Message from the NLD Vice Chair

Message from the NLD Vice Chair

My name is Elijah Gaglio, and I am honored to serve as the Vice Chair for the San Diego County Bar Association’s New Lawyer Division (NLD). As an attorney for about four years, NLD has been a great resource for advice, support, and a place where I can connect with new and more experienced attorneys alike. Below is a list of upcoming NLD events where attorneys can connect and give back to the San Diego community. I am dedicating this month’s message to some of the groups we honor in May.

By the time most are reading this, Mother’s Day will have just passed, and I would be remiss to not honor the moms who work hard both in and out of the legal profession. At times working two jobs to make ends meet for our family, my mom taught me the value of hard work, loyalty, and dedication. Forgoing her own dreams, she worked hard to give me and my brothers and sisters a greater chance to succeed than she was afforded. Since a single day celebrating moms is far too short, I encourage everyone to take some time this month to celebrate moms both present and those no longer with us.

May is also Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. It is important we recognize some of the historic attorneys who were trailblazers for minorities entering the legal field. For example, Hong Yen Chang was the first lawyer of Chinese descent to be admitted as a lawyer in the United States. After graduating with honors from Columbia Law School in 1886, his application to the New York Bar was denied because the Chinese Exclusion Act prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers, like Chang, from acquiring U.S. citizenship (a New York Bar admission requirement). Chang successfully “persuaded the New York Assembly to make a special exception, granting him citizenship and eligibility to practice law.”[1] 

While he was eventually naturalized and admitted to the New York Bar, he was later denied admission to practice in California where he moved to serve the large Chinese community in San Francisco.[2] In an 1890 decision, the California Supreme Court denied Chang’s motion to be admitted to the California Bar ruling the Chinese Exclusion Act was still in force, and therefore, Chang could not be eligible to practice law. In re Hong Yen Chang (1890) 84 Cal. 163, 165. In March 2015, the California Supreme Court granted posthumous State Bar admission to Hong Yen Chang. The Court explained: “Even if we cannot undo history, we can acknowledge it and, in so doing, accord a full measure of recognition to Chang’s pathbreaking efforts to become the first lawyer of Chinese descent in the United States.” In re Chang (2015) 60 Cal.4th 1169, 1175. Brave people like Chang overcame obstacles and discrimination to pave a way for other minorities to enter the legal field. As attorneys, we all have a duty to learn more about the rich history and plight of Asian American Pacific Islanders in the United States and help others who still face the same discrimination.

To learn more about ways you can support San Diego’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Community click here.

NEW LAWYER DIVISION UPCOMING EVENTS: 

  • May 25, 2023, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
    Mixer Introducing New Lawyers to Workers’ Compensation Law
    Join us for an informal evening of introduction and overview of workers’ compensation law. Learn from our panel of experts, network with knowledgeable attorneys from major workers’ compensation law related firms, and have your questions answered. A complimentary finger-licking barbecue menu from Phil’s BBQ and beverages will be provided. To register click here.
  • May 27, 2023, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
    New Lawyer Division’s Bags & Brunch
    The New Lawyer Division is partnering with the San Diego Urban League Young Professionals to hand out bags of hygiene supplies to people experiencing homelessness in San Diego. Lawyers and their families are encouraged to help bag and distribute hygiene supplies on Saturday, May 27, and/or make donations in advance of the event via this Amazon wish list before May 25. All volunteers will meet up afterward for a non-hosted social brunch. Hope to see you there! To register click here.
  • June 20, 2023
    Juneteenth Black Business Empowerment Legal Clinic
    More details to come.
  • July 12, 2023, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
    Summer Social & NLD Signature Event
    More details to come.
  • July 15, 2023
    San Diego Pride Parade
    More details to come.

[1] Carole Bass, After 125 years, living Yalies help first Chinese American lawyer win admission to the bar, https://yalealumnimagazine.org/blog_posts/2056-after-125-years-living-yalies-help-first-chinese-american-lawyer-win-admission-to-the-bar (last accessed May 12, 2023)

[2] Lani Ah Tye Farkas, Bury My Bones in America (1998) p. 87.