LOS ANGELES, October 27, 2016—Duane Morris LLP attorney Cyndie M. Chang, managing partner of the firm’s Los Angeles office, has been named president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) for 2016–2017. Chang will be sworn in at the 28th annual NAPABA Convention, to be held in San Diego on November 3–6. She has served the organization in various leadership roles, including vice president of communications, secretary and regional governor, and was recognized by the organization as one of its 2010 “Best Lawyers Under 40.”
Chang handles litigation involving complex business disputes and torts, trademarks, trade secrets, unfair competition, fraud and real estate. Her experience spans various industries, including fashion, retail and consumer goods, manufacturing, utilities and telecommunications services. Chang also handles insurance coverage claims involving large environmental, asbestos and toxic tort matters. She has obtained favorable results as first chair at jury trial and arbitration for many kinds of businesses.
Among her accolades, Chang was recognized by the Daily Journal as one of the 2014 “Top 100 Women Lawyers in California.” Also in 2014, she and Duane Morris received the Pro Bono Service Award from Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles. In addition, The Recorder named her a “2013 Lawyer on the Fast Track,” and she was named in the 2013 “Hot List” by the Lawyers of Color, which honored 100 early-to-mid-career minority attorneys for excellence in the legal profession. Chang has also been named a “Super Lawyer” and “Rising Star” by Los Angeles Magazine’s Super Lawyers for several years.
One of a few female, Asian-American office managing partners at an Am Law 100 firm, Chang currently serves on Duane Morris’ governing Partners Board. She is a past president of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association, one of the oldest and largest Asian-American bar associations in the country. Chang participated in the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) 2010 Leadership Academy, selected with a group of approximately 20 lawyers in the nation identified to be emerging bar leaders. Further, she was appointed as the vice-chair of the ABA-TIPS Business Litigation Committee. Chang was also an inaugural Fellow to the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, a dynamic leadership training program composed of high-potential attorneys from law firms and corporations. She frequently speaks on substantive and professional issues across the country, including at events for the ABA, Defense Research Institute, the California State Bar, Center for Asians United for Self-Empowerment and the Committee of 100.
Chang is a 2003 graduate of Loyola Law School, where she was a note and comment editor for the Entertainment Law Review and the student editor of the ABA Student Lawyer national magazine. She is a 2000 graduate, with honors, of Johns Hopkins University.
About NAPABA
The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of over 50,000 attorneys and over 75 national, state and local Asian Pacific American bar associations. Its members include solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal services and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government.
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP provides innovative solutions to today’s multifaceted legal and business challenges through the collegial and collaborative culture of its more than 750 attorneys in offices across the United States and internationally. The firm represents a broad array of clients, spanning all major practices and industries.