About Us

Formed in 1986 under the leadership of its first president Therese Yee, the Chinese American Bar Association of Greater Chicago (CABA) is the first local bar association for attorneys of Asian descent in the Chicagoland area. Today, CABA continues to be a forum and resource for networking and learning, organizing and sponsoring events of interest to its members, and providing public services to the local Chinese and Pan-Asian community.

CABA frequently hosts networking and professional development events as we aim to increase the representation of Asian Americans in leadership positions. Examples include our annual participation in the Minority Bar CLE Conference with ISBA, judicial reviews through the Asian American Bar Association, and webinars on career advancement.

CABA hosts numerous social events as well, such as organizing a dragon boat team for the annual Dragon Boat Race for Literacy, Holiday Dinner, Lunar New Year celebration, and monthly happy hours, sometimes jointly with other bar associations and community organizations.

CABA is also committed to public service. We co-founded the Chinatown Pro Bono Legal Clinic with the Chinese American Service League (CASL) to help provide legal assistance to those in need. We also work closely with the Small Business Development Center at Chinese Mutual Aid Association to provide legal panels for its small business clients. We’ve also partnered with the Pui Tak Center on multiple immigration forums.

Continuing Legal Education

CABA is an affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association ("NAPABA"). NAPABA is an umbrella bar association comprised of local Asian American bar associations, as well as individual members. Since 1987 NAPABA's affiliate organizations have played a key role in publicizing and addressing Asian American legal issues. The affiliate organizations continue to be vital to NAPABA, alerting the organization to local issues across the nation and providing a reservoir of tested local leaders who can then contribute to and lead NAPABA at the national level.