Columnist Vivia Chen writes in Bloomberg Law, “A Tipping Point for Asian American Lawyers?” The column includes some frank comments by Justice Goodwin Liu.
Chen says that “the discussion about race and racism is often framed as a black and white issue in which Asians don’t quite figure” and she asks, “will the attacks against Asians recast the race discussion and bury the myths surrounding the model minority?” The model minority “trope,” as she calls it, is “that Asians are strivers who grind away at schools and in jobs to earn their place in America,” which has “emerged as the reason why Asians are scapegoated in this country during moments of insecurity such as the pandemic.”
Regarding legal careers specifically, Chen paraphrases a “seminal study” (here) co-authored by Justice Liu: “For all their representation—some say, over representation—in top law schools and Big Law, Asian Americans also have the highest attrition rates and the lowest ratio of partners to associates”
The column also quotes Justice Liu: “They are honorary Whites, until they’re not. They’re valuable worker bees but invisible when it comes to promotion.”
Liu is further quoted as seeing younger Asian Americans as causes for optimism: “I see it in my law clerks and the students I teach; they’re much more sophisticated about gender and diversity issues. When I was in law school, we were just grateful to be there.”
Related:
Justice Liu co-authors “A Portrait of Asian Americans in the Law”