Phatchara Udomsin was born and raised in Thailand. He graduated with Bachelor of Laws from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. He received his LL.M. and J.D. from the University of Hawaii School of Law. He currently works as a staff attorney at the Thai Community Development Center, a non-profit organization in Los Angeles, CA, since 2014. Phatchara has assisted victims of human trafficking, exploited workers, as well as worked to assist and advocate for underprivileged members of the Thai community in the U.S.
Tammy Sumontha is a founding member of TABA and has served on TABA’s Advisory Board and Board. She is currently the Managing Attorney at the Law Offices of Tammy Sumontha, an immigration law firm that provides exclusive legal representation in the complex area of U.S. immigration law since 2011. Tammy also manages her linguistic service firm since 2013. Tammy graduated with a Bachelor degree of Law from Thammasat University in Thailand. After working for a few years at Krung Thai Bank focusing on national and global transactions, she continued her legal studies at California Western School of Law, where she later received her Master’s Degree of Law. Before opening her own practice, Tammy gained her diverse legal experience from working for a local technology company, Sony Electronics, and volunteering at legal clinics and non-profit organizations providing federal and administrative advocacy. Due to her continued and tireless contributions to the community, Tammy was nominated and selected to receive several awards, such as the Judge Judith Keep Award and The Outstanding Community Service Award, both of which are prestigious and rarely presented. Tammy was the first Thai-born lawyer to be nominated and selected to receive these awards. She would like to propel TABA to fulfill its public interest mission and serve the larger Thai community.
Juthamas Judy Suwatanapongched is a business and healthcare litigation partner in the downtown Los Angeles office of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP. She received her J.D. from the University of Southern California Law School in 2009 and her B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from Northwestern University in 2005. As an undergraduate, Judy was actively involved in the Asian Pacific American community and served as president of Northwestern’s Thai Club. Before law school, Judy taught Thai Classical Dance at the Thai Cultural and Fine Arts Institute in Chicago and various universities. At USC, she was Internal Vice-President of the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association. Judy served as the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles County’s President in 2015 and now sits on its Advisory Board. Judy has also served as the National Director for Thai American Samakkee Coalition. Judy is one of the Founding Members of the Thai American Bar Association, was the founding President, and has served on TABA’s Advisory Board and Board for several years.
Bonnie Fong is the Program Director for ALLIP (Asian Legal Language Intake Project) and interim director of Housing Preservation at Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (“AJSOCAL”). Prior to joining AJSOCAL, she was in private practice for over 14 years primarily focused on employment and consumer class action, individual claims including wage theft, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. She graduated with a J.D. from University of West Los Angeles and received her B.A. from California State University – Northridge. She is also an active board member for the Los Angeles DA AAPI advisory Board and Asian Pacific American Bar Association.
Lalana Pundisto is Assistant General Counsel at Savion, LLC, a Shell Group portfolio company, where she advises on complex utility-scale solar, storage, powered land, and real estate transactions. With nearly two decades of legal experience, she has led negotiations involving innovation partnerships, IP licensing, and energy project development. She has served as Pro-Bono and Community Service Co-Chair for her Legal Department and on various Committees with the Asian American Bar Association of Houston. Lalana earned her J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center and B.A. in Plan II Honors from the University of Texas at Austin.
Roy Chamcharas is a partner at Klarquist Sparkman, an intellectual property law firm based in Portland, Oregon, specializing in patent prosecution, trademark and copyright management, and IP litigation. Roy’s practice focuses on patent litigation and post-grant challenges before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. As part of Roy’s pro bono work, he has assisted Thai victims of human trafficking in the United States, and he is also an accredited Veterans Affairs attorney. He earned his J.D. with Honors from Chicago-Kent College of Law (2008) and his B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1999). Although Roy was born in Chicago, he graduated from Ekamai International School in Bangkok. Roy is fluent in Thai and visits Thailand approximately once a year. Roy currently serves as co-chair of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) IP Litigation Subcommittee.
Kenny Vacharee is a North Carolina attorney, with his focus in civil litigation and IP contracts. He received his JD from the North Carolina Central School of Law, where he also founded the school’s first APALSA chapter. Born in Thailand but growing up in North Carolina, Kenny still stays connected with his Thai roots, and is excited to help TABA thrive for many more years to come.
Sam Puathasnanon is a founding member of TABA, as well as a past president, treasurer, and at-large board member. He is currently the Practice Group Manager, Antitrust of Gibson Dunn. He has previously been the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of HCR Wealth Advisors and a senior counsel and trial counsel for the Securities and Exchange Commission. Sam has also worked at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and Paul Hastings.
