by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
A group of attorneys is putting its efforts behind increasing membership in the Jacksonville Asian-American Bar Association and using their emerging strength to benefit local Asian residents.
“One of the goals is to get the word out among our local attorneys, the judges and law students,” said Thuy-Anh Nguyen, the new president of the JAABA. “On another level, we want to let the community know that we’re here. We want to be able to educate other Asians about the legal system.”
Nguyen is also a member of Mayor John Peyton’s Asian-American Advisory Board.
Three of JAABA’s four new officers were among those who attended Thursday’s meeting at the Stein Mart building on the Southbank. Accompanying Nguyen, an attorney with Henderson Keaslor, were Rodney Marquinez, vice president (Huseman, Marquinez & Schlegel), and Maria Aguila, secretary and immediate past president (Judicial Staff Attorney’s Office).
The fourth officer is Tala Woods, treasurer, with Rogers Towers.
JAABA is a local affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, whose headquarters are in Washington, D.C.
Aguila founded the local chapter in 2001, but said her work was made easier because of the help of Mark Miller, with Ford, Miller & Wainer. His biggest contribution, she said, was helping her find other local Asian attorneys — not an easy proposition.
Without zeroing in on a precise number, Aguila and Miller estimated there are several thousand attorneys in Jacksonville. Between them, they know perhaps two dozen who are Asian-American.
JAABA also took part in a minority festival at the Florida Coastal School of Law.
“We’re still trying to recruit,” said Aguila. “We know of other attorneys of Asian descent who are out there practicing. We have yet to get them to join, but this is a brand new organization. Some of them are not even aware of our existence yet.”
Members of the association are making plans to take part in a variety of events for the 2003-04 year, including Florida Coastal’s Diversity Week, held each January around the time of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
They also hope to participate in next year’s World of Nations event, the only local festival with a multicultural theme.
The association is eager to raise its current membership of 16, largely because, “We want to be able to educate other Asians about the legal system,” said Nguyen. “Maybe they don’t know what their rights are. And sometimes there’s a language issue there with people who don’t know, for instance, where to go to register to vote or vote absentee.
“We’d like to be able to help that way.”
The association’s numbers may be small, but the group agreed they’re in keeping with the number of local Asian-American residents — 4 percent or less of the overall population.
“Plus,” said Aguila, “I don’t think Asians gravitate toward this profession. I hate to stereotype ourselves, but it’s true. A lot of them go into the medical profession or some other kind of business. A lot of them have their own privately owned small business.”
Miller agreed with the group’s emphasis on helping others:
“My experience has been that, for whatever reason, first-generation Asian-Americans are reluctant to avail themselves of the judicial system. To seek recourse in the legal system, sue anybody when they’ve been wronged, call the police when they’re attacked, report a theft when they’ve been victimized.
“One of my goals is to go out into the various communities and, eventually, make the judicial system less intimidating and more accessible to this population.”
In addition to occasional socials, JAABA has regularly scheduled meetings every other month. For information about the group or membership, call Nguyen at 992-6949.