PORTLAND, Ore.—Stoel Rives LLP, an AmLaw 200 firm, is pleased to announce that San Francisco-based partner Bao Vu has been named Vice Chair of the firm’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee (DE&IC). In his new role, Bao will work alongside Karen O’Connor, Chair of the DE&IC, to oversee development and implementation of strategies and initiatives to help the firm achieve its goals for diversity, equity and inclusion in its workforce. He has been a member of the DE&IC since 2019.
Also joining Stoel’s DE&IC are Emily Atmore, associate; Steve Boender, partner; Max Fujii, associate; and Archer Wu, associate.
Bao leads Stoel’s active California Proposition 65 practice, providing compliance advice and defending businesses from claims related to the sweeping law encompassing over 1,000 chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive harm. That law prohibits the discharge of those chemicals into sources of drinking water and also requires a warning prior to other discharges and exposures. Bao also helps clients substantiate and advertise their sustainability efforts, counting among his clients a broad range of consumer product, apparel, food, nutritional supplement, oil and gas, and industrial facility brands and businesses.
“Stoel recognizes that diverse backgrounds and viewpoints result in the most thorough advice and advocacy for our clients, supporting our core values of professional excellence and integrity. Our inclusive, respectful culture is an integral part of our firm.” said Bao. “As Vice Chair of the DE&IC, it’s my privilege to continue working with Karen and the committee to develop new initiatives and expand upon the innovative and effective programs and policies that make Stoel a diversity leader in the legal industry and allow it to attract top talent.”
Committed to increasing diversity at Stoel and in the legal industry, Bao also serves as one of two liaisons from the Litigation practice for Stoel’s participation in Diversity Lab’s Move the Needle program. He also chairs Stoel’s firmwide Culture Committee, which is committed to developing firmwide programs, events, and activities that promote the firm’s core values and ensure diversity is at the core of firm culture.
Bao is also active in the community supporting Bay Area LGBTQ+ and Asian communities in need. He is a Mentor for Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF), the nation's oldest and largest association of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons in the field of law, providing career advice to LGBTQ+ law students, post-bar graduates, and practicing attorneys, drawing from his own experience and successful path to partnership and practice leadership. Since 2019, he has been an active member of the Board of Directors for AIDS Legal Referral Panel, the only institution in the San Francisco Bay Area dedicated solely to providing free and low-cost legal assistance and education on civil matters to persons living with HIV/AIDS. Bao is also an Advisory Board Member and former Board Member of Asian Law Alliance (ALA), a non-profit providing equal access to the justice system for Asian Pacific Islander and low-income populations in the Silicon Valley.