Hawaii lawyer becomes first Asian American ABA officer


Marvin S.C. Dang, managing member of the Law Offices of Marvin S.C. Dang LLLC in Honolulu, has become the first Asian American lawyer to be an officer of the American Bar Association in its 145-year history.

Dang was elected secretary on Aug. 8 for a three-year term as one of five officers on the ABA Board of Governors.

“As secretary of the American Bar Association for the next three years, I’m honored, humbled and energized to be elected as the first Asian American officer of the ABA in its 145-year history, and I’m proud to be the first ABA officer from Hawaii,” Dang said. “I’m confident that others will similarly enter through the proverbial ‘bamboo door’ that has now been opened.”

An attorney for 45 years, Dang founded his firm in Honolulu in 1981, concentrating on civil litigation, creditors’ rights, governmental relations, real estate transactions, estate planning and probate. He also is a partner in the Law Offices of Nelson & Kennard, a Sacramento, California, law firm doing business in eight states. Dang co-manages the Hawaii office, focusing on civil litigation.

Beyond private practice, Dang was elected in 1982 to the Hawaii House of Representatives, where he was elected assistant minority floor leader and served on six legislative committees. From 1984-1995, he was senior vice president and in-house counsel for a minority-owned FDIC-insured financial institution in Honolulu.

An ABA member since 1975, Dang is a member of the Board of Governors, serving on the Member Services Committee. He had served on the board’s Profession, Public Service and Diversity Committee and was the board’s liaison to the Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Senior Lawyers Division and Fund for Justice and Education. He also serves in the House of Delegates.

Dang has held numerous leadership positions in the Law Student Division, Young Lawyers Division, Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division and Senior Lawyers Division. He has been appointed to 11 committees, commissions and entities during nearly 50 years of membership in the ABA.

Dang is a member of the Hawaii State Bar Association, National Creditors Bar Association, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and NAPABA-Hawaii, as well as a Sustaining Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He received the Stockton Guard Award (2018) from The George Washington University Law School for extraordinary service and dedication to the betterment of the law school and the Small Firm Practitioner Merit Award (2006) from the ABA Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division.

Dang earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawaii and his law degree from The George Washington University Law School. He received his high school degree from Punahou School in Honolulu.