Partner Joan Haratani Receives AABA Trailblazer Award, Named to 2026 NAWL Impact List
March 31, 2026SAN FRANSICO, March 31, 2026: Morgan Lewis partner Joan Haratani has been recognized by the Asian American Bar Association (AABA) of the Greater Bay Area and the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) for her career achievements and positive impact on the legal profession.
The AABA presented Joan with its Trailblazer Award at its 50th Anniversary Gala on March 12 in San Francisco. Joan is only the fourth recipient of the rare and selective honor in the organization’s 50-year history. She joins prior honorees former San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, Ninth Circuit Judge Lucy H. Koh, and former California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye.
Joan was also named to the 2026 NAWL Impact List, which recognizes lawyers around the country who have achieved significant professional success and advanced NAWL’s mission of promoting women in the legal profession and advocating for women under the law.
For nearly four decades, Joan has honed practical, goal-oriented, strategic thinking and courtroom skills in high-exposure class action cases involving a range of legal issues, from product liability to complex licensing agreements and trade secret indemnity issues. She is active in the legal community and has served as president for the Bar Association of San Francisco, where she was the first woman of color to hold that position, and as a member of the ABA’s House of Delegates.