Month: September 2017

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Important Information for Those Interested in Attending the Diversity Career Fair and Expo (DCF) at the 2017 AABANY Fall Conference

If you are planning to attend the DCF please note the following:

  1. The DCF is being held in conjunction with AABANY’s Fall Conference at Fordham Law School, on Saturday, September 23. To attend the DCF you must first be registered for the Fall Conference. You must also complete an intake form. DCF is scheduled to take place from 10:30 am to 4 pm. More details here on the Fall Conference website.
  2. Registration is open via the AABANY website at http://bit.ly/fc17reg
  3. If you are an AABANY member who has not paid to attend the Fall Conference, you can attend DCF – and only DCF – for free. You may NOT attend any of the programs at the Fall Conference, including the lunch session and the cocktail reception at the end of the day.
  4. To register to attend DCF for free as an AABANY member, click here.
  5. If you are not an AABANY member, you can join online and pay the appropriate membership fee at http://www.aabany.org/?page=J2.  Once you have done that, follow the instructions above in paragraph 4.
  6. If you are not an AABANY member and you are not interested in joining but you wish to attend DCF, then you must register for and pay to attend the Fall Conference at http://bit.ly/fc17reg.
  7. The deadline to sign up for onsite interviews passed on Sept. 7.
  8. If you have not already done so, please submit a copy of your resume to [email protected] by Thursday, Sept. 14. In the subject line, please list 2017 DCF, your name and “Informational Tables.” Your resume will be included in a resume book that will be circulated to participating employers.

If you have any questions about DCF, contact [email protected].

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ASIAN AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK HONORS RANDALL T. ENG WITH NORMAN LAU KEE TRAILBLAZER AWARD

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK – Sept. 8, 2017 – The Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) is proud to announce that the Hon. Randall T. Eng, Presiding Justice, Appellate Division, Second Department, will be the recipient of the Norman Lau Kee Trailblazer Award at AABANY’s Eighth Annual Fall Conference on September 23, 2017, to be held at the Fordham University School of Law.

Named for Norman Lau Kee, a revered legal and community pillar of New York City’s Chinatown for decades, this Trailblazer Award honors an accomplished leader in the legal profession who is of Asian Pacific American (APA) descent or has demonstrated dedication to APA issues in the community. This award honors an individual who has carved a path for others to follow, served the community as a mentor and role model, and has made a lasting impact on the APA community through his or her dedication and commitment.

Hon. Randall T. Eng was a groundbreaker long before he was appointed by Governor Cuomo to be the first APA Presiding Justice of an Appellate Division in New York. A graduate of St. John’s University School of Law, Justice Eng served as New York’s first APA Assistant District Attorney in 1973. He later became the first APA judge in New York in 1983, when Mayor Edward Koch appointed him to the Criminal Court of the City of New York.

Justice Eng was elected to two terms as Justice of the New York Supreme Court in 1990 and 2004, and in 2007 became the first Asian American Administrative Judge of the Queens County Supreme Court, Criminal Term. A former colonel of the New York Army National Guard, adjunct professor of law at St. John’s University School of Law, and Inspector General of the New York City Correction Department, Justice Eng’s career shines brightly as an exemplar of both service and groundbreaking pioneering ability.

Born in China, Justice Eng moved to the United States with his family when he was just six months old. His father, an Air Force veteran of World War II, opened a laundry and cleaning store in Queens—one of the few options available for Asian and immigrant families during that time. Aware from an early age of the barriers that awaited him if he tried to pursue law, Justice Eng remained, in his own words, “undaunted…because that was the era of civil rights.” It is that undaunted spirit of Justice Eng’s that has made him a trailblazer and an inspiration for Asian Americans in the legal community and throughout the country.

Today, Justice Eng plays a key role in the development of jurisprudence and judicial policy in New York as Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department. The ten counties under its purview make Justice Eng’s Appellate Division one of the nation’s busiest. From supervising the court’s various agencies to being the Second Department’s Chief Administrator, Justice Eng has significant responsibilities at one of the highest levels of the state’s judiciary system. All the while, he has helped to pave the way for generations of APA lawyers in government, and remains an uplifting example for the APA community.

“At a time when the obstacles that face APAs in the law seem innumerable, Justice Randall T. Eng through his career has blazed a trail toward a more promising future for APAs in the legal profession and inspired generations of lawyers,” states AABANY President Dwight Yoo. “AABANY is honored to present Justice Eng the Norman Lau Kee Trailblazer Award at its Eighth Annual Fall Conference.”                                    

For more information, please contact Yang Chen, AABANY Executive Director, at (212) 332-2478, or direct any inquiries to [email protected].

The Asian American Bar Association of New York is a professional membership organization of attorneys concerned with issues affecting the Asian Pacific American community. Incorporated in 1989, AABANY seeks not only to encourage the professional growth of its members but also to advocate for the Asian Pacific American community as a whole. AABANY is the New York regional affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).

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NAPABA Applauds Nomination of Judge Karen Gren Scholer to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

For Immediate Release
Sept. 7, 2017

WASHINGTON — Today, President Trump nominated Judge Karen Gren Scholer to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. If confirmed, Scholer will be the first Asian Pacific American to serve as a federal district court judge in Texas or any of the courts encompassed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit — which includes Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

“Judge Karen Gren Scholer has had a distinguished legal career and will serve admirably on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas,” said Cyndie M. Chang, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). “She is an accomplished judge, lawyer, and community leader with a record of bipartisan support, and we urge the Senate to quickly confirm Judge Scholer to the bench.”

Judge Scholer is currently a partner at Carter Scholer Arnett Hamada Mockler PLLC, in Dallas, Texas. She is an experienced litigator and former judge who has presided over 100 trials. Her judicial experience includes eight years as a state district judge on the 95th Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas. She has also served as the presiding judge for Dallas County Civil District Court Judges. Judge Scholer has been a partner at a number of firms in Dallas, including Jones Day, Andrews & Kurth LLP, and Strasburger & Price LLP. Active in her community, Judge Scholer has served in leadership positions in the Dallas Bar Association and Asian Pacific American community organizations. The State Bar of Texas, the University of Texas at Austin, and Superlawyers have all recognized Judge Scholer for her legal excellence and achievement.

In March 2016, Judge Scholer was nominated by President Obama to serve as a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, with the support of Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz.

NAPABA commends President Trump for nominating Judge Karen Gren Scholer to the bench and thank Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of Texas for recommending Judge Scholer to the White House.

For more information, the media may contact Brett Schuster, NAPABA communications manager, at202-775-9555 or [email protected].

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 50,000 attorneys and over 80 national, state, and local bar associations. Its members include solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal services 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 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 color in the legal profession.

To learn more about NAPABA, visit www.napaba.org, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter(@NAPABA).

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Opinion | Tom Brokaw: Friends Across Barbed Wire and Politics

Opinion | Tom Brokaw: Friends Across Barbed Wire and Politics

On August 11, the day after AABANY’s reenactment of the Heart Mountain draft resisters trial at Fordham Law School as part of the ABA’s CLE in the City Series, the New York Times published an Op-Ed by Tom Brokaw about the friendship struck between Alan Simpson and Norman Mineta. Simpson was a U.S. Senator representing Wyoming and Mineta served as U.S. Secretary of Transportation under President George W. Bush. They first met when Mineta and his family were interned at Heart Mountain.

Marking the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066 which led to the mass internment of Japanese American citizens without due process, Brokaw reminds us:

The senator likes to recall the words of Justice Frank Murphy, one of only three dissenting votes when President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 1944. Justice Murphy wrote that “the broad provisions of the Bill of Rights” are not “suspended by the mere existence of a state of war. Distinctions based on color and ancestry are utterly inconsistent with our traditions and ideals.”

Let us continue to learn the lessons of the Japanese American internment experience during this 75th year anniversary of Executive Order 9066 so that we as a society can prevent future violations of constitutional and civil rights.

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Asian American Bar Association of New York and South Asian Bar Association of New York Congratulate Sanket Bulsara on his Appointment as U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 30, 2017

Contact: Yang Chen, Executive Director

(212) 332-2478

NEW YORK — August 30, 2017. The Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) and the South Asian Bar Association of New York (SABANY) applaud the Honorable Sanket J. Bulsara on his historic appointment to serve as a United States Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Asian Pacific Americans are significantly under-represented in the federal judiciary, including in New York.  Upon his appointment, Judge Bulsara became the first South Asian American to serve as a judge within the Second Circuit.

Judge Bulsara was born in the Bronx but has been a resident and an active community member of Queens, where his parents first lived upon immigrating to the United States from India.  He began his legal career by serving as a law clerk for the Honorable John G. Koeltl of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Judge Bulsara then worked as an associate at the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olsen LLP in Los Angeles, California, before returning to New York in 2004, where he worked as a Manager of Planning and Data Analysis for the New York City Department of Education.

In 2005, Judge Bulsara joined the law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP as an associate and was elevated to partner in 2012, becoming the first Asian Pacific American litigation partner in the firm’s New York office.  At WilmerHale, he developed a trial-centered practice, while also developing the firm’s pro bono practice.  His trial experience included a secondment from 2007 to 2008, when he worked as a Special Assistant District Attorney in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, for which he received an Outstanding Service Award.

Prior to his appointment, he worked at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, serving as the Acting General Counsel and the Deputy General Counsel for Appellate Litigation, Adjudication and Enforcement.

“AABANY congratulates Judge Bulsara on his appointment and commends the Eastern District of New York for not only appointing a highly qualified candidate to this important position but also recognizing a continuing commitment to a bench reflecting the diversity of the general population,” states AABANY President Dwight Yoo. “Judge Bulsara follows in the path blazed by Judge Go, Judge Kuo, Judge Matsumoto and Judge Chen in the EDNY and blazes his own trail by being the first South Asian judge in the Second Circuit. We are proud to count Judge Bulsara among the most distinguished of our members and look forward to continuing to work with him in his new role at the EDNY.”

“SABANY is proud to congratulate Judge Bulsara as he enters the judiciary,“ states SABANY President Mahesh Parlikad. "Judge Bulsara exemplifies what it means to be a public servant, and as the first South Asian judge in the Second Circuit, his appointment resonates with a growing South Asian population in New York and across the nation. He is a role model for SABANY members and beyond. We are excited by the significance of an increasingly diverse EDNY bench at this time, particularly when other federal judicial nominations are lacking in diversity, and we are eager to continue to work with Judge Bulsara to serve our communities.”

For more information, please contact Yang Chen, AABANY Executive Director, at (212) 332-2478, or direct any inquiries to [email protected].

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Hurricane Harvey Relief | Resources for Attorneys

“The real test of legal aid’s capacity will come after the rain stops.”

–The Atlantic

Dear NAPABA Members,

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all affected by the terrible storms and flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana. While we are stunned by the images and stories coming out of the region, we are inspired by the compassion and sense of community on display.

NAPABA and our Texas affiliates, the Austin Asian American Bar Association, the Asian American Bar Association of Houston, and the Dallas Asian American Bar Association; the South Asian Bar Association of Houston; and the Louisiana Asian Pacific American Bar Association are working with community leaders to assist with the recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. We recognize that this is a time for the legal community to step up and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our colleagues and communities in the region during the long recovery ahead.

To assist attorneys and community members find resources and information for the Asian Pacific American community, we have established Hurricane Harvey disaster relief toolkit to direct you to information and opportunities to engage with legal services organizations.

We encourage you to direct all requests for assistance to the Texas legal aid organizations via the Texas state disaster relief helpline: 1-800-504-7030.

The State Bar of Texas has established a database for volunteer attorneys who wish to provide services to victims. By special order of the Texas Supreme Court, out-of-state attorneys may practice in Texas if they are volunteering to serve hurricane victims, subject to conditions such as working through a legal aid program. Due to the situation on the ground, out-of-state attorneys are encouraged to sign up to receive information before attempting to travel to the Houston-area. Attorneys in Houston are encouraged to sign-up to volunteer through Houston Volunteer Lawyers.

We expect that there will be a need for bilingual attorneys in many languages, particularly those who speak the following Asian languages: Cambodian, Chinese (multiple dialects needed), Gujarati, Hindi, Hmong, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Vietnamese, and others. We also expect there will be a significant need for volunteers with knowledge of federal benefits, claims, immigration, and/or insurance law.

Due to the nature of the disaster, these communities will need sustained help that last months and years. It is our hope that communities across the region receive the legal assistance they will need and that Asian Pacific American attorneys join those in service. We will continue to monitor the situation and work with local legal organizations to provide you with opportunities to assist the community.

The Hurricane Harvey disaster relief toolkit will be continuously updated with additional resources and projects. If you have additional resources to share, please email Navdeep Singh, policy director, at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Cyndie Chang
NAPABA President

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NAPABA Condemns the President’s Decision to End the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program

For Immediate Release
Sept. 5, 2017                                                 

WASHINGTON — The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) condemns President Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), a program that protects eligible undocumented youth from deportation and provides them with work permits. Approximately 800,000 individuals, including over 30,000 Asian Pacific Americans, benefitted from the program.

“Ending protections for some of the most vulnerable in the immigrant community is a step back from progress. President Trump’s decision means that hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their families now face an uncertain future,” said NAPABA President Cyndie M. Chang. “DACA protected undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children from being suddenly deported from the country in which they grew up, went to school, and now work. There is bipartisan support for the protection of these young individuals.

“The Administration’s decision and their enforcement priorities underscore the need for Congress to enact meaningful immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship,” continued President Chang. “We urge Congress to take a first step and protect these youth by passing the bipartisan DREAM Act, sponsored by Senators Graham and Durbin. We stand with our immigrant communities, and urge our elected officials to do the same.”

The end of DACA will hurt every industry and community. Individuals protected by DACA are an integral part of the America’s present and future. They contribute to the American economy and to our rich and diverse culture. The Cato Institute estimates this decision will cost the United States $60 billion to deport 800,000 students and workers, and result in a loss of $280 billion in economic growth over the next 10 years.

NAPABA stands firmly in support of immigrant communities. Congress must stand with the immigrant community, uphold American values of diversity, acceptance, and inclusion, and work to protect DACA recipients.

For more information, the media may contact Brett Schuster, NAPABA communications manager, at202-775-9555 or [email protected].