Asian Bar Association of Washington (ABAW)

What Asian Bar Association of Washington (ABAW) does

ABAW is a nonprofit voluntary bar association founded in 1987 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, serving Asian Pacific American (APA) attorneys, judges, legal professors, and law students across the state. It operates as the largest APA bar association in Washington, providing a programmatic portfolio that includes community legal clinics (co-hosted with CISC and the King County Bar Association), a mentorship program with an oral history component, an In-House Counsel Network, CLE programming including outreach to Eastern Washington, a Rapid Response Committee that issues public statements on civil rights issues, an annual gala, a scholarship foundation (ABAW Student Scholarship Foundation), and pro bono opportunities. Membership is structured with free access for law students and dues-paying individual members.

Its business model is a community/membership nonprofit: revenue is generated through individual membership dues, the annual gala, CLE program fees, and scholarship donations rather than through commercial product sales or enterprise contracts. The only disclosed technology is Wild Apricot, a standard SaaS membership-management platform used to administer member accounts, events, and communications; there is no proprietary platform, product, or technology stack beyond that.

ABAW participates in the Joint Asian Judicial Evaluation Committee (JAJEC) alongside multiple Washington bar associations to evaluate judicial candidates, and it is affiliated with NAPABA, ABA, and several Washington-based APA bar affiliates (KABA, SABAW, FLOW, MELAW, VABAW, LBAW) plus community organizations (ACRS). The organization operates with a small staff of 7 employees and a statewide but Washington-only geographic scope.

Name

Asian Bar Association of Washington (ABAW)

Legal name

Asian Bar Association of Washington

Website

https://abaw.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ABAW is a 38-year-old nonprofit voluntary bar association in Washington State that serves Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, professors, and law students through legal clinics, mentorship, judicial evaluations, CLE programs, scholarships, and an annual gala.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ABAW is a membership-based voluntary bar association that provides professional development, networking, judicial evaluations, mentorship, scholarships, advocacy, and pro bono legal services to Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, professors, and law students in Washington State. It also operates free community legal clinics serving the Asian and Pacific Islander community in the Seattle area.

Product overview

Asian Bar Association of Washington (ABAW) is a voluntary professional bar association for Asian attorneys, judges, professors, and law students in Washington State. Founded in 1987, ABAW operates as a membership-based organization offering professional development programs (Mentorship, CLE), pro bono services (Legal Clinics, Pro Bono Opportunities), advocacy initiatives (Rapid Response Committee, Candidate-Endorsement Committee, JAJEC judicial evaluations), and community events (Annual Gala, Social Events). The organization uses Wild Apricot membership software to manage its member portal and provides its services primarily to Asian Pacific American legal professionals and the broader APA community in Washington.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Chinese Information and Service Center (CISC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsor of the International District Legal Clinic. Provides space at 611 S. Lane Street, Second Floor, Seattle, Washington, 98104 for the clinic operating Tuesday 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm.
• King County Bar Association - Neighborhood Legal Clinics ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsor of legal clinics (International District and Rainier Valley). Provides administrative support and free CLE programs for clinic volunteers.
• Asian Counseling & Referral Service (ACRS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides space for the Rainier Valley Legal Clinic location.
• National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorABAW is an affiliate member of NAPABA. ABAW may endorse candidates for NAPABA offices or board positions.
• American Bar Association (ABA)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorABAW is an affiliate member of ABA. ABAW may endorse candidates for ABA offices or board positions.
• Korean American Bar Association (KABA)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMember of Joint Asian Judicial Evaluations Committee (JAJEC) which streamlines the judicial evaluation process.
• South Asian Bar Association of Washington (SABAW)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMember of Joint Asian Judicial Evaluations Committee (JAJEC) which streamlines the judicial evaluation process.
• Filipino Lawyers of Washington (FLOW)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMember of Joint Asian Judicial Evaluations Committee (JAJEC) which streamlines the judicial evaluation process.
• Middle Eastern Legal Association of Washington (MELAW)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMember of Joint Asian Judicial Evaluations Committee (JAJEC) which streamlines the judicial evaluation process.
• Vietnamese American Bar Association of Washington (VABAW)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMember of Joint Asian Judicial Evaluations Committee (JAJEC) which streamlines the judicial evaluation process.
• Latino Bar Association of Washington (LBAW)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCoordinates with JAJEC for scheduling judicial evaluations each month to simplify logistics for candidates. Contact: Diego Rondon Ichikawa at [email protected].
• ABAW Student Scholarship FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint effort with the foundation for the Annual ABAW & ABAW SSF Gala. Each year they celebrate successes, award student scholarships, and recognize judges and community organizations.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• American Bar Association (ABA): The largest national voluntary bar association in the United States. ABAW is an affiliate member of ABA. Operates similar membership, CLE, and judicial evaluation/advocacy programs but at a vastly larger scale spanning all attorneys.
• Washington State Bar Association: The mandatory statewide bar association for Washington-licensed attorneys. Overlaps with ABAW on member services, CLE, and pro bono pathways, but serves the entire state bar rather than the APA subset.
• National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA): The national-level umbrella organization for Asian Pacific American attorneys, of which ABAW is an affiliate member. Comparable in mission (advocacy, professional development, and representation of APA legal professionals) but operating at the national scale rather than a single state.

Direct peers

• Vietnamese American Bar Association of Washington (VABAW): A Washington-based voluntary bar association for Vietnamese American attorneys, a JAJEC member alongside ABAW. Comparable in mission, target demographic, and pro bono / advocacy programs.
• King County Bar Association: A regional voluntary bar association that co-sponsors ABAW's pro bono legal clinics (International District and Rainier Valley) and provides free CLE training for clinic volunteers. Comparable in operating legal clinics and member services in Washington.
• Filipino Lawyers of Washington (FLOW): A Washington-based affinity bar association for Filipino/Filipino American attorneys participating in JAJEC with ABAW. Comparable in serving a specific APA legal community with advocacy and professional development programming.
• South Asian Bar Association of Washington (SABAW): A Washington-based voluntary bar association for South Asian attorneys that co-participates in JAJEC judicial evaluations alongside ABAW. Directly comparable in mission, structure, and APA community focus.
• Middle Eastern Legal Association of Washington (MELAW): A Washington-based voluntary bar association for Middle Eastern legal professionals participating in JAJEC judicial evaluations. Comparable in scope and mission to ABAW as a small, ethnically-focused voluntary bar association in Washington.
• Korean American Bar Association (KABA): A pan-Asian American bar association that partners with ABAW as a member of the Joint Asian Judicial Evaluations Committee (JAJEC). Comparable in serving APA attorneys through advocacy, mentorship, and judicial evaluation work.

Regional players

• Latino Bar Association of Washington (LBAW): A Washington-based voluntary bar association for Latino attorneys that coordinates scheduling with JAJEC for judicial evaluations. Close peer in serving an underrepresented legal community in Washington through advocacy and professional development.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AsianBarAssociationWA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/asian-bar-association-of-washington

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Asian Bar Association of Washington (ABAW)