Published by the American Bar Foundation and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, A Portrait of Asian Americans in the Law 2.0 is a deeper exploration of the reasons for and potential solutions to the current challenges facing the Asian American legal community. This website serves as a digital supplement to a printed report that can be downloaded via the link below. The previous report from 2017 is also available for download.

Our findings from the second iteration of the Portrait Project break down into three key themes:

1. Since our past survey, Asian American attorneys have indicated deeper engagement with social and political issues, along with a greater desire to change and improve society.

2. Underrepresentation of Asian Americans in the top ranks of the legal profession persists. But there has been notable progress in the appointment of federal judges and in the ranks of general counsel, and law school enrollment has rebounded somewhat from a twenty-year low.

3. Greater institutional support would likely reduce barriers to advancement and improve the professional lives of Asian American attorneys.

We aim to describe the rise of Asian Americans in the law as well as the incentives and choices that influence their career paths. This information is intended to provide an empirical grounding for broader conversation within and beyond the Asian American community about the unique challenges and opportunities Asian Americans face in the legal profession, as well as possible directions for reform.