Join AABANY for the 2020 Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF43)

AABANY will be a community partner for two film screenings for the 2020 Asian American International Film Festival this fall. These two film screenings include:

Aswang (Dir. Alyx Ayn Arumpac)

This film is geoblocked to the USA.

Since President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016 and announced his campaign to rid the Philippines of drug addicts and dealers, as many as 20,000 Filipinos have been murdered. ASWANG confronts these executions and their devastating aftermath.

Coded Bias (Dir. Shalini Kantayya)

CODED BIAS explores the fallout of MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini’s startling discovery that facial recognition does not see dark-skinned faces and women accurately and her push for legislative protection against biased AI.


This year, the festival is entirely online; you can watch from home with an internet connection. Each film or event will have a link to purchase your tickets. After you purchase, you will receive an email with a link to view the film. You may purchase anytime within the dates of our festival (October 1 to October 11, 2020). For more information and FAQs, please visit the “How to Festival” section of their website.

Please click the links above to purchase tickets and learn more about the films. AABANY members will receive a 20% discount code to all festival screenings once they register for the event on the AABANY website.

Click here to register for “Aswang” on the AABANY website.
Click here to register for “Coded Bias” on the AABANY website.

For more information on the AAIFF, please click here.

Take the Pledge to Stamp Out Racism!: A Message from NAPABA

Greetings,

Equal justice before the law is not a political issue. It is a constitutional right—one that lawyers pledge to protect when admitted to the bar.

Today, NAPABA is asking you to take another pledge. We ask you to pledge, as a lawyer, that you will challenge the racial discrimination that exists within our justice system.

As Asian Americans, we must stand in solidarity with the Black community. Collectively, we are a powerful force and we must demand change and address deeply rooted racism in our society. We must work to create trust and fairness in our legal system by addressing systemic bias in the law to safeguard civil rights, civil liberties, and justice for all individuals regardless of race, ethnicity, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious background, or immigration status.  

Join us as we pledge to speak out against racism, advocate for change, and persevere in these efforts.

We all took an oath. Let us become a living testament to the principles we vowed to uphold.

Sincerely,
Bonnie Lee Wolf
President, NAPABA

Seal Your Pledge with a Donation to Equal Justice Initiative

Taking action today will help solidify your resolve to become an advocate for change. Your contribution enables Equal Justice Initiative to provide pro bono services and conduct research that steers policymakers toward ensuring a more just society.

AABANY Congratulates Libin Zhang on Getting Published in the New York Law Journal

Libin Zhang, Partner at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver, & Jacobson in New York

The Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) congratulates Tax Committee Co-Chair Libin Zhang on his recent law review article about the proposed Pied-à-Terre tax impact on Real Estate in the New York Law Journal.

The article begins as follows:

It is no secret that the coronavirus pandemic has reduced New York City’s government revenues: sales taxes are down due to a decline in retail sales, there is less use of public transportation, and some individuals have moved out of the city. But as the late 20th century American proverb goes, in every crisis there is opportunity. A revised “pied-à-terre tax” has been introduced in both chambers of the New York State Legislature, which would create an annual property tax of up to 13.5% on certain residential properties with assessed values of $300,000 or more.

Although the latest pied-à-terre tax proposal is an improvement on prior versions, for example by no longer imposing the tax on most rental properties, some issues and questions remain.  The tax, if enacted, may affect New York City real estate.

To read the full article, click here (subscription required).

NAPABA Announces 2020-21 Board of Governors

NAPABA is proud to announce the 2020-21 Board of Governors —comprised of officers, directors, regional governors, and at-large board members. NAPABA is committed to having a best-in-class governing board that reflects the diverse Asian Pacific American legal community and has the right blend of skill, expertise, community connections, and diverse perspectives as a whole. Tune in and congratulate the NAPABA Board as they are sworn in at the Gala on Saturday, Nov. 7 during the 2020 NAPABA Convention | Virtual Experience.

AABANY congratulates our Board member, David Sohn, and member, Anna Mercado Clark, on their joining the NAPABA Board of Governors. 


Executive Committee

President
A.B. Cruz III I San Antonio, TX

President-Elect
Sidney Kanazawa I Los Angeles, CA

Treasurer
Hogene Choi I Palo Alto, CA

Secretary
Judy M. Lam I Los Angeles, CA

Immediate Past President
Bonnie Lee Wolf I Columbus, OH

Directors
Director
Jim Goh I Denver, CO

Director
Marty Lorenzo I San Diego, CA

Director
Philip Nulud I Los Angeles, CA

Director
Brendan Wong I Toronto, Canada

Regional Governors
Central Regional Governor
Johnny Wang I St. Louis, MO

Central California Regional Governor
Christopher Sukhaphadhana I Tempe, AZ

Eastern California/Nevada Regional Governor
Gino Barrica I Sacramento, CA

Northeast Regional Governor
Anna Mercardo Clark I New York, NY

Northeast Regional Governor
David Sohn I New York, NY

Northern California Regional Governor
Mark Punzalan I San Francisco, CA

Northwest Regional Governor
Elaine Pascua I Seattle, WA 

Southeast Regional Governor
Christine D. Han I Washington, DC

Southern California Regional Governor
Denise Crawford I Santa Ana, CA 

Southwest Regional Governor
Lance Ream I Denver, CO

At-Large Board Members
At-Large Board Member
Sanjeev Bhaskar I Charlotte, NC

At-Large Board Member
Angela Lim I San Francisco, CA

At-Large Board Member
Peter Sabido I Portland, OR

At-Large Board Member
Jennifer Won I Los Angeles, CA