#sandra leung

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The National Law Journal recognizes 50 lawyers at the top of their legal teams at some of the most important companies and organizations in the world.

Congratulations to the America’s 50 Outstanding General Counsel named by National Law Journal! Click on the link above to check out these outstanding legal leaders. Of special note to AABANY for their diversity and inclusion efforts are: 

Sandra Leung, General Counsel of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

Sandra Leung arrived at Bristol-Myers Squibb in 1992 as a staff attorney after eight years as a prosecutor with the New York County District Attorney’s office. She’s climbed the pharmaceutical company’s ranks ever since, and in 2007 became general counsel. At that time, the company’s top leaders had just been pushed out amid a federal investigation over its blooder-thinner Plavix. She re-engineered the company’s legal department by cutting costs, and today her portfolio includes shaping the company’s legal strategy and its environmental, health and safety, corporate security and philanthropy policies.

Lee Cheng, Chief Legal Officer of Newegg, Inc.

As Newegg Inc.’s “chief troll hunter,” Lee Cheng has earned a reputation in recent years as a fierce foe of so-called patent trolls. Cheng, the online retailer’s chief legal officer, has aggressively defended against patent infringement claims by companies that he’s labeled “legal terrorists” and gone after legal fees when successful. He’s made headlines for his aversion to settling. Earlier this year, after Minero Digital LLC dropped a patent case against Newegg subsidiary Rosewill Inc., Newegg struck back with a lawsuit of its own, seeking a court order that would ensure that Minero couldn’t refile the claims in the future.

Simone Wu, General Counsel of Choice Hotels International

Simone Wu, Choice Hotels Interna­tional Inc.’s general counsel, is a leader in diversity in the legal field. A 2013 recipient of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund’s Justice in Action Award, Wu oversees the Rockville, Maryland-based corporation’s litigation matters, transactions and regulatory affairs. She also serves as counsel to the company’s senior management and board of directors. Recently, the company expanded its Cambria hotel line with a grand opening in Times Square and has partnered with CapStar Hotel Co. to develop sites in Chicago, New Orleans and Los Angeles.

Please join us in congratulating these friends of AABANY. 

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Hi can I not only reserve Sandra but get some prompts pretty please? She's so freaking awesome. Also one of my friends is looking into applying for Jace, if you could post prompts for him too please

Sure thing, lovely!

Sandra: 

You could write about her life when she followed the motorcycle gang and was introduced to the world of weapons. 

Or possible how she uses her powers to help build her own weapons.

You could also write about a moment between her and Isis and how she helps keep her true identity hidden. 

Jace: 

You could write a moment between him and his brother and describe how he feels about Riley being a vampire. 

Or you could write about a drug deal he does with one of his customers. 

Or you could describe the time he was kicked out at nineteen and how it helped pushed him into the world of drugs. 

>

Hope those help!

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Press Release: AABANY Congratulates NAAAP-NY's 2014 Most Influential APIA New Yorkers Glenn Lau-Kee and Sandra Leung

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 5, 2014  

Contact: Yang Chen, Executive Director [phone]

NEW YORK – November 5, 2014 – The Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) is proud to announce that AABANY Past President and current New York State Bar Association President Glenn Lau-Kee and AABANY Advisory Committee Member Sandra Leung have been announced as the National Association of Asian American Professionals – New York Chapter (NAAAP-NY) 2014 Most Influential Asian Pacific Islander American New Yorkers. Mr. Lau-Kee and Ms. Leung will be honored at NAAAP-NY’s Moon Festival Honoree Gala at the Harvard Club of New York City on November 7, 2014.

NAAAP-NY has selected Glenn Lau-Kee (Partner, Kee & Lau-Kee PLLC) as its Public Service Honoree. Mr. Lau-Kee assumed office in June 2014 as the 117th President and first Asian American to lead the New York State Bar Association, an organization with over 75,000 members. NAAAP-NY has named Sandra Leung (General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Bristol-Meyers Squibb) as its the Corporate Legal Honoree. As legal advisor to the Board of Directors and company executives, Ms. Leung is responsible for shaping Bristol-Meyers Squibb’s legal strategy, as well as the company’s Environment, Health & Safety, Corporate Security, and Philanthropy groups.

“AABANY is delighted that NAAAP-NY has chosen to recognize Glenn Lau-Kee and Sandra Leung among New York’s most influential Asian Pacific Islander American New Yorkers,” says Executive Director Yang Chen. “Both Glenn and Sandra have made major impacts in the legal profession through their work and leadership, and have paved the way for generations of APIA lawyers and professionals. We congratulate Glenn and Sandra and all the honorees at this year’s Moon Festival Gala.”  AABANY President Clara Ohr adds, “We strongly support NAAAP-NY’s decision to honor such Asian American trailblazers in the legal profession as Glenn Lau-Kee and Sandra Leung, and we appreciate its past recognition of our own Executive Director, Yang Chen, whom NAAAP-NY named its 2013 Community Excellence Awardee.”

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For more information, please contact Yang Chen, AABANY Executive Director, at [phone], or direct any inquiries to [email protected].

The Asian American Bar Association of New York is a professional membership organization of attorneys concerned with issues affecting the Asian Pacific American community.  Incorporated in 1989, AABANY seeks not only to encourage the professional growth of its members but also to advocate for the Asian Pacific American community as a whole.  AABANY is the New York regional affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).

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Prosecutors' Committee's 4th Anniversary Reception

Brian Lee, Deputy Chief of the County Court Bureau, Nassau County D.A.’s office, reports:

On June 28, 2012, the Prosecutors’ Committee held its 4th Anniversary Reception at the New York University School of Law, Vanderbilt Hall. This year, the Prosecutors’ Committee, co-chaired by Cristina S. W. Park of the Bronx County D.A.’s Office and James S. Lin of the New York County D.A.’s Office, honored Sandra Leung, General Counsel of Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Thomas M. Chan, Assistant Chief of the New York City Police Department. Ms. Leung was the first female Asian American prosecutor in the New York County D.A.’s Office, and in her speech, recounted how her invaluable experience as a prosecutor propelled her rapid rise in the ranks at Bristol-Myers Squibb. Assistant Chief Chan is the highest ranking Asian American officer in NYPD’s history, and during his address, spoke of his passion to help the community as the driving force behind his illustrious career. These two individuals were honored for their dedication to diversity and as trailblazers for the Asian American community in New York.

The honorees and attendees were welcomed by Jeannie Forrest, the Vice-Dean of NYU School of Law. Nearly 120 guests attended the reception and congratulatory remarks were given by: Charles J. Hynes, the District Attorney of Kings County; Daniel R. Alonso, the Chief ADA for New York County; Daniel L. Master, the Chief ADA for Richmond County; Jesse J. Sligh, an Executive ADA for Queens County; and Steven M. Goldstein, the Chief ADA for the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor. Closing remarks were delivered by Jean Lee, the President of AABANY.

Dignitaries in attendance at the reception included Judge Doris Ling-Cohan, New York State Supreme Court, Judge Gilbert C. Hong, New York City Criminal Court, Daniel D. Chu, Chair of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, and Hugh H. Mo, one of last year’s Trailblazer Honorees. The reception was covered by members of the media.

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On Thursday, June 28, 2012 at 6:00 P.M., the Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) will host the 4th annual Prosecutors’ Committee celebration at the New York University School of Law. AABANY will honor Sandra Leung, the first female Asian American prosecutor in New York County history and currently the General Counsel for Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Assistant Police Chief Thomas M. Chan, the highest ranking uniformed member of Asian American descent in the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”).

Read more here.

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Fireworks at Smooth Moves 2012

On Tuesday, April 24, the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA), through its Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, presented Smooth Moves 2012: Career Strategies for Attorneys of Color.  The CLE portion of the event was entitled: "Views from the Corner Office: Diverse GCs Discuss How to Get There and How to Win Their Business."

The moderator was Hon. Stephen C. Robinson, Partner at Skadden Arps and former judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

When Judge Robinson turned to the question of how to get the business of the prominent GCs who were on the panel, he asked how important diversity was in getting hired.

Don Liu, Senior Vice President, Secretary and GC at Xerox Corporation replied that with Xerox's strong leadership on issues of diversity, Xerox placed a high premium on diversity in deciding which outside counsel to retain.

At that point, Sandra Leung, GC and Corporate Secretary at Bristol-Myers Squibb, turned to Don and said, "Let me challenge you a bit on that. Do you mean to tell me that if you had a bet-the-company case and the only lawyer who can win the case for you and who is the proven expert on that type of case and has a winning track record, but he and his firm have a poor showing on diversity, you would not hire that attorney?"

Don answered, "I've never been faced with that situation," which drew appreciative laughter from the audience, "but do you mean to tell me that in this wide world, he would be the only lawyer who can handle that case? I doubt it.  We would certainly consider his qualifications and track record, but we would still place a high premium on diversity."

Sandra continued to press and was joined by Jeffrey Harleston, Executive Vice President and GC at Universal Music Group, who shared Sandra's viewpoint and did not think that diversity would take precedence over other factors, especially if the case was not just "bet-the-company" but was "bet-the-industry." In such a case, diversity or not, the company would go with the best lawyer for the job.

Don, seeming somewhat piqued but contained, replied: "There seems to be a suggestion that picking the diverse candidate somehow implies getting inferior services. I don't buy that." The audience applauded loudly for that statement.

The back-and-forth continued and Don seemed to relent slightly in his position but did not retreat from his stance that the hypothetical was unrealistic. Col. Maritza Ryan, Head of the Department of Law at the United States Military Academy, the fourth panelist, noted for the record (yes, transcription was being taken) that she was "the peaceful one." The audience laughed appreciatively in response.

The debate was certainly lively and enhanced what was already an engaging discussion.  At the end, Don and Sandra, who are long-time friends, gave hearty hugs to each other, making clear that there were no hard feelings.

I didn't have the benefit of the transcript in recounting the exchanges described above but of all the Smooth Moves programs I have had the pleasure to enjoy these last few years, this is the one for which I would request a copy of the transcript.  If you know how we can get a hold of one, please let me know.

What do you think?  If your company was faced with a bet-the-company or bet-the-industry case, does diversity go out the window in deciding which outside counsel to hire?