LUM LAW GROUP - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Partner
- President of Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association ( SCCLA )
- President of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers' Association
- Registered Member
Justin Lum, a fourth generation Chinese-American, attended the University of California at Berkeley as an undergraduate, graduating with Bachelor's degrees in Biochemistry and Economics. He attended the Beijing Language Institute and Beijing University for a year and a half before attending the University of California at Davis King Hall School of Law, obtaining his JD in 1992. He began practicing in 1993, first with his father, Albert C. Lum, until 1997, then on his own until 2011, when he joined Albert C. Lum to form Lum Law Group. Father and son have been partners since 2011 to present.
Justin Lum has also been involved in the local community. He has been a past board member and served as the 26th President of SCCLA in 2001. He has been involved in the California State Bar Resolutions Committee and involved in the Asian Business League of Southern California promoting Asian businesses in southern California. He has also been a member of the American Immigration Lawyer's Association and the American Intellectual Property Lawyer's Association.
Justin Lum has also been active in promoting Chinese interest in the community, and active in local politics. He is a supporter of Congresswoman Judy Chu, Congressman Ted Lieu, California Treasurer John Chiang, and State Assemblyman Ed Chau. He most recently co-hosted a fundraiser in June of this year (2016) for Treasurer John Chiang for Chiang's campaign for California Governor in 2018.
A. Justin Lum served as the 26 th president of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers' Association (SCCLA) in 2001 after holding a long-standing position as a respected board member. Moreover, he is actively involved in the California State Bar Resolutions Committee and the Asian Business League of Southern California. Through these voluntary roles, he works to support Asian American initiatives in Southern California.
Furthermore, A. Justin Lum is a registered member of multiple professional organizations, such as the American Immigration Lawyer's Association (AILA).
Throughout his career, A. Justin Lum has remained committed to both his heritage and local community. By being active in local politics, Justin Lum has continuously promoted Chinese interests within the community and brought to light important matters that face the Chinese business community today.
More recently, A. Justin Lum hosted an intimate fundraiser in 2017 for Mike Eng's 2018 run for Senate. In June 2016, he co-hosted a fundraiser in support of Treasurer John Chiang for his 2018 race for California Governor. Additionally, A. Justin Lum has long supported Congresswoman Judy Chu and Congressman Ted Lieu.
A. Justin Lum and Lum Law Group specialize in a variety of legal matters, with the most notable being business, intellectual property, real property, as well as estate law.
A. Justin Lum's personal realm of expertise is centered on intellectual property claims, a sector in which he can assist clients with registering trademarks and handling copyright and patent registrations. Furthermore, A. Justin Lum and the Lum Law Group combine their legal and business experience to assist new, small, and growing business owners with registering business names and handling employment- and investment-based immigration matters. Moreover, A. Justin Lum and the Lum Law Group can help with trust and will preparation.
Finally, A. Justin Lum is experienced with general litigation and civil matters.
A. Justin Lum graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1987 where he majored in Biochemistry and Economics. In 1992, he obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Davis King Hall School of Law. Prior to practicing law, A. Justin Lum interned at a government agency. The following year, he passed the California State Bar exam (CA 164882) and began practicing law at his father's practice (The Law Offices of Albert C. Lum), where he remained until 1997 when he started up his own practice, The Law Offices of A. Justin Lum.
In 1998, A. Justin Lum obtained his United States Patent and Trademark Office Patent Practitioner License (Patent Bar #41,957) and joined David & Raymond Patent Firm. Later, in 2011, he rejoined his father, Albert C. Lum, and partnered with his brother, Robert Lum, to form Lum Law Group.
A. Justin Lum has been practicing law for over twenty years.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- First President of Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association
Albert Lum is a third generation Chinese American. In 1910, Charlie Lum immigrated to Mississippi from Xinhui, in Guangdong Province, China. It was there that he met Bertha Lum, who was born in Mississippi. They late moved to West Memphis, Arkansas and it was there that they raised a family of 4 boys and 2 girls. Albert C. Lum was the youngest child in the family. He was born on January 21, 1934. Albert Lum was one of the few Chinese Americans growing up in the southern United States. He and his siblings were the only Chinese Americans at their schools. During those years, Chinese-Americans would get together from surrounding states for parties and gatherings. Most were Cantonese, as was Albert. It happened more than once that Albert Lum had to travel over a few state lines to meet with other Chinese-Americans as a child.
In 1954, he joined the Army, where he served for years. He later attended Tulane University, a prestigious university located in New Orleans, Louisiana. After graduating from Tulane in 1958 with a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, he decided to go west to Los Angeles, California, where his eldest sister, Frances, was working for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a tax auditor. Albert joined his sister at the IRS, also working as a tax auditor. At the same time, he began studying law, attending the University of Southern California (USC). In 1965, he obtained his J.D. and he passed the California State Bar in 1963, first becoming a California Attorney.
After one year of working for a small firm, Albert Lum started his own practice. He began his practice in Chinatown, near downtown Los Angeles (the main hub for Chinese-Americans in the 1960s). From the very beginning of his practice, he worked to help small Chinese business owners maneuver through the intricacies of the American legal system. At one point, he represented the majority of the Chinese restaurants in Chinatown. He acted as a business attorney for his clients with his education and tax training. Additionally, he did real estate law for his clients, based upon his experience at the IRS and his real estate broker's license. Based on his clients' needs, he also branched out into the area of immigration. Business immigration later extended to family immigration, which led to those families starting their own businesses. They brought over relatives and Albert Lum helped them, too. During his years of practice, he has also been involved in the Chinese-American community as a whole.
He was the president of the Los Angeles Chinese Chamber of Commerce. He was Chairman of the Chinatown Advisory Committee to the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA). In 1975, he was part of the founding group of the Southern California Chinese Lawyer's Association (SCCLA), the first Asian-American lawyer's law association in the United States. The association was founded after he and other attorneys had a meeting where the late Judge Delbert H. Wong, the first Asian-American judge in the United States, and a close friend of Albert Lum, suggested that it would be a good idea to have such an organization. Albert Lum was the first president of SCCLA in 1976.
In the realm of government, he campaigned for Governor Jerry Brown during his first term as governor. He supported Senator Feinstein in her unsuccessful campaign for governor, and then later, in her successful campaign for the U.S. Senate. He was a strong supporter of Michael Dukakis in his unsuccessful campaign to become the President of the United States in 1988, and was chairman of the support group of Chinese.
In 1985, Albert Lum was the lead attorney in the case of Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA) v. _______, where the CCBA sued because of the inclusion of their name in a derogatory fashion in the film, "Year of the Dragon", which focused on Chinese gangs and needlessly created a connection between the CCBA and Chinese gangs. The movie was criticized by many for its racist and stereotypical portrayal of Chinese-Americans. The movie included a picture of the CCBA sign in Los Angeles, although the film ostensibly took place in New York. The suit resulted in a disclaimer being placed at the beginning of the film, "This film does not intend to demean or to ignore the many positive features of Asian-Americans and specifically Chinese-American communities. Any similarity between the depiction in this film and any association, organization, individual, or Chinatown that exists in real life is accidental."
In the early 1980s, Albert Lum was the lead attorney in a case filed by his law firm in response to redistricting of voting districts by the city of Los Angeles in 1982. Lum successfully forced the city of Los Angeles to redraw its redistricting plans after it was pointed out that Chinese communities and other Asian communities, notably the Korean community near downtown Los Angeles, had been carved up to reduce their political influence while enhancing others' influence despite the growing numbers and concentration of Chinese and Korean residents in various areas of the city.
Additionally, Albert Lum is a 40-year member of the Chinese-American Citizen Alliance and he was previously a member of the Lions Club. Moreover, he previously served as a lecturer at Pasadena Community College, East Los Angeles City College, and Los Angeles City College.
In 1993, his son, Justin Lum, joined his practice for a short time, and in 2011, father and son, along with a second son, Robert C. Lum, became partners in the current Lum Law Group (Robert C. Lum is currently not a partner).
Albert C. Lum has been practicing law for almost 60 years.
Albert C. Lum has been in the business of helping small and new businesses since 1964, when he first opened his law practice in the heart of Chinatown. His law career began with supporting and assisting Chinese restaurant owners who were not familiar with US law and struggled to find common ground with the attorneys available to them. As a third generation Chinese American, Albert C. Lum felt compelled to help his community.
Albert C. Lum obtained his J.D. from University of Southern California Gould School of Law in 1965. Prior to that, Albert C. Lum had graduated from Tulane University in 1958 with a B.B.A in Accounting.
Job Titles:
- Office Manager
- Office Manager of Our Las Vegas
Geraldine is the office manager of our Las Vegas branch office and has worked with Lum Law Group for over six years.
Jeff Vien has worked with Lum Law Group for over ten years.
Jenny Ding is a true global citizen who has first hand experience of what it feels like to emigrate for work, and to immigrate to the US. Her immigrant background has fueled her passion in helping others like her, while her steadfast values in integrity and dignity have kept her feet on the ground.
Jenny Ding has been working in the legal industry since 1995 and with Lum Law Group since 2000. Having developed the immigration department at her previous law firm, she is also the Senior Paralegal at Lum Law Group.
EDUCATION
Jenny Ding, originally from Wuhan, China, is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, English, and German.
Jenny Ding has over twenty years experience as a Paralegal.
Roland Diaz has been Mr. Albert C. Lum's assistant for over twenty years.