator for their clients but that alone is not good enough.  You have to be out there meeting people, finding out what the clients issues are, networking with them and other lawyers, giving back to the community and doing pro bono work and using your talents to help other people.”