Month: October 2011

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Judges Needed for Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition

Hemanth Digumarthi from the Host Committee of the 2011 NAPABA National Convention in Atlanta sends this message asking for AABANY members to volunteer time at the convention to serve as judges in the Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition finals:

Judges are needed for the Thomas Tang Moot Court competition in Atlanta.  The rounds will take place, Friday, November 18 from 10:00 to 11:30 and from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.  You can judge one or both rounds. If there are any AABANY members planning  to attend the  NAPABA convention and would like to volunteer, please contact Hemanth Digumarthi at [email protected].

The issues in this year’s Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition are:

I. WHETHER THE PRESERVING AMERICAN VALUES IN EDUCATION (PAVE) ACT VIOLATES THE FIRST AMENDMENT’S GUARANTEE OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

A. Whether the deferential standard of review articulated in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260 (1988) for assessing high school curricula should be extended to universities.

B. Whether the PAVE Act’s curricular restrictions violate the free speech clause of First Amendment under either a strict scrutiny or a rational basis standard of review.

II. WHETHER THE PRESERVING AMERICAN VALUES IN EDUCATION (PAVE) ACT VIOLATES THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT’S GUARANTEE OF EQUAL PROTECTION.

A. Whether the PAVE Act’s curricular restrictions constitute a racial classification subject to strict scrutiny.

B. Whether the PAVE Act’s curricular restrictions violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment under either a strict scrutiny or a rational basis standard of review.

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3rd Annual Pitch Sessions: One-on-One Partner Presentations and Interviews with In-House Counsel

Members of the NAPABA In-House Counsel Committee are accepting submissions from eligible partners of Solo and Small Firms for private one-on-one firm pitches during the 2011 NAPABA Annual Convention in Atlanta, Georgia taking place November 17-20. 
 
To be eligible, for firms with 25 or less attorneys, each partner who intends to participate in the pitch program must be an individual direct Platinum/$500 member of NAPABA. In addition, you must be registered to attend the 2011 NAPABA Convention.

How to participate: Review the pdf list of IHCs (click on the link), which includes brief descriptions of company industry and IHC specialty. Please note that some companies chose to display an anonymous profile. If you or one of your firm’s partners matches the industry and specialty, you may submit the following information:

1.       Name
2.       Firm name
3.       Direct phone number
4.       Email
5.       Specialty/practice area
6.       State whether your firm is minority and/or women-owned
7.       Indicate by IHC ID Number, the IHCs with whom you wish to meet.
 
Please send all items to NAPABA Programs Associate Azizah Ahmad at [email protected] by October 30, 2011. Incomplete information will not be considered.
 
All submissions will be delivered to the IHCs on November 1st.  If selected, you will be contacted by the IHC directly.  Unfortunately, due to demand, not all law firm partners will be selected for a pitch.

FAQs

When will the Pitch Sessions take place and what is the format?
• IHC and partners can determine the date, time, and length of each Pitch Session, as long as the pitch takes place during the 2011 NAPABA Convention.
 
Is this just a practice pitch for the law firms?
• No.  In-House Counsel will not view these sessions as practice.
 
Will each In-House Counsel have work to give out?
• No.  As work needs are difficult to predict, there is not a requirement that In-House participants have work needs at the time of the pitch.  However, In-House Counsel will have full discretion to engage (or strongly recommend) outside law firms as needed.
 

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CUP 2nd Annual Lawyers Forum 10/27

The Council of Urban Professionals (CUP) invites you to its Second Annual Lawyers Forum, taking place on October 27 at the Eventi Hotel (Ventana Ballroom) starting at 6:30 pm (cocktails; dinner follows at 7:30 pm).

Here’s more about the event from Elisa Espiritu, Director of Leadership Development:

The Council of Urban Professionals (CUP) works to connect, empower and mobilize the next generation of diverse business and civic leaders. We are a network of over 800 members across New York that works through a series of programs and forums to offer professional development, access to powerful decision makers and institutions, and civic engagement and service opportunities for diverse leaders. Specifically, we match our members with impactful nonprofit and public sector board placements; we train and empower emerging leaders through our Fellows Program; we work to generate access to capital for minority and women led businesses; and we educate and mobilize our communities through our dynamic Distinguished Leadership Speaker Series.

The 2nd Annual Lawyers Forum will once again convene over 120 senior level professionals of color and women partners from law firms as well as general counsels and associate general counsels from New York based investment firms and corporations for a dynamic evening of networking, high level discussions, and business generation. Major themes of the evening include key strategies and approaches to building a division and leading a team, revenue generation, the importance of cultivating and maintaining a network, and the effect of the recession on diversity and inclusion.

Our keynote speakers for this year are John Page, Corporate Vice President, General Counsel for Golden State Foods and President-elect of the National Bar Association; and Louise M. Parent, Executive Vice President and General Counsel for American Express, who will give remarks during dinner in a moderated ‘fireside chat’ format.

For more information, click on the image below.

2nd Annual CUP Lawyers Forum

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USCIS presents E-Verify: “Know Your Rights: Employee Rights and Responsibilities”

USCIS presents E-Verify: “Know Your Rights: Employee Rights and Responsibilities”

On Nov. 9, 2011 at 3:30 p.m. EST, USCIS will conduct a national Spanish-language public engagement and will discuss the USCIS E-Verify “Know Your Rights: Employee Rights and Responsibilities” campaign and highlight the agency’s translation of E-Verify website content into Spanish.

The event will be broadcast live from USCIS Headquarters in Washington DC. Individuals may participate via teleconference or Web stream.

A panel consisting of representatives from USCIS, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and the Department of Justice’s Office of Special Counsel will facilitate the discussion.  Click here for an English version of the event flyer.  Click here for a Spanish version of the event flyer.

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AABANY and MinKwon Present Free Legal Clinic 10/29

AABANY and MinKwon Present Free Legal Clinic 10/29

AABANY members, here’s your chance to give back to the community. Volunteer to help members of the Asian American community in Queens with their legal issues in immigration, housing, labor and foreclosure. The event takes place at MinKwon Center’s offices in Flushing, Queens, from 11 am to 5 pm.  Registration deadline is October 26.  For more details, click on the link in the title or click here for the flyer.

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Ascend National Convention 2011

Ascend National Convention 2011

From the Ascend National Convention flyer:

The Ascend National Convention is the premier Pan-Asian business conference. Leaders and senior executives attend and participate from a wide cross-section of the Pan Asian business community. This year’s theme: “Competing in a Borderless World”, October 28-31, provides in-depth perspectives on the leadership opportunities and pitfalls of the rapidly changing global environment. 

Click here to download a copy of the event flyer.

In addition, Ascend will be hosting a picnic in Central Park on Saturday, 10/22.  The picnic would be a good opportunity to learn more about Ascend and meet some of its members. Ascend includes many Asian American professionals in the corporate sector and AABANY members who wish to network with Asian American professionals might wish to attend.  Click here for more information.

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The Unique Challenges of Domestic Violence in Immigrant Communities

The Unique Challenges of Domestic Violence in Immigrant Communities

The New York State Division of Human Rights and the New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence invite you to “The Unique Challenges of Domestic Violence in Immigrant Communities"  on Monday, October 17 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building, 163 West 125th Street, 2nd Floor Art Gallery, Harlem, New York.  Click here for more information on this event.  Click here to read more about what’s happening at the The New York State Division of Human Rights.

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AALDEF: Eleven States Must Now Provide Asian American Voters with Bilingual Ballots

AALDEF: Eleven States Must Now Provide Asian American Voters with Bilingual Ballots

From AALDEF’s Oct. 12 press release announcing important updates to jurisdictions across the country that are required by law to provide bilingual ballots:

For the first time South Asian languages were covered, in four jurisdictions, as well as Korean in New Jersey and Chinese in Massachusetts. The determinations also found a significant expansion in the number of jurisdictions required to provide Chinese, Filipino, and Vietnamese assistance.

Chinese and Filipino ballots must be provided in four more districts each, Indian and Vietnamese ballots must be provided in three more districts each, Korean ballots must be provided in one more district, and Bangladeshi will be required for the first time in Hamtramck city in Michigan.

“We’re ecstatic that more Asian Americans will be able to exercise their right to vote – and that the voting process will accommodate an increasingly diverse electorate,” said Glenn D. Magpantay, Director of the Democracy Program at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF).

To read the full text, click on the link in the title.

AALDEF ballot