Section News & Events

An AAPI CLE Overview: Promoting Inclusion & Combating Bias

Join us as Min Wong of the Anti-Defamation League leads a discussion regarding discrimination and bias against Asian and Asian/Pacific Islanders. Sharing their personal experiences are Justice Patricia Lee, Judge Bita Yeager, and Judge Janette Spear.

Sponsored by the LGBTQ+ Section, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Asian Bar Association of Nevada.

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FACULTY:

Min Wong is the anti-AAPI hate analyst for ADL and The Asian American Foundation (TAAF). She tracks and analyzes anti-AAPI hate incidents and narrative trends. Prior to joining TAAF, she worked as an open-source researcher, a due diligence and compliance researcher, and an intelligence analyst at nonprofit organizations, corporations, and intelligence organizations. She has a background in Taiwan and the UAE and received her BA in International Affairs from the George Washington University.”

Justice Patricia Lee, appointed to the Nevada Supreme Court in November 2022 by Governor Steven Sisolak, marks a historic milestone as the first African American woman and first Asian American in the role. Before her appointment, Lee was a partner at Hutchison & Steffen, focusing on complex commercial litigation, among other areas, and led the firm’s small business and pro bono programs. A USC alum with a dual degree in psychology and communications, Lee has been a committed community activist from her student days, continuing through her time at George Washington University Law School. Her legal career includes significant pro bono work, leadership in various legal and community organizations, and multiple awards for her dedication to justice and community service. Lee, who hails from Lompoc, California, is also a dedicated family person and an enthusiastic participant in her children’s activities and other personal interests.

Judge Bita Yeager, a New York native who settled in Las Vegas in 1994, has built a distinguished career in law and public service, focusing on access to justice and court system improvements. A Brigham Young University alum, she earned her J.D. in 1994, actively participating in student government, moot court, and volunteering in a rape crisis center. After clerking for judges in the Eighth Judicial District Court and passing the Nevada bar in 1995, Yeager spent nearly 19 years with the Clark County Public Defender’s office, trying over fifty jury trials and specializing in defense for the indigent, including those with mental illness. She has been instrumental in creating the North Las Vegas Community Court and a record sealing clinic, earning accolades for her excellence and innovation. Appointed to the Las Vegas Justice Court in 2015 and later elected to Department I in 2020, Judge Yeager has overseen civil, eviction, and mental health matters, contributing significantly to community court initiatives and mental health treatment courts. Beyond her judicial duties, Yeager is deeply involved in education, training, and various legal and community boards, demonstrating a lifelong commitment to justice, mental health, and community engagement.

Janette Reyes-Speer was born in the Philippines and came to the United States when she was four years old. Her parents are first-generation Americans. Ms. Reyes-Speer grew up in both the Filipino and American cultures trying to balance the strengths and expectations of each. Ms. Reyes-Speer is the first attorney in her family. Ms. Reyes-Speer is a graduate of California Western School of Law and moved to Las Vegas in 2000 to clerk for the Honorable Dianne Steel in Family Court. She became licensed in 2001 and has practiced for over 20 years in both the civil and criminal fields. Ms. Reyes-Speer worked in the criminal field for over 10 years beginning as a criminal defense attorney for the Clark County Public Defender’s Office and then continued as a prosecutor for the City of Henderson. Ms. Reyes-Speer also worked in the City of Henderson, Civil Division providing guidance to City departments such as fire, code enforcement, the alternative sentencing division, and the court.

Ms. Reyes-Speer became an Administrative Law Judge in June 2014 for the Nevada Taxicab Authority deciding cases involving permit approvals, denials, suspensions, and/or revocations as well as imposing fines for violations. She also learned open meeting laws and created regulations for this agency. Ms. Reyes-Speer is currently an Administrative Law Judge for the State of Nevada, Hearings Division hearing cases involving Workers’ Compensation, Medicaid, and Victims of Crimes.


About the Section

Purpose:

Further the knowledge of the members of the Section in LGBTQ+ issues; to assist, when called upon by the Board of Governors in the formulation, administration and implementation of programs, forums, and other activities for the education of members of the State Bar, governmental entities, and the community at large in LGBTQ+ issues and laws related thereto; to encourage all members of the State Bar of Nevada who practice in areas of the law involving LGBTQ+ issues to participate in the Section; to act upon all matters germane to its purposes as so described or referred to it by the Board of Governors; and to make recommendations to the Board of Governors.

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Chair: Kevin Kampschror

Shook & Stone, Chtd.
710 S. Fourth St.
Las Vegas NV 89101
Phone: (702) 385-2220
kkampschror@shookandstone.com
 
Chair Elect: Peter Goatz

Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada
725 East Charleston Boulevard
Las Vegas, NV 89104
Phone: 702-386-1070
pgoatz@lacsn.org
 
Treasurer: Travis Clark
Surratt Law Practice, P.C.
3705 Lakeside Drive
Reno NV 89509
Phone: (775) 636-8200
Travis@surrattlaw.com
 
Secretary: Heather Goodlett
Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada
725 East Charleston Boulevard
Las Vegas, NV 89104
Phone: 702-386-1070
hgoodlett@lacsn.org
 
At Large: Jeanette H. Barrick
Gallian Welker & Beckstrom, LC 540 E. St. Louis Avenue Las Vegas NV 89104 Phone: (702) 892-3500 jbarrick@vegascase.com
 
At Large: Michiko L. Nozawa-Joffe
5040 Reno Court
Las Vegas NV 89119
michikolee.nozawa.joffe@gmail.com

 

Staff Liaison: Judi De Marco

Email: judid@nvbar.org

Board Liaison: Kari Stephens
 
Email: karis@jeffreyburr.com

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