LOS ANGELES (December 7, 2011) – Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps LLP, a prominent California law firm with a national reputation, announced today that Los Angeles-based attorney Michelle K. Sugihara has been named the President-Elect of The Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Greater Los Angeles (APABA-LA). Sugihara’s one-year term is effective December 1st, 2011 while the official Installation Dinner will be held on February 24, 2012 at the Los Angeles Athletic Club featuring speakers Justice Goodwin Liu and Judge Edward Chen.
Prior to being named President-Elect, Sugihara served as APABA-LA’s Secretary and Treasurer. Key responsibilities in her new position will be to raise the visibility of APABA-LA, increase membership, establish partnerships with other bar associations, and serve the community by fostering cooperation between other minority organizations and the Asian Pacific Islander American community. Additionally, Sugihara, who is also a filmmaker, is producing a documentary video on APABA-LA: The First 15 Years, scheduled to be released in 2013 when Sugihara ascends to the Presidency.
“I’m honored and humbled to be elected President-Elect of such a fine organization that I connect with so strongly,” said Sugihara, a member of Luce Forward’s business litigation practice group. “I’m looking forward to working with this dedicated group of attorneys and law students to highlight the accomplishments and presence of the Asian Pacific American legal community in Southern California.”
Sugihara works out of Luce Forward’s Los Angeles office where she specializes in business, real estate, entertainment, and probate litigation, including easement disputes, construction defect, and other tort actions. She provides pro bono legal services to Public Counsel’s Homelessness Prevention Law Project and the Alliance for Children’s Rights’ Guardianship Program. Michelle Sugihara has been actively involved with APABA-LA since 2005 as a member of its Board of Governors. She is also an instrumental member of Luce Forward’s Diversity Committee.
About the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Greater Los Angeles
The Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Greater Los Angeles (APABA) was established in 1998 and works to establish a broad base of membership that is reflective of the ethnic and cultural diversity of the Asian/Pacific Islander American (APIA) community in the greater Los Angeles area and to provide a vehicle and forum for the unified expression of opinions and positions by the Association upon current social, political, economic, legal or other matters or events of concern to its members. For more information, visit www.apaba.org.
About Luce Forward
Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps LLP is a full-service California law firm with a national reputation in more than 30 different areas of law. Since its founding in San Diego in 1873, Luce Forward has grown to become home to approximately 200 attorneys in six offices statewide including San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angles, Carmel Valley/Del Mar, Orange County and Rancho Santa Fe. For more information, visit www.luce.com.
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