Month: June 2014

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Statement of NAPABA President Bill Simonitsch on the Voting Rights Amendment Act

Statement of NAPABA President Bill Simonitsch on the Voting Rights Amendment Act

From Azizah Ahmad, Senior Programs Associate at NAPABA: “Yesterday [June 24], the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the Voting Rights Amendment Act (VRAA), which proposed a new coverage formula for the Voting Rights Act in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder last year. The passage of the VRAA is a policy priority for NAPABA President Bill Simonitsch submitted a testimony for the record on behalf of NAPABA—click through to read the testimony.”

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On June 26, 2014, the Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of Jersey, Inc. (APALA-NJ) celebrated its 17th Annual Gala at the Liberty House Restaurant in Jersey City, NJ with the theme “Celebrating 30 Years: Building on Excellence." 

Congratulations to APALA-NJ’s Honorees: Aney K. Chandy (VP, Labor & Employment Counsel, Toys ‘R Us, Inc., Eric G. Fikry (Partner, Blank Rome, LLP), and Grace H. Park (Acting Union County Prosecutor, State of New Jersey). AABANY also extends congratulations to the 2014 recipients of the APALA-NJ/APALA-NJ Foundation scholarships.

AABANY looks forward to working with the 2014-2015 Executive Board and congratulate them on a successful gala:

President – Jhanice V. Domingo, Counsel, Einhorn Harris Ascher Barbarito & Frost, PC
President-Elect – Theodore K. Cheng, Partner, Fox Horan Camerini, LLP
Vice President – Rachit J. Choksi, Associate, Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Fader, LLC
Treasurer – Vik Jaitly, Associate, Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP
Secretary – Christine H. Kim, Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General

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NY Swap Contract Ruling Means Defenses Hinge On ‘S-Word’ – Law360

NY Swap Contract Ruling Means Defenses Hinge On ‘S-Word’ – Law360

Investment pacts must explicitly bar actions tied to the products they govern to be invoked as a defense against common-law or statutory claims, New York’s top court ruled Tuesday, a decision experts say will send lawyers scrambling to make sure their financial industry clients’ no-suit clauses feature the crucial word ‘securities.’

Past President Vince Chang, partner at Wollmuth Maher & Deutsch LLP, is prominently quoted in Law360’s “NY Swap Contract Ruling Means Defenses Hinge on ’S-Word,’” by Pete Brush. Among other insights, Vince shared his opinon: "The absence of one word — literally one word — makes a big difference in how these things are litigated,“ said Wollmuth Maher & Deutsch LLP complex litigation partner Vincent Chang. "If you already are in litigation, you’d better check to see if [securities] is in there.” Click on the link to read more.

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NAPABA APPLAUDS APPOINTMENT OF SCOTT H. YUN TO THE U.S. BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

WASHINGTON — On June 23, Scott H. Yun was sworn into office to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. Judge Yun will be the 5th Asian Pacific American to ever be appointed as a bankruptcy judge in U.S. history.

“We congratulate Judge Scott H. Yun on his appointment to U.S. Bankruptcy Court,” said William J. Simonitsch, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). “Judge Yun is highly qualified, and was selected from a very competitive field. As just the fourth sitting Asian Pacific American bankruptcy judge, his appointment is significant for Asian Pacific American bankruptcy practitioners and the Asian Pacific American legal community as a whole.”

Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit appointed Judge Yun to the court on June 20, 2014. Judge Yun will take the place of Judge Deborah J. Saltzman in the bankruptcy court’s Riverside division.

Prior to his appointment, Judge Yun was a shareholder at the law firm of Stutman, Treister & Glatt. Judge Yun also clerked for bankruptcy Judge Ernst M. Robles of the Central District of California. Judge Yun holds a B.A. from University of California, Los Angeles and a J.D. from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.

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