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Welcome from the Co-Chairs

Martin Luther King notably said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.” We, as Co-Chairs of the Minority Bar Committee will not remain silent and neither will our committee. The mission of the Minority Bar Committee is to “assure full and equal participation of minorities in the PBA, the legal profession, and the justice system in general.”

We uphold the core values and beliefs of our mission as seen in our programming and initiatives.  We remain committed to promoting diversity, equity, equality, and justice in the legal profession and world as a whole.

The Minority Bar Committee proactively stands at the forefront of issues that impact people of color and minorities. This stand includes our Houston’s Legacy Newsletter, which highlights current events that directly impact communities of color. Further, this stand includes Minority Law Day, which is geared towards exposing inner-city youth to the legal profession. This stand also includes Minority Law Day and the Diversity Summit, which are aimed at tackling a plethora of systemic issues that impact communities of color and the minority population.

We want to take this moment to remind all members of the Minority Bar Committee that we stand in solidarity with you.  Please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss these issues, your feelings, develop a potential program or event, or anything else that may be of concern.

Further, we invite all members of the Pennsylvania Bar Association to join with us.

Finally, we ask that all members of the Pennsylvania Bar Association commit to the mission of the Minority Bar Committee by adding your voice, mind, and hands to “assure full and equal participation of people of color and minorities in the PBA, the legal profession, and the justice system in general.”

Best Regards,

Anthony Cox, Co- Chair 

Su Ming Yeh, Co- Chair 

PBA Minority Bar Committee 2021-2022

Featured Member: Su Ming Yeh

Philip Yoon

Su Ming Yeh is the executive director of the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project, where she represents incarcerated people on their civil rights claims. She has litigated numerous individual and class action suits challenging unconstitutional conditions for people who are incarcerated or detained, including a class action that obtained universal Hepatitis C treatment for over 5,000 Pennsylvania people in state prison, and an immigration detainee who was sexually abused. She has argued successfully before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and co-taught the Civil Practice Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania Law School for five years.

She co-chairs the PBA Minority Bar Committee and is a member of the PBA House of Delegates. She was the 2015 president of the Asian Pacific Bar Association of Pennsylvania, currently serves on its board, and on the boards of the Defender Association of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Prison Society. She was a former chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Public Interest Section. Recently, she received the Philadelphia Bar Foundation award and Distinguished Leaders Award from the Legal Intelligencer.

Before law school, she was a science teacher with the U.S. Peace Corps in the Kingdom of Tonga and worked in New York City at community-based organizations focused on Asian American children and families.

She graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and with Honors from Brown University, where she majored in biology with a focus on marine ecology. She clerked for the Honorable Gerard E. Lynch, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

She enjoys traveling and spending time with her daughter and family. Growing up, she played several instruments, including Chinese instruments in the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York (http://www.chinesemusicensemble.org), which was founded by her grandfather.

Past Featured Members

Anthony D. Cox Jr.

Trent Hargrove

Judge Cheryl Lynne Austin

Philip Yoon

Gina M. Thomas

Nigel Scott

Judge Stephanie Domitrovich

Ana Paulina Gomez

Judge Nicola Henry Taylor

Mission

The mission of the Minority Bar Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (hereinafter PBA) is to assure full and equal participation of minorities in the PBA, the legal profession, and the justice system in general. In order to achieve this mission, the Minority Bar Committee will:

Identify and promote opportunities that allow minorities within the legal profession to participate fully in the work, responsibilities, and rewards of the PBA and the legal profession in general. Included in this objective are matters relating to the advancement of minorities within law firms and other professional and business entities, job opportunities for minorities, elimination of racial discrimination in the legal profession and within the broader community, and effective avenues for minority lawyers and judges to avail themselves of opportunities within the PBA to address issues of special interest to minority lawyers.
Monitor the current status of minorities in the legal profession and the justice system in general, identify their career paths and goals, and actively promote their advancement and achievement.
Develop educational programs in the way of seminars and surveys, among other measures, to address discrimination against minorities within the legal profession, and the justice system in general.
Make recommendations to the PBA Board of Governors and House of Delegates for action on issues affecting minorities within the legal profession and the justice system in general.
Make recommendations to the judicial, legislative, and executive branches of government, and other groups within the justice system on issues affecting racial minorities and their communities in accordance with the PBA Bylaws.