Month: December 2012

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ASAFE Securities and Finance Law Seminar Series

New York City Bar and the Alliance of Securities and Financial Educators (ASAFE)
Securities and Finance Law Seminar Series 2013 

A Six-Part Seminar Series for Diverse Second and Third Year Students from New York
& New Jersey Law Schools with Leading Legal and Compliance Practitioners in the Financial Services Industry

The New York City Bar Association and the Alliance of Securities and Financial Educators (ASAFE) will conduct a six-part Seminar Series on Securities and Finance Law beginning in January 2013 for diverse students attending New York City area law schools. The sessions will be presented by leading legal and compliance practitioners (including former and current regulators).  Participants will have an opportunity to learn about the nuts and bolts and cutting edge issues in securities and finance law, explore careers in securities and finance law, and develop professional networks by meeting legal and compliance practitioners.

This ASAFE and New York City Bar seminar series is designed to enhance diversity and inclusion in the securities and finance industries of traditionally underrepresented groups.  This includes the following categories: Black or African American, Latino or Hispanic, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Two or More Races, Women, LGBT Students, Veterans, Economically Disadvantaged Students and Students with Disabilities.

Seminar Series Dates
*       January 25th – Overview of Securities and Finance
*       February 1st – Corporation Finance (federal)
*       February 8th – Enforcement (federal, state and local)
*       March 22nd – Investment Management (federal, state and local)
*       March 29th – A Career as a Compliance Professional
*       April 5th – Consumer Protection (federal)

All seminar dates fall on a Friday and will be conducted from 4pm-7pm at the New York City Bar Association, located at 42 West 44th Street in New York City. Participants are expected to attend all seminars.

Eligibility Requirements
1.  Students selected to be a part of the seminar series must attend one of the following 13 institutions for consideration: Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Brooklyn Law School, Columbia Law School, CUNY School of Law, Fordham Law School, Hofstra University School of Law, New York Law School, New York University School of Law, Pace Law School, Rutgers School of Law, Seton Hall University School of Law, St. John’s University School of Law or Touro Law Center.
2.  Only second-year and third-year law students are eligible to participate in this series.
3.  Students must submit an application and resume for consideration. Students are also required to submit a typewritten statement of interest.

Application
Interested students must submit an application and resume for consideration.  See flyer for further details. The application deadline is December 31st.   

For more information, please contact Gabrielle Lyse Brown, Director of Diversity Pipeline Initiatives at the New York City Bar at [email protected]

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USCIS Free Webinar: USCIS: Employment Verification (E-Verify)

Do you have questions about Form I9, Self Check or your Employee Rights? Are you an existing E-Verify user who needs questions answered?

Let USCIS help you.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is here to teach you and answer all your questions about Employment Verification (E-Verify) with free, live and interactive webinars.

Check out the FREE E-Verify Webinar Schedule, for EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES.
Be in the Know – Take a Free Webinar today.

Background:
Federal law requires every employer and agricultural recruiter/referrer-for-a-fee hiring an individual for employment in the US to verify his or her identity and employment authorization through completion of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has a website dedicated to this process including:

–          Employee Rights
–          Preventing Discrimination
–          Filing a Discrimination Claim

Do you know that you can use Employment Verification (E-Verify) Self Check now? Self Check is a service of E-Verify. It is a free, Internet-based application that can be used by anyone in the U.S. over the age of 16 to confirm his or her employment eligibility. The service is available nationwide. After you enter a small amount of information, the Self Check service will check that information against various government databases to determine your work eligibility in the United States.

Do you know there is an Employee Rights Toolkit?  Also in Spanish.

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USCIS Teleconference: USCIS Immigrant Fee

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) invites interested individuals to participate in one of two stakeholder teleconferences on:
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
8:00am or 12:00pm
We will discuss the implementation of the USCIS Immigrant Fee. The same engagement will be held at two different times to accommodate participants domestically and abroad.

On Sept. 24, 2010, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published in the Federal Register a Final Rule that adjusted fees for immigration applications and petitions. This rule established a new fee of $165 for certain immigrant visas. This fee was introduced to allow USCIS to recover the costs of processing immigrant visas in the United States after immigrant visa holders receive their visa packages from the Department of State (DOS). See: http://www.uscis.gov/immigrantfee

Beginning Feb. 1, 2013, any individual who receives an immigrant visa package from a United States consulate or embassy must pay this fee. In order to simplify and centralize the payment process, immigrant visa holders must pay online through the USCIS website after they receive their visa package from DOS and before they depart for the United States. Immigrant visa holders will receive specific information on how to submit their payment when they receive their visa package from DOS.

During this engagement, USCIS will discuss who will be required to pay the fee, explain how payments will be remitted, and answer additional questions.

To Participate in the Session

Please email the Public Engagement Division if you are able no later than Tuesday, December 18, 2012 at [email protected].

Please reference “Immigrant Fee” in the subject line of your email. Please also include your full name and the organization you represent in the body of the email.

To Join the Session

On the day of the engagement please use the information below to join the session by phone. We recommend calling in ten minutes before the start of the teleconference.

Call-in Number Inside the US: 1-888-790-3331
Call-in Number Outside the US: 1-210-234-0091
Passcode: 5741019

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Press Release: AABANY WELCOMES AND APPLAUDS THE CONFIRMATION OF LORNA G. SCHOFIELD TO THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Yang Chen, Executive Director, (718) 228-7206

NEW YORK – December 14, 2012 – The Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) welcomes and applauds the historic confirmation of Lorna G. Schofield to the Southern District of New York.  On December 13, the United States Senate confirmed Lorna Schofield by a 91-0 vote to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.  She is the first person of Filipino descent to serve as an Article III judge in American history.

“AABANY congratulates Ms. Schofield on her historic confirmation as a federal judge for the Southern District of New York and is proud to have supported her candidacy,” said Jean Lee, President of the Asian American Bar Association of New York.  “We applaud President Obama and Senator Schumer for nominating such a highly-qualified jurist and continuing their commitment to a well-qualified and diverse federal bench.” Ms. Schofield’s life story is the epitome of the “American Dream.”  Growing up in New Haven, Indiana, she was the only child of a Filipina war bride who married an American service man.  She was raised by her mother, who came to the United States and became a pharmacist, stressing hard work, achievement, independence and self-sufficiency.  Ms. Schofield lived in a predominantly Caucasian and blue collar community, where there was little ethnic diversity.  Despite the odds against her, Ms. Schofield went on to graduate Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from Indiana University.  Thereafter, she graduated from New York University School of Law, where she was an editor of the Law Review and a Pomeroy Scholar.  Ms. Schofield’s achievements clearly did not stop there.

Prior to joining the bench, Judge Schofield practiced at the New York law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton for over 20 years.  In 1991, she became the firm’s first partner of color, and, for the past year, has served as Of Counsel to the firm.  Before joining Debevoise, she served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (Criminal Division) for four years.  Ms. Schofield was also the first Asian Pacific American to chair the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association, and she previously served as a member of the ABA’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary.  In 2008, the National Law Journal named Ms. Schofield one of the nation’s 50 most influential minority lawyers.

“With her confirmation, Ms. Schofield joins the growing number of distinguished Asian Pacific Americans who have been recognized for service on our federal courts,” said Theodore K. Cheng, Co-chair of AABANY’s Judiciary Committee.  “Although Asian Pacific Americans remain significantly under-represented at all levels in the Federal Judiciary, President Barack Obama should be commended for his tireless dedication to increasing diversity on the federal bench, and we thank Senator Charles E. Schumer for recommending her to the President.”

Judge Schofield is only the second Asian Pacific American to serve on the Southern District bench, and she will join Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto of the Eastern District of New York as the only Article III judges of Asian descent serving anywhere in the federal district courts of New York.  While Asian Pacific Americans make up approximately 14 percent of New York City’s population, only two of the over 90 active and senior Article III judges currently serving in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York are Asian Pacific Americans.  The nomination of another well-qualified Asian Pacific American, Pamela K. Chen, awaits a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.  Senator Schumer recommended Ms. Chen for a seat on the Eastern District of New York, and President Obama nominated her in August 2012.

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The Asian American Bar Association of New York was formed in 1989 as a not-for-profit corporation to represent the interests of New York Asian-American attorneys, judges, law professors, legal professionals, paralegals and law students.  The mission of AABANY is to improve the study and practice of law, and the fair administration of justice for all by ensuring the meaningful participation of Asian Americans in the legal profession.

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Press Release: NAPABA AND AAJC APPLAUD LORNA SCHOFIELD’S CONFIRMATION TO THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 13, 2012

NAPABA Contact: Emily Chatterjee (202) 775-9555
AAJC Contact: Kimberly Goulart (202) 499-7027

NAPABA AND AAJC APPLAUD LORNA SCHOFIELD’S CONFIRMATION TO THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

WASHINGTON – Today the United States Senate confirmed Lorna Schofield by a 91-0 vote to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. She is the first person of Filipino descent to serve as an Article III judge in American history.

“NAPABA congratulates Lorna Schofield on her confirmation as a federal district judge on the Southern District of New York and is proud to have supported her nomination and confirmation,” said Wendy Shiba, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). “We applaud President Obama and Senator Schumer for nominating Judge Schofield to this critical court, and continuing their commitment to nominating well-qualified, diverse candidates to the federal bench.”

Prior to joining the bench, Judge Schofield practiced law at the New York law firm Debevoise & Plimpton for over 20 years. In 1991, she became the firm’s first partner of color and for the past year has served as Of Counsel. Prior to joining Debevoise, she was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (Criminal Division) for four years. Ms. Schofield was the first Asian Pacific American to chair the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association, and she previously served as a member of the ABA’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. In 2008, the National Law Journal named Ms. Schofield one of the nation’s 50 most influential minority lawyers.

“We congratulate Lorna Schofield on her confirmation and commend President Obama and Senator Schumer for their commitment to diversifying the bench with exceptionally well-qualified judicial nominees,” said Mee Moua, president and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice. “The community is hopeful that our Senate leaders will work to confirm Pamela Chen, President Obama and Senator Schumer’s nominee to the Eastern District of New York this year. Ms. Chen’s confirmation on the heels of the Judge Schofield’s would be celebrated by all in New York City, as well as Asian Americans across the nation.”

With her confirmation today, Judge Schofield will join Judge Kiyo Matsumoto of the Eastern District of New York as the only judges of Asian descent serving on the federal district courts of New York. While Asian Pacific Americans make up approximately 14 percent of New York City’s population, only two of the over 90 active and senior Article III judges currently serving the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York are Asian Pacific Americans. The nomination of another well-qualified Asian Pacific American, Pamela Ki Mai Chen, awaits a vote on the floor of the United States Senate. Senator Schumer recommended Ms. Chen for a seat on the Eastern District of New York, and President Obama nominated her in August 2012.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of over 40,000 attorneys and 64 local Asian Pacific American bar associations. Its members represent solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal service and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government. NAPABA continues to be a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network of committees and affiliates, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes professional development of people of color in the legal profession.

The Asian American Justice Center (www.advancingequality.org), a member of Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, works closely with its affiliate organizations – the Asian American Institute in Chicago (www.aaichicago.org), the Asian Law Caucus (www.asianlawcaucus.org) in San Francisco and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (www.apalc.org) in Los Angeles – to promote a fair and equitable society for all by working for civil and human rights and empowering Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other underserved communities.

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Comfort Ye… Concert to Benefit the Homeless

Tue, Dec 18 at 7:30 pm
Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Symphony Space
Suggested Donation $40

Lauren Flanigan and stars from the Metropolitan Opera and the New York City Opera in a concert of aria and ensemble to raise money and awareness for New York’s Homeless. Lauren Flanigan and her friends generously give of their time for an evening of grand opera and fundraising. All proceeds go directly to The West Side Campaign Against Hunger, New York Cares and the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing.

Thanks to Kathryn Salensky from the Network of Bar Leaders for letting us know about this wonderful event!

Read here for more information and to get tickets

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2013 CUP Fellows Application Deadline

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Dear CUP Members & Friends,   

Please note that the new deadline for the 2013 CUP Fellows Application is Monday, December 17, 2012 at 5:00pm.  Further details are below.

There is no greater experience than being a CUP Fellow!  

In addition to equipping professionals with the skills needed to lead with impact, the CUP Fellows Program provides participants with a lifelong springboard for prestigious opportunities such as appointments to high profile cultural institutions, policy commissions and more. By exposing CUP Fellows to public sector opportunities and cultivating their networks, the program is designed to equip participants with the skills, information and resources needed to manage their careers effectively and position themselves for leadership opportunities. 

Application and Selection Information:
All information about the application process can be found here. 

The application deadline for the 2013 CUP Fellows is Monday, December 17, 2012 at 5:00pm. 

Interviews of select candidates will be scheduled to take place between January 7, 2013 and January 25, 2013. 

The 2013 CUP Fellows will be announced on February 4, 2013.  Thank you! 

Alicia L. Young, Director of Programs, CUP Leadership Institute

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The Hon. Denny Chin of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (and past president of AABANY) shared this video with us, the latest in the series “Pathways to the Bench” produced by the United States Courts. It traces his humble beginnings from Hong Kong to Hell’s Kitchen and ultimately to the Federal bench. Take a look. Feel free to share any comments here.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
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Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund Spring 2013 Internships

Passing along an announcement about internship opportunities from our friends at AALDEF

For Undergraduate, Graduate, and Law Students

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), founded in 1974, is the first organization on the East Coast to protect and promote the legal rights of Asian Americans through litigation, legal advocacy, and community education.  For more information about AALDEF, please visit our website at www.aaldef.org.

Spring internships are available for the following program areas (open to all unless otherwise noted):

AALDEF Fundraising Events, provide administrative support in preparation for AALDEF’s annual gala.  Computer experience with databases, graphics and web programs are helpful. **Undergraduate students ONLY.  Workstudy grants accepted.**

Anti-Trafficking Initiative: Legal research and writing, organizing/outreach, and legal advocacy for trafficked clients pursuant to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and other related legislation.  Fluency in Indonesian, Hindi, or Bangla highly preferred.  **Law students ONLY. 

Economic Justice for Workers: Provide legal advocacy, direct representation, and community education on behalf of Asian immigrant workers experiencing wage-and-hour, retaliation, and workplace safety violations in the restaurant, beauty/nail salon, and domestic worker industries, among others.  Undergraduate interns will perform research and community outreach.  Fluency in a second language is highly preferred.

Educational Equity and Youth Rights: legal services, policy work, community education, research and litigation concerning educational equity, juvenile justice, language access, student free-speech and police surveillance, and anti-Asian harassment.

Housing & Environmental Justice Project: community outreach/education, research, and litigation on gentrification and other land use issues affecting low-income and Asian immigrant communities.

Immigrant Access to Justice: litigation, legal services, and organizing/outreach with communities impacted by 9-11 immigration and law enforcement policies.  An additional emphasis on Asian communities’ access to representation and education about immigration policies and practices that may impact them including unconstitutional DHS stops, new deferred action policies for youth, and secured communities.

Voting Rights: legal research and fact development under the Voting Rights Act and Equal Protection Clause challenging anti-Asian voter discrimination, advocacy on bilingual ballots, and the redrawing of local, state and federal district lines; produce reports and organize public forums; assist in organizing legal trainings.

Description of Internships.
Interns are supervised by attorneys and/or AALDEF staff in specific program areas.  These internships are not paid positions, but academic credit can be arranged.  Interns work anywhere between 8 to 25 hours per week.   Internships usually commence with the start of classes (end of January) through late April/early May.

To Apply:
Any bilingual ability should be stated in the resume.  Bilingual ability is helpful but not required.  Applications should also state the number of hours the intern is able to work per week and which program area(s) you are interested in.  Email applications are accepted.  Deadline December 3, 2012, applications received after deadline will be considered on a rolling basis.  Send a resume and cover letter (law students should include a writing sample) to:

AALDEF Spring Intern Search
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)
99 Hudson Street, 12th floor, New York, New York 10013-2815
Fax: 212-966-4303 or Email: [email protected]

For more information, contact Jennifer Weng at 212-966-5932, ext. 212 or [email protected].

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Hon. Doris Ling-Cohan Re-elected to NAPABA Judicial Council

We received the following update from Monica Cheng, Assistant Law Clerk to the Hon. Doris Ling-Cohan:

At its recent annual meeting of the National APA Judges (NAPABA Judicial Council) held in Washington D.C., Justice Doris Ling Cohan (Supreme Court, New York County) was re-elected President, Judge Denny Chin (2nd Cir. Court of Appeals) was re-elected Treasurer, and Judge Marilyn Go (Magistrate Judge, EDNY) was elected Secretary.  Their dinner was hosted by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Supreme Court, at which she did a short program with Hon. Goodwin Liu (Associate Justice, CA Supreme Court), her former law clerk.

Congratulations to the Hon. Doris Ling-Cohan, the Hon. Denny Chin and the Hon. Marilyn Go.

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