Stereotypes of Asian-American Women: Attackers Move Right In

 Jennifer H. Wu, partner in litigation at Paul Weiss, has been saluted by "Asian American Life" on CUNY TV. She is being recognized for two roles. One is as a high-achieving Asian-American woman. The other is for her trailblazing contributions to Asian-American communities.

TARGETING OF ASIAN-AMERICAN WOMEN

On a May episode of the monthly "Asian American Life" she chronicled why Asian-American women are targets. Attackers assume the stereotype of their being docile and submissive. So, they move right in.

In addition during the TV presentation, she featured how Asian-American women are learning behaviors to prevent violence and, if set upon, how to defend themselves. Candidly she admitted that although she is a partner in an elite law firm, she knows she is as much a target as are all the other Asian-American females.  

As we know: The list of victims keeps growing. Among the alleged hate crimes against Asian-American women have been Hoa Nguyen's being punched in the face and the deaths of GuiYing Ma after an attack with a rock and Michelle Alyssa Go when pushed off the subway platform as a train was approaching. Wu is representing them or their families.

PAUL WEISS LEGACY FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE, BEGINNING IN 1875

Wu is continuing in the legacy of Paul Weiss as a pioneer in social justice. That kicked in with its founding in 1875. At the time it had been standard for prominent law firms not to hire lawyers of the Jewish faith. So Julius J. Frank and Samuel W. Weiss created their own purpose-driven firm, taking on all forms of bias. Symbolic of that ethos had been Paul Weiss’ assisting Thurgood Marshall in reversing "separate but equal" in Brown v. Board of Education. 

PASSING THE TORCH TO A NEW VISIONARY IN 2008

When he became Paul Weiss Chairperson in 2008, Brad Karp reimagined the social justice legacy. So much so that in the high-profile PIVOT podcast, hosted by Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway, Karp had been recognized as a "change agent" for business’ impact on society. It was breakthrough that a law firm would be described that way.

Karp's signature initiative had been mobilizing thousands of lawyers in law firms throughout America. That was in March 2020. Their collective mission - pro bono - was to establish a digital resource where reeling COVID victims could access information and concrete help.  

WU’S LEADERSHIP

In addition to hands-on work in the struggle against Asian-American bias, Wu has leadership roles. They include being the firm's sponsoring partner for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF).  

Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova at janegenova374@gmail.com. A corporate writer she now and then does freelance assignments for law firms such as Paul Weiss.

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