Official blog of the Asian American Bar Association of New York
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit invites applications from qualified candidates for the position of Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of New York.
The term of office is four years, with potential for appointment to successive terms. If you applied earlier, there is no need to re-submit your application. The extension deadline to submit an application is June 13, 2025.
For announcement, please click here. For application, please click here.
NAPABA Law Foundation (NLF) is excited to invite you to register for the 2025 Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition!
The Judge Thomas Tang and Dr. Pearl Tang Moot Court Competition is an appellate advocacy competition sponsored annually by the NAPABA Law Foundation. The purpose of this Competition is to help law students develop advocacy skills and to foster legal talents of the future.
The Competition was founded in 1993 and is named in honor of the late Honorable Thomas Tang, a respected jurist who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1977 until his passing in 1995.
This prestigious moot court competition is an incredible opportunity for law students to develop their advocacy skills and engage in complex international legal issues. Whether you’re a seasoned competitor, coach, volunteer or judge, or just starting your journey in moot court, the 2025 TTMC promises to be an exciting and enriching experience.
Register a law school team here
For assistance in seeking sponsorship to compete, please send an email to [email protected].
Key details:
Stay updated by registering for competition notifications here.
Follow the TTMC Competition LinkedIn Page for real-time updates and important announcements.
Visit the National Law Foundation (NLF) website for more information on the competition and other exciting initiatives.
Check out the Thomas Tang Moot Court webpage for updated rules, registration, and this year’s moot court problem when available.
On May 18, 2025, AABANY members from the Government Service & Public Interest Committee (GSPI) and the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee (PBCS), along with other co-sponsors, attended “Asian Americans in Public Service” in the Clinton G. Martin Park Main Room in New Hyde Park, Nassau County.
The event featured an engaging and thoughtful panel discussion by judges, a court officer, court attorneys, a court clerk, a town councilwoman, and other professionals, who shared their diverse paths and journeys to entering public service as Asian Americans. Each of the panelists shared what led them to become an attorney in public service, often invoking their immigrant backgrounds and upbringings in their journeys.
The panelists also imparted valuable advice about becoming a lawyer, attending law school, and entering public interest and government service work. Among the advice given were to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, being open-minded and to take advantage of opportunities, and building and cultivating your network, using your voice and being engaged in your community.
The event highlighted the profound impact of representation, as Asian Americans in public service roles are largely underrepresented. The event was well-attended and brought together community members, families, youth, and the volunteers who helped to organize the event.
Thanks to all the AABANY leaders who took part in the event, and thanks to all the co-sponsoring organizations as well as the attendees.
AABANY Membership Committee led a group to Citi Field on May 14th, 2025, to catch the Mets in action on AAPI Heritage night!
The Mets featured local Asian musicians, artists and lion dancers performing throughout the night. The fans heard the familiar “Take Me Out of the Ballgame” on a on a pipa, a traditional Chinese instrument.
The attendees also received a limited edition Mets/ AAPI Hat.
When rain started to fall, the group of 16 attendees went up to the Heineken Lounge to dry off. The rain eventually let up in the later innings, which was a welcome relief. Despite the rain and the loss, attendees had a great time at the ballpark!
Let’s go, Mets!
We thank Membership, Government Service & Public Interest, Litigation, Solo & Small Firm, Young Lawyers, and Women’s Committees for co-sponsoring!
Thanks to our sponsor, EcoScribe.
If you need a process server, translation services, transcriptions or depositions, email Cynthia Kaplan
Deadline: June 30, 2025, by 5:00 p.m. ET
The NAPABA Law Foundation is accepting applications for the prestigious SAIL Scholarship Program—a unique opportunity designed to support and empower the next generation of leaders in the legal profession.
This scholarship provides more than just financial aid—recipients receive:
Who Should Apply? Current 1L students (rising 2Ls in Fall 2025) who demonstrate:
This is a rare opportunity to receive ongoing support throughout law school—both financially and professionally—while building a foundation for a legal career rooted in service and leadership.
Do you know an outstanding first year law student? Please encourage your standout 1L students to apply.
Students: Review the SAIL Scholarship FAQ to understand eligibility and expectations before submitting your application.
Let the SAIL Scholarship help launch your journey to making a meaningful impact.
Please share this great opportunity with your networks.
Meet the 2024 SAIL Scholarship Recipient | Jennifer Shim
Jennifer Shim, a second-year law student at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, was selected as the 2024 SAIL Scholar. A first-generation Korean American from New York City, Jennifer was recognized for her exceptional leadership, academic achievement, and commitment to public service.
Through the SAIL Scholarship, Jennifer is receiving mentorship, leadership development, and $7,500 to support her legal education.
“Jennifer shows great promise as a leader who gives generously of her time and effort to the broader community. We could not be more delighted to help her as she completes her academic work and becomes part of the next generation of leaders in our profession,” said Ivan Fong, who, with his wife Sharon, endowed the NLF SAIL Scholarship Program.
| For Immediate Release Date: May 9, 2025 | Contact Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director |
WASHINGTON – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) extends its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Justice David H. Souter, who passed away yesterday. Justice Souter served on the Supreme Court of the United States for 19 years.
“Justice Souter’s devotion to public service defined his life,” said NAPABA President Thy Bui. “From a small law firm in Concord, New Hampshire, to the highest court in the land, he left an indelible mark on the Nation’s jurisprudence. On behalf of the entire NAPABA community, we celebrate his legacy and send our condolences to his loved ones.”
Justice Souter graduated from Harvard College, studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and graduated from Harvard Law School. After practicing at the firm of Orr and Reno, Justice Souter joined the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, ultimately rising to become the New Hampshire Attorney General in 1976. Two years later, the governor of New Hampshire appointed Justice Souter to the state trial court bench. In 1983, Justice Souter joined the New Hampshire Supreme Court, and in 1990, President George H.W. Bush nominated him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The U.S. Senate confirmed his nomination unanimously. Only two months later, President Bush nominated Justice Souter to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the U.S. Senate confirmed his nomination by a vote of 90 to 9. Justice Souter retired from the Court in 2009.
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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of over 80,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.
In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month this year, AABANY is presenting or co-sponsoring several events this month. We hope to see you all there! Follow the links for more details, and please note the registration deadlines.
May 1, 2025
AABANY Co-Sponsors: Karaoke Showdown
6:00 pm, 22 W 32nd St. 7th Floor, New York, NY 10001.
Registration is closed for this event.
May 4, 2025
AABANY Sunday Run Day
8:30 AM (Meet at 8:30 am. Runtime 9:00 am.)
In the lawn near the 86th Street A train station (Central Park West and West 86th)
This event is preparation for the May 24 AAPI 5k run. For more information, click here.
May 10, 2025
AABANY Co-Sponsors: Southern Brooklyn AAPI Heritage Month Celebration 2025
11:00 am. P.S. 105, 1031 59th St
Brooklyn, New York 11219
For more information, click here.
May 11, 2025
AABANY Sunday Run Day
8:30 AM (Meet at 8:30 am. Runtime 9:00 am.)
In the lawn near the 86th Street A train station (Central Park West and West 86th)
This event is preparation for the May 24 AAPI 5k run. For more information, click here.
May 14, 2025
AABANY Co-Sponsors: Third Annual Hon. Randall T. Eng Award Program
12 :45 – 2:15 PM – New York Supreme Court Appellate Division – Second Department
45 Monroe Place, Brooklyn, New York, New York 11201
Click here for more information.
May 14, 2025
Join AABANY for Mets v. Pirates Baseball Game
Citi Field / Mets Stadium, 41 Seaver Way, Flushing, New York 11368
Click here for more information.
May 14, 2025
AABANY Co-Sponsors: Talking with Trailblazers
6:00 pm – Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
1 Manhattan West, 395 9th Ave., New York, New York 10001
Click here for more information.
May 18, 2025
AABANY Sunday Run Day
8:30 AM (Meet at 8:30 am. Runtime 9:00 am.)
In the lawn near the 86th Street A train station (Central Park West and West 86th)
This event is preparation for the May 24 AAPI 5k run. For more information, click here.
May 18, 2025
AABANY Co-Sponsors: Asian Americans in Public Service
2:00 – 5:00 pm, Clinton G. Martin Park Main Room-New Hyde Park Rd. & Marcus Ave, New Hyde Park, New York 11042
Click here for more information.
May 20, 2025
GSPI & Judiciary Committees Co-Sponsor: “A Legacy of Leadership and Resilience”
12:45 – 2:15 pm, Queens Supreme Court – Civil Term, Ceremonial Courtroom 2588-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, New York 11435
Click here for more information.
May 21, 2025
AABANY Monthly Manhattan Pro Bono Legal Clinic
6:30 – 8:30 pm, AAFE Community Center – 111 Norfolk Street, New York, New York 10002
Click here for more information.
May 24, 2025
AABANY Presents: 2025 NYC AAPI 5K – Pier 45
Hudson River Greenway, New York, New York 10014
Click here to register and find event details.
May 24, 2025
Community Memorial Service for Honorable Justice Dorothy Chin-Brandt
12:00 – 2:00 PM – Glow Cultural Center 133 – 29, 41st Avenue Flushing, New York 11355
Click here for details.
May 29, 2025
AABANY Annual Dinner 2025
5:30 pm – 12:00 am – Cipriani Wall Street 55 Wall Street, New York, New York 10005
Click here for details.
May 31, 2025
AABANY Bi-Monthly Brooklyn Pro Bono Legal Clinic
12:30 – 2:00 pm – CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232
Click here to register to volunteer.
Thank you AABANY, AALFNY, PBCS, AAFE, and our volunteers who assisted with the April 16th pro bono legal clinic in Manhattan!
Our volunteers met with 15 clients and discussed a variety of issues involving housing, divorce, immigration and civil litigations. Volunteer attorneys and interpreters patiently addressed client concerns, answered questions and connected them to lawyers or programs through AABANY’s Legal Referral and Information Service (LRIS).
We offer services in both Mandarin and Cantonese and aim to continue to provide support for those who may struggle to obtain quality legal care due to linguistic or cultural barriers when seeking advice regarding substantive laws and procedural issues.
Thank you to all of our volunteers for dedicating your precious time to our Pro Bono Clinics and events. You all make our community a better place!
Volunteer Attorneys
Anthony Wong
Beatrice Leong
Francis Chin
Gary Yeung
Jenny Dai
John Hui
Justin Lee
Lily Li
Mengxi Xiong
Rachel Yoo (Remote)
Tammy Tran
Vishal Chander
Yen Yi Anderson
Interpreters/Shadowers
Grace Ouyang
Chia-Jung (Colette) Chang
Juliet Romero
Jack HsiaRuo Yang
Behind the Scenes Volunteers
Yang Chen
Kevin Hsi
Kwok Ng
Nandar Win Kerr
Please join our upcoming pro bono clinics on – May 21, Manhattan, from 6:30 – 8:30pm, AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk Street, NY, NY 10002
May 31, Brooklyn, from 12:30 – 3:30pm, CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232
June 4, Queens, from 6:30 – 8:30pm, One Flushing Community Center, 133-29 41st Ave, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355
Looking forward to seeing everyone at the next clinic!
In February and March 2025, AABANY had the honor of participating in two events with a delegation of IP officials from Singapore.
Meeting with the Singapore IP Delegation (February 26, 2025):
On February 26, 2025, AABANY’s Intellectual Property Committee hosted a meeting with a distinguished IP delegation from Singapore at Wilson Sonsini in New York. This exclusive event brought together key leaders in the IP community from both the United States and Singapore, fostering discussions about collaboration and innovation in global IP practices.
The delegation from Singapore included some of the foremost leaders in the fields of IP law, arbitration, and mediation, who shared invaluable insights into Singaporean law and practices in these areas. Attendees had the unique opportunity to engage with:
These experts provided an in-depth view of Singapore’s robust legal infrastructure and its innovative approaches to resolving IP disputes through mediation and arbitration. The conversations focused on opportunities for cross-border collaboration, especially in areas where U.S. and Singaporean practices align in the IP field.
Jeffrey Mok (AABANY’s VP of Programs & Operations, and Co-Chair of the IP Committee) delivered a presentation on AABANY’s mission, history, and role as a nationally recognized leader among diverse bar associations. Ben Hsing, AABANY’s President-Elect and Ada Wang, Co-Chair of the IP Committee, also guided discussions and ensured meaningful dialogue between the two communities.
Roundtable Discussion: Trends in the Resolution of IP and Technology Disputes (March 4, 2025):
On March 4, 2025, AABANY was honored to be invited to, and participate in, a Roundtable Discussion on the Resolution of IP and Technology Disputes, organized by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP at their office in Manhattan West. The event provided a platform for legal professionals from across the globe to discuss key trends and challenges in IP dispute resolution, especially within the context of technology and innovation.
The roundtable was moderated by Dr. Stanley Lai, Senior Counsel and Chairman of IPOS, and featured thought-provoking discussions on critical issues such as:
Greg Pan and Ada Wang, Co-Chairs of AABANY’s Intellectual Property Committee contributed to the roundtable discussion alongside other prominent figures from the IP and dispute resolution sectors. Among the attendees were:
The IP Committee looks forward to continuing to foster discussions about intellectual property at a global level.
To learn more about the IP Committee and how you can get more involved, go here.
For Immediate Release:
Date: April 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is proud to announce that this week, the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession has named NAPABA members Justice Maryka Omatsu and Judge Holly Fujie as recipients of the 2025 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award. Each year, the Commission honors up to five outstanding women lawyers who have achieved professional excellence and paved the way for other women in the legal profession.
Justice Maryka Omatsu is an icon of the Asian Canadian bar who, in 1993, set the stage for others to follow in her footsteps as the first Canadian woman of East Asian descent to be appointed as a judge in the entire country. She began her legal career in the 1970s as a human rights and environmental rights attorney who represented First Nations communities and held numerous prestigious appointments, including as Chair of the Ontario Boards of Inquiry and later Chair of the Ontario Human Rights Appeals Tribunal.
A third generation Japanese Canadian born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Justice Omatsu’s parents were incarcerated by Canadian authorities during the Second World War in a manner similar to the Japanese American experience. Justice Omatsu rose to nationwide prominence as a key leader of, and counsel for, the National Association of Japanese Canadians Redress negotiating team, who helped secure an historic human rights settlement between the Canadian Government and affected Japanese Canadians for their mistreatment during the war. In early 2006, Justice Omatsu set forth a vision for a Canadian analog to NAPABA and led the creation of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (FACL). In 2013, NAPABA conferred Justice Omatsu with its Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award.
“Justice Maryka Omatsu continues to inspire and open doors for women in the legal profession and to do so across the largest land border in the world–serving as a role model for lawyers in both Canada and the United States,” said NAPABA President Thy Bui. “Through her distinguished career, towering achievements, and tenacious and proactive advocacy, she has secured lasting, systemic positive change for Canadian women on the bench, in the legal profession, and beyond.”
For over four decades, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Holly Fujie has been a strong, vocal, and effective champion for, and mentor to, countless women and minorities in the legal profession.
Judge Fujie was only the third woman and the first Asian American to serve as the President of the State Bar of California. Prior to joining the bench, she was a renowned litigator, handling complex litigation for a variety of clients, primarily in the financial services industry. Judge Fujie broke barriers as one of the first Asian American women elected to equity partnership at major Los Angeles firm at a time when there were nearly no other Asian American women attorneys becoming law firm partners in California.
She is Vice President of NAPABA’s Judicial Council and Co-Chair of the Multicultural Bar Alliance of Southern California. She serves on the Boards of the Asian Pacific American Women Lawyers Alliance, the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, and the California Judges Foundation, and previously chaired Senator Dianne Feinstein’s Judicial Advisory Committee for the Central District of California. In 2010, NAPABA bestowed its Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award on Judge Fujie.
Throughout her career, Judge Fujie has individually mentored numerous women seeking to join and advance in the legal profession. But she believes that it is not merely enough to give advice to mentees but to actively do all she can to help them achieve success.
“Judge Holly Fujie continues to inspire and mentor so many in the California bar and across the country,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA. “Her commitment to opening doors for women in the profession is matched only by her passion and dedication on a deeply personal level to ensuring that as many can succeed as possible.”
Also receiving the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award this year are:
NAPABA congratulates all the recipients who will be honored during the ABA’s Annual Meeting in Toronto on August 10.
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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of over 80,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.