On March 28, the Government Service and Public Interest (GSPI) and Pro Bono Committees enjoyed some traditional Chinese delicacies at Bite of Hong Kong in Chinatown. The committees gathered for a joint year-end celebration to thank and recognize members and volunteers that made the Pro Bono Clinics, trainings, panels, and other activities a success this past year.
Thank you to everyone who attended the dinner. Thanks also to our Committee Chairs for their leadership: Kevin Hsi, Beatrice Leong and Jonathan Hernandez (GSPI); and Karen Yau, Pauline Yeung-Ha, Judy Lee and Asako Aiba. To learn more about the Pro Bono Clinic and get involved, click here. To learn more about the GSPI Committee, go here. To learn more about the Pro Bono Committee, go here.
Last week, on March 29, the Women’s Committee spent their Friday night throwing axes at Indoor Extreme Sports in Long Island City. Members strived to hit bullseyes by putting their strength and coordination skills to the test.
Thank you to everyone who attended! To learn more about the Women’s Committee and get involved, click here.
From left to right: Yang Chen (Executive Director of AABANY);Chris Kwok (AABANY Board Director and Issues Committee Chair);Prof. Suzanne Kim (Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School and Academic Committee Co-Chair); Josh Hsu (Deputy Chief of Staff to Senator Kamala D. Harris); Marianne Chow (AABANY Board Director and Co-Chair of Professional Development Committee); Kevin Hsi (Co-Chair of Government Service and Public Interest Committee)
On March 15, AABANY and NYU APALSA hosted a conversation with Josh Hsu and Suzanne Kim in Furman Hall at NYU Law School. The discussion focused on Asian Pacific American attorneys’ engagement in public service.
Josh Hsu is the deputy chief of staff for Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA). The discussion was moderated by Suzanne Kim, Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School. Suzanne Kim is also a co-chair of AABANY’s Academic Committee.
Attendees filled a classroom at NYU Law School’s Furman Hall to hear Prof. Suzanne Kim in conversation with Josh Hsu on his experiences as an APA in public service.
Professor Kim interviewed Josh Hsu about various topics, including Hsu’s professional development, Hsu’s experience with working on the Hill and Asian American attorneys’ involvement in public service — mainly the lack thereof. Josh Hsu recounted how he received the clerkship offer from Judge Chin. As a law student, Josh drafted an article entitled “Asian American Judges: Identity, Their Narratives, & Diversity on the Bench” for Professor Mari Matsuda’s class, and to his surprise, he received Judge Chin’s comments on his draft, which is how Josh connected with Judge Chin and later received a clerkship offer from him. This experience made Josh realize that there is more than one way to make connections and enter into public service.
After the conversation, the floor was opened up for mingling. Attendees of the event actively engaged in more intimate and in-depth conversations with each other and with Josh Hsu.
Attendees continued the conversation after Prof. Kim and Josh Hsu concluded their conversation.
We thank Josh Hsu for sharing his insights and knowledge with us as an APA in public service and encouraging others to join him on his path. We wish him best of luck on the Hill. We thank Suzanne Kim for facilitating the conversation and NYU APALSA for co-sponsoring the event. Last but not least, we thank everyone who joined us on a Friday night and for sharing your enthusiasm about APA engagement in public service.
On Thursday, March 28th, AABANY’s Student Outreach Committee hosted a Resume Review Workshop in collaboration with Fordham Law School’s APALSA. Students had the opportunity to meet experienced attorneys and receive substantive feedback on their resumes. The attorneys also offered 1-on-1 advice about networking, job hunting, and answered questions about their respective practice areas. Attendees enjoyed chicken kebabs and Mediterranean tapas from Kashkaval Garden.
Thanks to all the Fordham APALSA members that attended. A special thanks to all the attorneys that took time out of their busy schedules to participate in the event and be a resource for the students. We look forward to seeing Fordham APALSA members taking part in upcoming AABANY events.
We also thank Aakruti Vakharia, Student Outreach Committee Co-Chair, for this write-up.
April is National Social Security Month. This is a great time to reflect on how Social Security touches your life, no matter where you are on life’s journey. Whether you are just entering the workforce, a new parent, or you are planning for retirement — Social Security is there for you and your family, providing financial protection and vital services for many, including the growing and diverse Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
In fact, with longer life expectancies, elderly Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders will live more years in retirement and benefit from Social Security’s cost-of-living protections.
National Social Security Month is a great time to create a my Social Security account at ssa.gov/mysocialsecurity, and learn how to:
Request a replacement Social Security card
Set up or change direct deposit
Get a proof of income letter
Change your address, if you get benefits
Check the status of your Social Security application
Get a Social Security 1099 form (SSA-1099)
For more than 80 years, Social Security has helped secure today and tomorrow with information, tools, and resources to meet your changing needs and lifestyles.
This year, during National Social Security Month, we will focus on the wide array of online services we provide that help put you in control — with secure access to your information anytime, anywhere. From estimating or managing your benefits, requesting a replacement card, to retiring online, we encourage you to see what you can do at SocialSecurity.gov.
Thanks to Everett M. Lo of the Social Security Administration for sharing the above information with us.
On April 9, 2019, Brooklyn Law School Public Service Law Center will host the Public Service Awards Ceremony in Forchelli Conference Center, Feil Hall, where Glenn Magpantay will receive a Faculty Award for Excellence in Public Service in recognition for his outstanding contributions to public service.
Glenn Magpantay is the Executive Director of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA) and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School. He has been organizing in the LGBT community for over 30 years, and he is recognized as a vanguard of LGBT rights activism. In addition to being an activist, Magpantay is also a devoted educator. He teaches “Race & the Law” at Brooklyn Law School and “Asian American Civil Rights” at Hunter College/ CUNY.
We at AABANY have been fortunate to have Glenn Magpantay as a former Board member and current co-chair of the LGBT Committee. Please join AABANY in congratulating Glenn Magpantay on this well-deserved award and honor.
AABANY’s Intellectual Property Committee celebrated the end of the fiscal year with a dinner in Koreatown.
The IP Committee enjoyed classic and unique Korean dishes for dinner at Soju Haus in Koreatown on March 27, for their year-end celebration dinner.
Members networked and discussed their current positions, spanning private practice, in-house, law school, and clerkship. Members also shared stories about their experience as Asian American lawyers.
Thank you to members new and old for coming out. The new fiscal year starts on April 1, so be on the lookout for announcements of upcoming events. To learn more about the IP Committee and to get involved, please go to https://www.aabany.org/page/145
