MFJC Advance Training Announcement

NYC Family Justice Center, Manhattan (MFJC) Advanced Training Offerings: May-June 2019

The Manhattan FJC is excited to announce our next round of advanced training offerings. 

Please click here to register for each training you are interested in attending. All training is FREE and provide professional development for service providers, community leaders, and City agencies on relevant topics regarding intimate partner violence, sex trafficking and elder abuse.

Thursday, May 30, 10:00am-12:00pm, Tech Abuse
Facilitated by National Network to End Domestic Violence

Thursday, May 30th, 1:00pm-4:00pm, Conducting a Nuanced and Holistic Assessment in Intimate Partner Violence Cases.
Facilitated by: Facilitated by Steps to End Family Violence
Thursday, June 6, 10:00am-1:00pm, Consumer Law
Facilitated by: CAMBA

All trainings take place at: 
80 Centre Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10013

Space is limited. Please bring a photo I.D. and plan to arrive 15-20 minutes early to avoid security delays.

For more information, questions about the registration link, or to add any colleagues to the MFJC trainings list, please email Indhira Castro at [email protected].

Congratulations to Hon. Lillian Wan, Recipient of the Brooklyn Bar Association’s Diversity Award

On Wednesday May 8, the Brooklyn Bar Association held its annual meeting on Wednesday and honored nine members of the local legal community during a ceremony at the Brooklyn Bar Association building on Remsen Street. AABANY is proud to note that its member, Hon. Lillian Wan, received the Diversity Award. Read the full article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle here.

From Yang Chen, Executive Director:

“AABANY congratulates Justice Wan on being honored with the first-ever Diversity Award from the Brooklyn Bar Association,” states Executive Director Yang Chen. “We have followed Justice Wan’s path to the bench and her rise over the years, and we commend the Brooklyn Bar Association for recognizing her with this well-deserved honor, recognizing her role as a trailblazer in the Asian American community and as a champion of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and the community.”

Read the full AABANY press release here.

Join AABANY in Supporting Portrait Project 2.0

A recent Law360 article entitled “Why Are Law Clerks So White” reported:

Take any five federal law clerks, and at least four of them would probably be white. And nobody can be certain why.

California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu has some guesses about the reasons black, Asian and Latino lawyers are largely shut out of these prestigious positions that can turbocharge a lawyer’s early career. But he says it’s impossible to pinpoint reasons or patterns because so little data exists.

“We actually don’t even know the most basic things about those opportunities,” Justice Liu told Law360. “It would be interesting if we could know even basic things, like do women judges get more women clerks? We have impressions of that, but we don’t know with any precision whether these things are true.”

The article went on to talk about how Justice Liu plans to address these questions in Portrait Project 2.0. AABANY is supporting this research as a Silver Sponsor. AABANY challenges its members to donate to Portrait Project 2.0. AABANY will match member donations up to $5,000. Join AABANY in advancing the work of Portrait Project 2.0. Read more at https://www.aabany.org/page/PortraitProject20

To read the full Law360 article go to https://www.law360.com/articles/1156019?utm_source=ios-shared&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=ios-shared

Thank You to our May Pro Bono Clinic Volunteers!

May’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic, held on Wednesday, May 8 at 33 Bowery Street in Confucius Plaza, brought out 14 lawyers and 6 interpreters who volunteered their time to help 15 clients.

We are asking every member to actively support AABANY’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic by making donations that are vital to its continuing operation. In a few short years, with the tireless and generous assistance of our volunteers, we have helped hundreds of low-income clients with free legal advice and referrals to high-quality, culturally sensitive, and linguistically competent legal services. Together we have helped expand access to justice for underserved Asian American New Yorkers.

If you know family members, friends, or businesses, such as your firm, who would like to support the Clinic, please help us connect with them by contacting Karen Yau at [email protected].

Or please urge them to make a donation directly. They can visit the website of Asian American Law Fund of New York (AALFNY), AABANY’s 501(c)(3) affiliate: https://www.asianamericanlawfund.org/donate/ AALFNY is accepting charitable donations on the Clinic’s behalf and can issue any donor a tax receipt. Any contribution, large or small, would help. Please be sure to indicate in the memo field that the donation is intended for the Pro Bono Clinic.

Thank you to all of the May Pro Bono Clinic Volunteers!

Lawyers:

Christopher Chin
Francis Chin
Thomas Hou
Mayumi Cindy Iijima
Satoshi Kurita
Chris M. Kwok
Eun Hye (Grace) Lee
Beatrice Leong
Nelson Mar
Samantha Sumilang
Annie Tsao
Anna Jinhua Wang
Shengyang (John) Wu
Jiayun Zhang

Interpreters:

Carteneil Cheung
Tianlin Liu
Ruth Poon
Serene Su
Laura Tsang
Hao Zhang

Special thanks to Kwok Kei Ng and Zhixian Liu for coordinating the clinic, and the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee Co-Chairs Karen Kithan Yau, Judy Lee and Asako Aiba for their leadership.

If you are interested in volunteering at future Pro Bono Clinics, please contact Asako Aiba at [email protected]. AABANY’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic occurs every second Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 PM.

NAPABA | Serve on the 2019-20 Board of Governors!

Accepting Nominations for Officer Candidates and Applications for At-Large Board Members for NAPABA’s 2019-20 Bar Year

The NAPABA Board of Governors consists of nine Officers who are elected by the membership, ten Regional Governors who are chosen by the NAPABA Regions, and four At-Large Board Members who are appointed by the Board of Governors. Now through July 8 at 5 p.m. EDT, the NAPABA Nominating & Elections Committee will be accepting nominations for members who want to stand for election as Officers and applications from members who want to be considered for At-Large Board Member positions.

Nominate Yourself or Another Member for an Officer Position

Click here for more information or to submit a nomination by July 8 for the following Officer positions:

  • President-Elect 
  • Vice President for Finance and Development
  • Vice President for Membership
  • Vice President for Programs and Operations
  • Vice President for Communications
  • Treasurer
  • Secretary

Apply to be an At-Large Board Member

Review the complete guidelines and apply here by July 8 to be considered for an At-Large Board Member position.

National Asian Pacific American Bar Association | 1612 K St. NW, Suite 510 | Washington, DC 20006 | www.napaba.org

NAPABA’s 2019 Survey of Asian Pacific American Attorney/Law Student Bar Association: Become Eligible for NAPABA’s Raffle and Win!

Last Day to Complete the Survey is May 13, 2019 | Take the Survey Now!

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is conducting a survey to assess Asian Pacific American attorney and law student engagement with bar associations and in particular affinity bar associations. The results of the survey will aid NAPABA in measuring our reach and effectiveness and assessing our priorities.

We need a few minutes of your time to complete a survey. Your feedback will help guide us as we strive to further NAPABA’s mission to:

  • Be the national voice for the Asian Pacific American legal profession;
  • Promote justice, equity, and opportunity for Asian Pacific Americans; and
  • Foster professional development, legal scholarship, advocacy, and community involvement.

The survey should take approximately 10-18 minutes to complete. Responses to the survey will be kept strictly confidential. The last day to complete this survey is May 13, 2019.

To show our appreciation to those that complete the survey, we will enter you into a drawing for one of the following prizes:

  • Complimentary registration for the NAPABA Convention in Austin, Texas from November 7-10, 2019;
  • Complimentary room upgrade to a Junior Suite at the Convention hotel, JW Marriott Austin; or
  •  One of three $100 Amazon gift cards.

We would greatly appreciate your candid, thoughtful, and detailed responses. 

Should you have any questions about the survey or need help completing it, please contact [email protected]

COMPLETE SURVEY HERE 

Join Social Security For a Call on Mental Illness in the AAPI Community – Thursday, May 23, 2019

From Everett Lo, Project Manager, Social Security Administration:

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM), recognizing the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in the United States.  May is also Mental Health Awareness Month, when we shine a light on mental health.  No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, Social Security is there for you and your family, providing financial protection and vital services for all Americans, including AAPIs.

The 2019 APAHM theme, Unite Our Mission by Engaging Each Other, affords a unique opportunity to work together to ensure access to Social Security’s programs and benefits for AAPIs experiencing mental illness.  Please join us for an informative call as we discuss Mental Illness in the AAPI Community, and How Social Security Can Help, on Thursday, May 23, 2019, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EDT. You must register by Monday, May 20, 2019 by 5:00 p.m. EDT to participate in this call. Registrants will receive conference call dial-in information in a separate email on Wednesday, May 22, 2019.

Leading advocates in AAPI mental health will share personal insights, and representatives from Social Security will explain how we evaluate mental illness for Social Security Disability benefits, including resources available to help you.

We hope you can participate in this important call.  You may learn more about how Social Security is with AAPIs through life’s journey on our Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders page. For more information, contact Everett Lo, Project Manager, Social Security Administration, [email protected]