Profiles in Leadership – Don Liu

The FBA is powerfully situated—and bears critical responsibility—to ensure that federal practice and federal courts truly reflect the rich diversity of the nation we serve. The FBA’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusion was established to lead the organization in fulfilling this responsibility by advancing diversity, equity and inclusion, both within the organization, and in the broader legal community. A core component of the Committee’s work involves ongoing guidance from and partnership with Advisory Boards composed of national D&I leaders. By learning from and collaborating with these leaders from around the country, our collective effort toward true diversity, equity, and inclusion in the federal legal community is critically strengthened.

We welcome and encourage you to share these profiles and to join in the work of the FBA D&I Committee.  Learn more about our ongoing work here. 

Tara Norgard

Chair, FBA Diversity & Inclusion Committee

Don Liu                                 Christine Jordan

Don Liu is the Executive Vice President and Chief Legal & Risk Officer for Target Corporation and has served in other corporate leadership roles prior to serving in his current position. Don rose through the ranks of the corporate world as one of the few Asian Americans in the field. His personal and professional experiences make him an incredible leader, mentor, and distinguished resource for the legal community as our country treads through times of unrest due to racial inequality. Christine Jordan, of the Blackfeet Nation and a member of the FBA’s D&I Committee, sat down with Don via Zoom to talk about his career, racial equity in the legal profession, and Target’s commitment to create positive social change.

What motivated you to pursue a career in law?

I didn’t go to college to go into law. I was originally a theology major.  I was inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King and wanted to bring that same level of leadership to the Asian American community and be in the pulpit. Law was an alternative I chose to that path. I went to law school at Columbia to practice civil rights. As a law student, I even studied under the former director of the NAACP, Jack Greenberg. When I graduated, I couldn’t afford to be a civil rights attorney with my student loans. To be practical, I went into corporate law with a plan to pay off my student loans and then practice civil rights. My first job as a new attorney was at Simpson Thatcher where I worked in mergers and acquisitions.

In the past, you’ve mentioned that there were very few Asian American leaders in the corporate world when you were beginning to take on leadership roles. Where did you find inspiration and mentorship as you worked your way to higher positions?

When I began my career, there were so few Asian American lawyers in the field that even my parents’ friends questioned my career path, as Asians weren’t seen as lawyers by the larger society. They asked, “Why would anyone want to hire you?” Being Asian American was perceived as a huge disadvantage. English was my second language and juries would view me as a foreigner. I faced a lot of second-guessing, but I continued to pursue my legal career.

I did meet kind people along the way who wanted me to succeed.  At Simpson Thacher, I worked under John Carr, the first Black corporate partner at the law firm. He was an incredible mentor who didn’t actively set out to mentor me, but I learned so much from him. I worked with him on leveraged buyouts.

Mentoring was not a focus in the legal field when I was first coming up in the eighties. It later became prominent in the legal career and practice. The mentors I encountered were purely by accident. I think that the best mentors are not necessarily assigned or arranged formally, and they understand that prudent thing to do is to help the next generation of practitioners when possible.

Have you ever faced discrimination, micro-aggressions and/or other racist behavior in the legal field? If so, how have those experiences shaped your approach to leadership?

One time, John and I went to Toronto to handle a hostile takeover of a Canadian company. When we met with our clients, they asked if we were in fact with Simpson Thacher. It was as though they had to make sure we were their attorneys because a Black man and an Asian American man were standing before them instead of white men.  They asked us if we were in the right conference room!  Instances like that continued to happen during my career, but they have lessened over time.

Another time at Simpson & Thacher, the partner who was assigning cases told another attorney to “Put Liu on that case because he won’t miss a typo.” That man had never met me, and if he had, he would have known that I’m bad at typos. He had the implicit bias that because I was Asian American, I would be good at menial work.

Today, there are more Asian Americans in leadership roles in the corporate world. Even though there is more of an Asian American presence in the profession, implicit bias remains unchanged. My advice is to address the issue when it arises in a particular situation. I refused to be boxed into any stereotype as an Asian American lawyer and this required pushing the envelope from time-to-time. I faced the “bamboo ceiling”, a barrier to progress for Asian Americans, and my strategy was to break through that barrier to build my legal career.

The recent protests originating in Minnesota in response to the homicide of George Floyd, along with years of racial injustice, directly affected Target as a company. Yet your executive team was masterful in its response by calling for social justice reform in this country. What advice would you give other members of the Federal Bar Association to address social reform and bring about true inclusion in the legal community?

I am not an African American and I’m not going to jump to any conclusions about being an African American. I think it’s important to first listen and learn. At Target, we have established the REACH Committee (Racial Equity Action and Change) and begun listening sessions in order to educate our team leaders as to what issues they face and to determine how to take effective action. The need for social justice is undeniable and we’re committed to using Target’s size, scale and resources to create positive change.

About Don Liu

Don Liu is executive vice president and chief legal & risk officer for Target and a member of its executive leadership team. He oversees all legal, risk and compliance, corporate governance and governmental affairs matters for the company. Don also serves as Target’s chief compliance officer and corporate secretary.

Prior to joining Target in 2016, Don was executive vice president, general counsel and secretary for Xerox Corporation. He also held in-house legal leadership roles at Toll Brothers, IKON Office Solutions, and Aetna U.S. Healthcare. He began his career in private practice, specializing in securities and mergers and acquisitions.

Don currently serves on the boards of CaringBridge and Haverford College. He is also a member of the American Law Institute and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. He formerly sat on the Comcast Asian American Diversity Advisory Council and the boards of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, where he served as chairman for two years, and MoreBank, an ethnic community bank he helped found.

Don graduated from Haverford College with a B.A. in Philosophy and Religion, and received his J.D. from the Columbia University School of Law.

About the FBA

Founded in 1920, the Federal Bar Association is dedicated to the advancement of the science of jurisprudence and to promoting the welfare, interests, education, and professional development of all attorneys involved in federal law. Our more than 16,000 members run the gamut of federal practice: attorneys practicing in small to large legal firms, attorneys in corporations and federal agencies, and members of the judiciary. The FBA is the catalyst for communication between the bar and the bench, as well as the private and public sectors. Visit us at fedbar.org to learn more.