Month: September 2019

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NAPABA Announces 2019 Award Winners

NAPABA is proud to announce our distinguished award winners, who will be recognized at the 2019 NAPABA Convention in Austin, TX.

TRAILBLAZER AWARDS

The Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award, NAPABA’s highest honor, recognizes the outstanding achievements, commitment, and leadership of lawyers who have paved the way for the advancement of other Asian Pacific American attorneys. Trailblazers have demonstrated vision, courage, and tenacity in their practice. They have also made substantial and lasting contributions to the Asian Pacific American legal profession, as well as the broader Asian Pacific American community.

The Honorable Richard J. Chin | Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court (retired)
Julia Markley | Partner, Perkins Coie 
Byung “BJay” Pak | United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, United States Attorney’s Office
Debbie Leilani Shon | Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP

PRESIDENT’S AWARD 

The NAPABA President’s Award is given to NAPABA members who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to NAPABA, the legal community, and the greater Asian Pacific American community.

Dale Ho | Director, ACLU Voting Rights Project

AFFILIATE OF THE YEAR AWARD

The NAPABA Affiliate of the Year Award recognizes outstanding NAPABA affiliates for their best practices and accomplishments in their local communities. 

Asian American Bar Association of New York

APA-OWNED LAW FIRM AWARD

The NAPABA APA-Owned Law Firm of the Year Award recognizes our membership’s law firms—solo, small, and large—that have achieved prominence and distinction, and have demonstrated a strong commitment to the Asian Pacific American community. The Award celebrates law practices that embrace the Asian Pacific American community while maintaining the highest ethical and legal standards in our profession. The Award also recognizes firms that have advanced the goals and ideals of NAPABA and Asian Pacific American legal advocacy groups.

Willenken LLP

LAW FIRM DIVERSITY AWARD

The NAPABA Law Firm Diversity Award honors law firms that actively, affirmatively, consistently, and enthusiastically recruit, retain, and promote Asian Pacific American lawyers to equity partnership and firm leadership. It celebrates law firm successes in recognizing the potential, supporting the promise, and raising the influence of Asian Pacific American lawyers.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

BEST UNDER 40

The NAPABA Best Lawyers Under 40 Award recognizes talented individuals within the Asian Pacific American legal community under the age of 40 who have achieved prominence and distinction in their fields of endeavor—be it the practice of law, academia, business, civic and charitable affairs, the judiciary, or politics—and who have demonstrated a strong commitment to Asian Pacific American civic or community affairs.

Vanessa E. Candelaria | Attorney, Law Offices of Vanessa Candelaria
Christina Chan | Assistant Attorney General, Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General
Nooree Lee | Associate, Covington & Burling LLP
Cindy Lin | Partner, King & Spalding LLP
Laurie Rose Lubiano | IP & Product Counsel, The Climate Corporation
Catherine Y. Lui | Partner, Orrick LLP
Jessica Nguyen | General Counsel, PayScale, Inc.
Marc A. Pilotin | Counsel, Wage and Hour/President, Filipino Bar Association of Northern California, Filipino Bar Association of Northern California
Sid Shenoy | Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP
Christopher Thana Sukhaphadhana | Senior Counsel, Intellectual Property, Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc.
Jerry Vattamala | Democracy Program Director, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Johnny Wang | Partner, Stinson LLP
Jovita T. Wang | Partner, Richardson Wright LLP
Bryant Y. Yang | Assistant U.S Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office
Bilal Zaheer | Partner, Fisher & Phillips LLP

MILITARY AND VETERAN SERVICE AWARD

The NAPABA Military and Veteran Service Award recognizes individuals within the Asian Pacific American legal community serving the United States Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, including Reserve and National Guard) as uniformed personnel or as civilians or as veterans of the Armed Forces whose outstanding achievements (1) greatly enhanced the mission of the Armed Forces; (2) contributed to the advancement of rights for service-members, their families, and/or veterans; or (3) furthered the administration of justice. The NAPABA Military and Veteran Service Award is meant to acknowledge APA attorneys who exhibit the highest integrity, competency and commitment to serving others, the APA community, and their country and whose character and commitment reflect the highest standards of the Armed Forces.

Captain Lia Mihoko Reynolds | Capt., JAGC, USN, Region Legal Service Office Hawaii Commanding Officer, United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corp Region Legal Service Office Hawaii.

PRO BONO AWARD

The NAPABA Pro Bono Award recognizes an attorney or a team of attorneys for outstanding achievements in pro bono service that (1) involved impact litigation to advance or protect civil rights or (2) provided direct legal services to individuals in the furtherance of the administration of justice.

Karen King | Counsel, Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP AWARD

The NAPABA Women’s Leadership Award recognizes the accomplishments of women lawyers and is presented to an individual who has achieved excellence in her field or who has demonstrated leadership and advancement of women or women’s issues. 

Debbie Leilani Shon | Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP

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Congratulations on a Successful First Pro Bono Legal Clinic in Brooklyn!

AABANY’s Pro Bono Committee organized and held its first ever Brooklyn Pro Bono Clinic was held on Thursday, September 26, 2019 at A Plus Academy located at 6802 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY and it was quite the successful event. With a total of 30 volunteers in attendance, including attorneys, interpreters and a benefits counselor, we were able to provide legal assistance and referrals to 27 clients from the New York community.

The Brooklyn Pro Bono Clinic has allowed AABANY’s Pro Bono Committee to service a new community in need of pro bono legal services and indicates our efforts to grow and expand these services to more New Yorkers in need. Clients local to Brooklyn were able to attend, but clients traveling from Queens and other surrounding areas also made the trip, with some clients stating that they traveled an hour or more just to receive the help they have been looking for.

The evening started off with a community presentation by AABANY’s Membership Director and GSPI Committee Co-Chair, Beatrice Leong, Esq. which focused on family law, specifically matrimonial & divorce law. The presentation alone provided the answers that one client needed. This client was able to leave the presentation knowing what their next steps were without needing any further legal assistance. The remaining 26 clients were all able to sit down with an attorney, and an interpreter when needed, for a consultation session to receive the legal help and resources they were seeking. Common legal issues at this clinic included family, immigration, and elder law matters.

In just a few years, our Manhattan clinic has assisted hundreds of low-income clients and the new Brooklyn clinic provides us the opportunity to grow those numbers and ensure that many more will be able to receive free legal advice and referrals to high-quality, culturally sensitive, and linguistically competent legal services. In order to continue to provide and expand our pro bono services to other New York communities in need, we continue to ask every member to actively support AABANY’s Pro Bono Clinics.

If you know family members, friends, colleagues or businesses, such as your firm, who would like to support the Pro Bono Clinics, please help us connect with them by contacting Karen Yau at [email protected]. Financial contributions can also be made directly by texting APAPROBONO to 443-21 to make a donation through Give Lively.

Thank you to our volunteers:

Lawyers:

Beatrice Leong
May Kay Wong
Michelle Yeung
Jen Rasay
Gina Kim
Chai Park
Francis Chin
Michelle DeSousa-Fiore
Kwok Kei Ng 
Zhixian Liu 
Pauline Yeung-Ha
Judy (Ming Chu) Lee
Karen Kithan Yau
Asako Aiba

Interpreters:

Ruth Poon
Wai Yee Chan
Shuping Deng
Xiaoxiao Pan
Guanlan Shen
Bo Hu
Meng Zhang
Steve Mei
Alex Hwang

Intake Coordinators/Interpreters:

Breanna Andree-Couturier
Henry Man
Jay Tang
Gary Chen
Xinyi Shen
Yuying Zhu

Benefits Counselor: 

John Colon, NY Connects

Special thanks to Co-Chairs, Pauline Yeung-Ha, Judy (Ming Chu) Lee, Karen Kithan Yau, and Asako Aiba, and Vice Chairs, Kwok Kei Ng and Zhixian (Jessie) Liu, for coordinating this clinic. Additionally, thank you to the various community leaders and organizations whose help made this clinic possible. 

AABANY’s Brooklyn Pro Bono Clinic is conducted in collaboration with: NYS Assemblyman, Peter J. Abbate Jr., NYS Senator, Andrew Gounardes, and NYC Councilman, Justin Brannan. Special thanks to our community sponsors: A+ Academy, Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), Chinese American Social Services Center (CASS), Homecrest Community Services, Academy of Medical & Public Health Services (AMPHS), Brooklyn Community Improvement Association (BCIA), Parent Child Relationship Association, and the United Chinese Association of Brooklyn (UCA). 

The Brooklyn Pro Bono Clinic will be a bi-monthly clinic occurring on the fourth Thursday of every other month, except for November which would be Thanksgiving Day. The next clinic will be held on Thursday, November 21, 2019 from 6:30 pm to 8:30pm. If you are interested in volunteering at future Pro Bono Clinics, please contact Asako Aiba at [email protected].

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AABANY September Membership Mixer

On September 25, 2019, the Academic, Military and Veterans and Membership Committees had a mixer at Atwood restaurant. Non-members learned about AABANY events and committees and how to join! To learn more about the Academic Committee, go to https://www.aabany.org/page/352. To learn more about the Military and Veteran Affairs Committee, go to https://www.aabany.org/page/444. If you are interested in becoming a Member, please sign up on https://www.aabany.org/page/510.

A big thanks to Shawn, owner of Atwood for being a gracious host, and Galvin, a photographer who took our picture!

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American Constitution Society – Writing Competitions and a Call for Papers

Call for Papers: Junior Scholars Public Law Workshop at AALS 2020

ACS is pleased to announce a call for papers for a workshop on public law to be held on Friday, January 3, 2020, in connection with the 2020 AALS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. Tenure-track and tenured faculty, or faculty with similar status, who have been full-time law teachers for 10 years or less are eligible to submit. Each of the 10 chosen authors will have the opportunity to discuss his/her paper in depth with another junior scholar and two experienced scholars from the ACS network, which includes Erwin Chemerinsky, Pamela Karlan, Bill Marshall, Reva Siegel, Mark Tushnet, and Adam Winkler, among others.

Deadline to Apply: 11:59 p.m. on October 18, 2019

Learn more about the Junior Scholars Public Law Workshop.

Richard D. Cudahy National Writing Competition On Regulatory and Administrative Law

This annual national writing competition honors the late Judge Cudahy’s contributions to the field of administrative law. The competition is open to all lawyers and law students and awards a prize in each category of $1,500.

Deadline to Apply: February 2, 2020, 11:59 PM 

Learn about submission criteria and eligibility for the Cudahy writing competition. 

Constance Baker Motley National Student Writing Competition On a Progressive Vision of the Constitution

This annual national student writing competition honoring Constance Baker Motley, a civil rights leader, elected official, and the first African American woman appointed to the federal bench.  The competition is open to all law students who are dues-paying ACS members and awards a $3,000 winning prize and two $1,000 runner-up prizes.

Deadline to Apply: February 9, 2020 

Learn about submission criteria and eligibility for the Constance Baker Motley writing competition.

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Press Release: NAPABA Applauds the Nominations of Patrick Bumatay to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Judge Steve Kim to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

For Immediate Release
August 29, 2019
For More Information, Contact:
Navdeep Singh, Policy Director
202-775-9555; [email protected]

WASHINGTON – President Trump announced the nominations of Patrick J. Bumatay to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Judge Steve Kim to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

“NAPABA congratulates Patrick Bumatay on his nomination to serve on the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit,” said NAPABA President Daniel Sakaguchi. “A career prosecutor, Mr. Bumatay is an experienced attorney who will bring his strong commitment to fairness and public service to the bench. We urge the Senate to swiftly consider his historic nomination and confirm him as the first Filipino American to serve as a federal appellate judge and the first openly gay judge on the Ninth Circuit.”

“NAPABA congratulates Judge Steve Kim on his nomination to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California,” continued Sakaguchi. “A current federal magistrate judge, he is recognized by his peers on the bench and in the bar for his leadership and commitment to the practice of law. We urge the Senate to swiftly consider his nomination and confirm him to the bench.”

Patrick J. Bumatay is an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California. He currently serves in the Office’s Appellate Section, representing the United States before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Bumatay has held numerous positions in public service throughout the Department of Justice, including the top three leadership offices. He clerked for Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and Judge Sandra L. Townes of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School. He is an active member of NAPABA, our affiliated bar—the National Filipino American Lawyers Association, and the Tom Homann LGBT Law Association.

Steve Kim is a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He presides over both criminal and civil matters. He was the Regional Managing Direct at Stroz Friedbarg, LLC, and is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division. He clerked for Judge Sidney R. Thomas on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and District Judge Stephen V. Wilson in the Central District of California. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, with special distinction, and Georgetown University Law Center, magna cum laude.

NAPABA commends President Trump for nominating Patrick Bumatay and Judge Steve Kim.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American (APA) 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 engages in legislative and policy advocacy, promotes APA political leadership and political appointments, and builds coalitions within the legal profession and the community at large. NAPABA also serves as a resource for government agencies, members of Congress, and public service organizations about APAs in the legal profession, civil rights, and diversity in the courts.

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

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AALDEF Theater Party – “Soft Power”

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund is excited to host its next theater party on Saturday, October 5, 2019.

Join AALDEF for a performance of “Soft Power,” the new musical by playwright David Henry Hwang, a 1987 AALDEF Justice in Action Award recipient, at the Public Theatre.

For AALDEF ticket holders, David will do a post-show talkback after the performance.

Soft Power is an exploration of America’s current place in the world, told through an East-West musical from China’s point of view, in which a theater producer from Shanghai forges a powerful bond with Hillary Clinton. SOFT POWER is a fever dream of modern American politics amidst global conversations, asking us all – why do we love democracy? And should we?” – Public Theatre

“Soft Power is based on a brilliant concept from which intelligent insights into race and culture naturally spring.” – The Hollywood Reporter

Join AALDEF for a special evening at the theater! Tickets are $90 and include the performance and post-show talkback. Call 212-966-5932 Ext. 208 to purchase your tickets today.

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AABANY Pro Bono Clinic Leaders Meet Taipei Commissioner of Law

On Tuesday, September 3, 2019, AABANY’s Pro Bono and Community Service Chair Karen Kithan Yau and Vice-Chair Kwok Ng had an opportunity to meet with the Commissioner of Law from Taipei City, Hsiu-Hui Yuan, and her staff in a meeting arranged by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of NY Inc., a  long-time community partner for the Monthly Pro Bono Legal Advice and Referral Clinic in Manhattan at Confucius Plaza. Commissioner Yuan and her team had expressed interest in learning from the AABANY Pro Bono Clinic’s experience to best meet the legal needs of the ordinary citizen. In addition to meeting with AABANY, Commissioner Yuan and her team will also met with Pro Bono Net, New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), and Office of Legal Policy for US Department of Justice.

Commissioner Yuan and her staff members asked Karen and Kwok, members of the Clinic’s leadership team, about the Clinic’s history, challenges, and successes in serving limited English proficient, low-income community members. The discussion was substantive and far-reaching, ranging from overcoming barriers to justice that community members experienced, to legal policies and mechanisms to encourage positive use of the law, effective distribution of legal resources, use of mediation to protect consumers, and ways to encourage more volunteerism among extraordinarily busy lawyers.

AABANY thanks the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of NY and Commissioner of Law Yuan of Taipei City for this wonderful opportunity to exchange information and experience. To read about the meeting in the World Journal, click here (in Chinese). To learn more about AABANY’s Pro Bono Clinic, go to https://www.aabany.org/page/648

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New CJA Panel Applications Being Accepted

The Criminal Justice Act Committee of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York is soliciting applications from highly qualified and experienced criminal defense attorneys for membership on the CJA Panel for the District.

Applications will be accepted from attorneys who are available for case assignments in either the Brooklyn or Central Islip Courthouses, or both. The Committee is also seeking applications from practitioners whose experience is uniquely suited to handling petitions for post-conviction relief.

Assignments to the Panel will be for a three-year period, beginning January 1, 2020.

Applications are available at the Clerk’s Offices at the Courthouses in Brooklyn and Central Islip. The form of the application has also been posted at the Court’s website at:

https://www.nyed.uscourts.gov/forms/cja-panel-application-form

Your application must be received by October 11, 2019. Please mail it to:

Douglas C. Palmer, Clerk of Court
United States District Court, Eastern District of New York
225 Cadman Plaza
East Brooklyn, NY 11201

Or submit via E-Mail at: [email protected]

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2019-20 NAPABA Board of Governors Election Results

NAPABA congratulates the newly-elected officers of the NAPABA Board of Governors for the 2019-20 board year. They will be sworn into office at the Welcome Reception on Thursday, Nov. 8 during the 2019 NAPABA Convention in Austin, TX.

The following individuals were elected by the NAPABA membership.

President-Elect | A.B. Cruz III

Vice President for Finance and Development | Bruce L. Ishimatsu

Vice President for Membership | Bridgett Y. Ahn

Vice President for Programs and Operations | Charles H. Jung

Vice President for Communications | Avanti Bakane

Treasurer | Gary Zhao

Secretary | Jeffrey Javinar

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Thank you to our September Pro Bono Clinic Volunteers!

September’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic, held on Wednesday, September 11 at 33 Bowery Street in Confucius Plaza, brought out 31 volunteers who volunteered their time to help 23 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 September Pro Bono Clinic Volunteers!

Lawyers: 

Yvetta Scott
Julia Elhai
Breanna Andree-Couturier
Kelly Diep
Anna Jinhua Wang
Mayumi Cindy Iijima
Bart Wu
Samantha Sumilang
Shengyang (John) Wu
Annie Tsao
Beatrice Leong
Kevin Hsi
Jonathan Li
Christopher Chin
Karen Lin
Jonathan Hernandez
Francis Chin

Interpreters: 

Henry Man
Vivian Chen
Teresa Wai Yee Yeung
Alicia Chen
Weixi He
Xiaoxiao Pan
Ruth Poon

Special thanks to Coordinator Johnny Thach, Coordinator Jenny Lam, Technology Coordinator Roger Chen, Vice Chair Kwok Kei Ng, and Vice Chair Zhixian Liu for coordinating the clinic, and the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee Co-Chairs Pauline Yeung-Ha, Karen Kithan Yau, Asako Aiba, and Judy Lee for their leadership. AABANY’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic occurs every second Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. The next clinic will take place on October 9, 2019. If you are interested in volunteering at future Pro Bono Clinics, please contact Asako Aiba at [email protected].

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