April 15, 2013

For Immediate Release: CACF Names Karen Kithan Yau New Executive Director Effective June 3, 2013

AABANY congratulates Karen Yau on her appointment as Executive Director of the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families. Karen is a member of AABANY and co-chair of the Government Service and Public Interest Committee.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, April 12, 2013

Contact:

Vanessa Leung, Deputy Director

[email protected]

212.809.4675 x 102

COALITION FOR ASIAN AMERICAN CHILDREN AND FAMILIES NAMES KAREN KITHAN YAU NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR EFFECTIVE JUNE 3, 2013

NEW YORK, NY- The Board of Directors of the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) announces the appointment of Karen Kithan Yau as Executive Director, effective June 3, 2013. She succeeds Wayne Ho, who completed nearly nine years of service as executive director. Ms. Yau is currently an Assistant Attorney General of the State of New York, serving in the Labor Bureau.

“We are very pleased that Karen Yau will join CACF. She has deep legal, governmental, and community experience, and has shown that she gets results that matter for the least advantaged in our society. She has enormous enthusiasm for CACF’s mission,” said Edward Pauly, Acting President of CACF’s Board. “And we thank Wayne Ho for his extraordinary and selfless leadership for the past 9 years. He has successfully transformed CACF into the premiere advocacy voice for Asian Pacific American children and families.”

Ms. Yau began her career as an organizer for MFY Legal Services on the Lower East Side. An immigrant, she graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School and Stony Brook University, and received her J.D. degree from Northeastern University School of Law. Prior to joining the Office of the Attorney General, she was an Assistant Professor of Law at Syracuse University College of Law. Ms. Yau was also a Robert M. Cover Teaching Fellow at Yale Law School. Recipient of a Skadden Fellowship, she worked at the National Employment Law Project. In addition to public interest law, Ms. Yau practiced as a litigation associate at Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard. Active in community service, Ms. Yau is a member of the inaugural Solidarity Board of Community Voices Heard and an alumna of the Immigrant Civic Leadership Program at the CORO New York Leadership Center.

“I am honored to be given an opportunity to lead CACF and to work with Asian Pacific American and immigrant children and families whose experiences I relate deeply to,” said Ms. Yau. “I am committed to working with the excellent Board, Staff, and Action Council of CACF to build on its legacy, and with fellow advocates to shape and implement an effective advocacy agenda for the well-being of the children and families in our diverse communities."

The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF), the nation’s only pan-Asian children’s advocacy organization, aims to improve the health and well-being of Asian Pacific American children and families in New York City. CACF’s website is www.cacf.org.

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April 15, 2013

SDNY NOTICE: SDNY Seeks Applicants to CJA Panel

The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is seeking applicants for the SDNY Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Panel. Applications are available on the court’s website at www.nysd.uscourts.gov/cja.php. Completed applications must be addressed to David Patton, Executive Director of the Federal Defenders of New York, and submitted electronically by May 31, 2013 to [email protected]; no paper applications will be accepted.

Click HERE to view PDF.

April 15, 2013

NAPABA Submits Testimony in Support of Srinivasan Nomination

National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

1612 K Street NW, Suite 1400
Washington, DC 20006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2013

Contact: Emily Chatterjee
(202) 775-9555

NAPABA SUBMITS TESTIMONY AND URGES SWIFT CONFIRMATION
OF SRI SRINIVASAN TO BECOME THE FIRST INDIAN AMERICAN
FEDERAL APPELLATE COURT JUDGE IN THE NATION’S HISTORY

WASHINGTON, DC – In anticipation of tomorrow’s Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on the nomination of Srikanth “Sri” Srinivasan to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) submitted testimony in strong support of Srinivasan’s confirmation. If confirmed, he will be the first Indian American to serve as a federal appellate court judge in the nation’s history. He also would be the first Asian Pacific American to serve on the D.C. Circuit.

As noted in NAPABA’s testimony, the nomination is especially important to the Asian Pacific American community, given that out of the approximately 175 active federal appellate court judges, there are currently only two who are Asian Pacific American. Moreover, the fact that over 3.1 million Indian Americans live in the United States, the lack of any Indian American federal appellate court judge is notable.

Srinivasan has received extremely high praise from all segments of the legal community. The list includes numerous federal judges (including Justice Sandra Day O’Connor), former government officials, and professors. These individuals include officials and judges appointed by the Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama Administrations. They invariably have described Srinivasan as “a tremendous lawyer,” “one of the very smartest, most talented,” and “especially gifted.” All of them state that Srinivasan will be an “excellent” or “tremendous” appellate court judge.

NAPABA urges for Srinivasan’s prompt confirmation. As NAPABA’s testimony stated, “Sri Srinivasan would make an immediate contribution as a federal circuit judge. His qualifications, integrity, intellect, and commitment to the justice system are unquestionable. He also brings with him an all-American life story that is inspiring.”

A copy of NAPABA’s testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee can be found here.

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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 63 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.

April 15, 2013

Metropolitan Black Bar Association Press Release: Hon. Sheila Abdus-Salaam

President R. Nadine Fontaine of the Metropolitan Black Bar is pleased to announce that Governor Andrew Cuomo has nominated the Honorable Sheila Abdus-Salaam to the New York State Court of Appeals. If confirmed, Justice Abdus-Salaam will be the first African-American woman to sit on the highest court of this State. Her confirmation will fill the vacancy created by the untimely passing of Associate Justice Theodore T. Jones, Jr.

Click HERE for the press release.

April 15, 2013

NAPABA Annual Lobby Day – May 20-21, 2013

NAPABA Annual Lobby Day

Lobby Day gives you the opportunity to educate members of Congress and congressional staffers on issues of importance to the Asian Pacific American community and to meet other NAPABA leaders from around the country.

We hope that you are able to participate in the Lobby Day meetings and Congressional Reception celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month this year. We look forward to seeing you May 20-21, 2013, in Washington, DC.

Lobby Day Event Schedule:

Tuesday, April 30, 2013
NAPABA Lobby Day Training Webinar (part one of two)

Monday, May 20, 2013
NAPABA Lobby Day Training (part two of two)
NAPABA’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Congressional Reception

Tuesday, May 21, 2013 (Correction)
NAPABA Lobby Day: Breakfast, Member Visits, Participant Debriefing & Happy Hour
(Breakfast and Happy Hour hosted by Jones Day)

Register Online

Stipends are available for NAPABA members traveling to Lobby Day from out of town. To apply please fill out the form here.

There is no cost to attend.

Please visit our website for more information or email Melanie Robinson with any questions.

April 15, 2013

From APIAVote: Asian American and Pacific Islander Voters Up for Grabs, Survey Finds

Asian American and Pacific Islander Voters
Up for Grabs, Survey Finds

WASHINGTON–Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders–two of the fastest-growing demographics in the U.S.–are open to persuasion by either major party at the ballot box, a new survey released today revealed.

The findings in “Behind the Numbers” are the result of a survey that interviewed approximately 6,600 AAPI voters in 11 languages after Election Day sponsored by Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), and National Asian American Survey (NAAS).

Among the significant findings: two-thirds of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders voted for President Obama, yet about half are independent or do not think in terms of political party.

“Our research shows that if either major party made significant investments to engage with Asian American and Pacific Islander voters, they could reap significant advantages over the next decade,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, director of NAAS. "This is especially the case as Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have a sizable portion of persuadable voters.“

The survey also found that language proficiency made a tremendous difference, both in terms of partisan profile and the presidential election. For example, the survey found that national polls conducted only in English might have underestimated the vote share for Mitt Romney. Notably, however, Obama won every segment of the AAPI vote, including 61 percent Vietnamese voters-a group that traditionally voted Republican.

The report was an important milestone in surveys of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders because it was conducted in nine Asian languages including Laotian, a first for a national public opinion survey.

"The survey results also revealed the importance of conducting surveys in Asian languages to get accurate results,” said Terry Ao Minnis, director of census & voting programs of AAJC. “Ensuring that legally required language assistance is readily available and easily identifiable at the polls is imperative to safeguard our communities’ ability to exercise fully their constitutional right to vote.”

Given its representative national sample, the survey also provided conclusive evidence on partisan and nonpartisan voter engagement efforts in battleground states and in the rest of the country.

“The study confirmed that community organizations played a major role in mobilizing Asian American and Pacific Islander voters and stepped in where the Democratic and Republican parties were absent,” said Christine Chen, executive director of APIAVote. “The parties and other voter mobilizing organizations must invest in linguistically and culturally appropriate outreach to engage our communities for future elections."

The full report is available HERE.

April 15, 2013

Pauline Yeung-Ha quoted on WNYC Radio

Congratulations to Pauline Yeung-Ha, co-chair of AABANY’s Solo and Small Firm Practice Committee, for being quoted in an April 8 article on WNYC Radio about lack of regulation in adult daycare centers.

Yeung-Ha said she was alarmed at how easy it is to open these so called social adult daycare centers and said stricter rules are needed to ensure that providers are running legitimate centers that are beneficial to seniors. She also questioned whether the seniors being recruited for adult daycare are too healthy to really qualify for it. While social adult daycare is mostly social engagement, it’s still considered a form of long-term care and requires at least minimal incapacitation.

Click HERE to read more.