NCVAA - National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys

Judge Jacqueline Duong, appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger on May 23, 2007, is the first Vietnamese American woman appointed to the bench in northern California.

Judge Duong was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the United States with her family in April of 1975, first to Pennsylvania then, in 1980, to California. She is the beneficiary of the California public education system, starting with Franklin-McKinley Elementary School, J.W. Fair Middle School, Yerba Buena High School, then graduating Magna Cum Laude from San Jose State University in 1991 with a degree in Political Science. She later obtained her Juris Doctorate degree in 1994 from the University of California, Davis School of Law.

Prior to her appointment, Judge Duong has spent most of her legal career in the public sector and has acquired broad experience in diverse practice areas such as criminal, civil, public and administrative. She started her legal career with a short stint in private practice at the Law Office of J. Thomas Sherrod, then worked for the Santa Clara County Office of the Public Defender for three and half years, where she honed her trial advocacy skills. She made a career change from criminal to civil practice by joining the Santa Clara County Office of County Counsel in 1999, where she worked for eight years until her appointment to the bench. As a Lead Deputy County Counsel, she worked in the areas of labor and employment, public entity law, education law, law and justice, civil litigation, probate conservatorship, trusts and estates, and general government entity work which includes real estate transactions, contract review, and public entity law.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, Judge Duong has a long history and a wide-range of community experience. She served as a member of the Asian Law Alliance Board of Directors and was a past President in 1999 and 2000. She currently serves on the Judicial Council of California Access and Fairness Advisory Committee and is a member of the San Jose Rotary Club. In the past, she has served on a variety of Boards and Commissions, including the Santa Clara County Bar Association (SCCBA) Blue Ribbon Diversity Commission, the KNTV Community Board, the East Side San Jose Community Law Center Advisory Board, the Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Council, and the San Jose Mercury News VietMercury Advisory Board. She has also served in various leadership roles within the SCCBA, including Secretary, member of the Executive Committee, Member of the Board of Trustees, Co-Chair of the Judiciary Committee and Chair of the Minority Access Committee (MAC). She also volunteered for the Mock trial Program, coaching high school students from her alma mater Yerba Buena High School.

Judge Duong was the Co-Founder and the first President of the Vietnamese American Bar Association of Northern California. In 2006, she spearheaded and a founding member of the inaugural National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys attended by more than 150 Vietnamese American attorneys from across the country. Judge Duong is also the Founder of the Vietnamese American Professional Women of Silicon Valley and currently serves as an Advisory Board member. She helped initiate and was part of the original steering committee that is working to form a national bar association for Vietnamese American attorneys. Judge Duong has been the recipient of various awards, including the Asian Law Alliance Legal Impact Award (2008), the Santa Clara County Bar Association MAC Unsung Heroes Award (2007), the County of Santa Clara County Executive Unity in Diversity Award (2006), and the Helen Tsao Community Service Award (1999). In 2007, she was named as one of the about 80 "Women of Influence in Silicon Valley" by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal.

Currently, Judge Duong serves on the Judicial Council’s Access and Fairness Advisory Committee, the Santa Clara Count Superior Court Budget/Finance Committee and the Joint Construction and Security Committee. Judge Duong is committed to serving the community by pursuing opportunities to mentor students and young professionals. She is a firm believer in giving back to the community in the form of public and community service. Her current assignment is the direct misdemeanor calendar.

			We are honored and excited to announce that this year's Trailblazer Award Recipient is Judge Jacqueline Duong (Santa Clara County Superior Court). We recognize Judge Duong's many accomplishments. She epitomizes this year's conference theme, "Building New Bridges," having spent her entire career forging relationships within and outside her community, and vigorously working to bring issues affecting Vietnamese Americans to the fore.