Cultural Competency | Critical Impact | Commitment to Diversity
In 2010, the VABANC Law Foundation (VLF) made history as the first minority bar organization to launch an annual public interest fellowship program. The vision and mission of the program is to accelerate the careers of committed individuals wishing to achieve a richer and more inclusive vision of social justice in marginalized, underserved communities. Fellows partner with a reputable non-profit organization sponsor to lead a year-long public interest project that provides legal services to these communities.
Vision and History
The Vietnamese American Bar Association of Northern California (VABANC) was founded in 1998 to provide Vietnamese American attorneys with a vehicle for the unified expression of opinions and positions on matters of concern to all Vietnamese American attorneys, to encourage and promote the professional growth of its members, and to advocate for civil and human rights of the community at large.
VABANC has a strong sense of community responsibility. VABANC strives not only to meet the professional needs of its members, but also to use available resources and expertise to serve the public interest. In 2002, VABANC launched its annual Scholarship Dinner to recognize outstanding Bay Area law students who demonstrated a commitment to serving the greater public interest. Since then, VABANC has awarded several scholarships per year to recognize the recipients’ achievements and commitments to serving their communities.
The VABANC Law Foundation was created in 2010 in order to develop and administer the Public Interest Fellowship Program. The Public Interest Fellowship Program builds on VABANC’s goals of supporting a law graduate who will serve the greater community. To that end, VLF provides a competitive award of $50,000 to recent law graduates and new attorneys to provide direct legal services and launch their public interest careers.
Since its inception, the program has grown larger each year in an effort to make a deeper impact in the community. The award has grown from an initial $25,000 to one of the largest annual legal fellowship available at $50,000. To date, VLF public interest attorneys have worked on timely and critical projects in practice areas such as workers’ rights, immigration, and housing, with reputable legal nonprofit organizations in both Northern and Southern California. VLF continues to develop a diverse network of public interest lawyers in multiple practice areas in order to provide quality legal services to the underserved and marginalized communities.
