The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) announced its “Best Lawyers Under 40” at its 18th Annual Convention in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania.

            The 2006 awardees were selected from a competitive field of attorneys in all practice areas. NAPABA selected 16 individuals to receive the honor of being one of its best lawyers under the age of 40. These individuals have not only attained prominence in their respective legal endeavors, they have also exhibited steadfast commitment to community and public service, particularly in the Asian Pacific American community. They have climbed high up the ladder of success; they have tried and won major trials; they have handled complicated deals; they have been entrusted with the responsibility of heading national practice groups; they have made significant contributions to the public sector – and they have done it all at a relatively early stage of their careers.

            This year’s Best Lawyers Under 40 award recipients are:

• Joseph J. Centeno, Partner, Obermayer Tebmann Maxwell & Hippell LLP

• Michael Cho, Chief Compliance Officer for Commercial Banking, JP Morgan Chase Bank, NA

• Leslie Hatamiya, Executive Director, The Foundation of the State Bar of California

• James C. Ho, Of Counsel, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

• Victor Hwang, Managing Attorney, API Legal Outreach

• Betty Y. Jang, Senior Counsel, McDonald’s Corporation

• Joe Khanna, Senior Counsel, Pitney Bowes Inc.

• Sang-yul Lee, Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP

• Ben Lumicao, Counsel in Law & Regulation Department, Allstate

• Sunil Mansukhani, Executive Director, D.C. Access to Justice Commission

• Fiona W. Ong, Partner, Shawe Rosenthal, LLP

• Jacklyn Park , Senior Corporate Counsel, Oracle Corporation

• Sunah Park , Partner, Thorp Reed & Armstrong, LLP

• Andrea E. Tran, Partner, Gilbreth Roebuck

• Henry Wang, Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

• Steven Wu, Senior Counsel, Chevron

            The awardees were chosen by NAPABA’s “Best Lawyers Under 40” Selection Committee. The committee is composed of Jim Goh, Selection Committee Chair, Partner, Holland & Hart LLP; Don Liu, General Counsel, Toll Brothers, Inc.; Hon. Alvin Wong, Judge, State Court of DeKalb County, GA; Vivian Tseng, General Counsel, Welch Foods, Inc.; Wilson Chu, Partner, Haynes and Boone, LLP; Joseph Yao, Associate General Counsel, ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company; and Julie Cheng, Assistant General Counsel, Bayer HealthCare.