US-Ireland Alliance

Arthur Chan – Emigration, Entrepreneurship, Entertainment

By Conor Ryan

At the law offices of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Los Angeles, associate attorney Arthur Chan is helping to source investors for a pro bono client who at one point was living in a homeless shelter, but now hopes to expand her energy drinks business nationwide.  It's a perfect project for a man who loves great stories and entrepreneurship in equal measure. 

Arthur is a 2008 Mitchell Scholar.  He studied Migration at University College Cork.  His master's thesis examined the experience of Chinese entrepreneurs who had emigrated to Ireland in the 1980's.  His research in Dublin gave him a new perspective on the challenges faced by his own parents who emigrated to the United States from Hong Kong in the 1970's. 

In Ireland, Arthur also got to explore his passion for the entertainment industry.  Producer Morgan O'Sullivan invited him to visit the set of The Tudors.  Arthur saw every aspect of the production and even spent time on set with Jonathan Rhys Myers.  He carried the experience with him as he subsequently produced a documentary short in Cambodia and an off-Broadway play.

The common thread running through entrepreneurship and entertainment is creativity.  Arthur has worked hard to foster and support creativity in his legal work, his work as a producer and his remarkable volunteer work with immigrant and disadvantaged communities.