February 19, 2021 - WE Blog @ AABANY

February 19, 2021February 19, 2021

In the News: AABANY and Paul, Weiss’ Report on Anti-Asian Violence Receives Widespread Press Attention

On February 11, AABANY held a press conference to discuss the release of its report co-authored with Paul, Weiss, A Rising Tide of Hate and Violence against Asian Americans in New York During COVID-19: Impact, Causes, Solutions. Since the report’s release, news media across the country and around the world have summarized and cited its findings.

Here are some news stories that discuss the report:

“Study Shows Rise of Hate Crimes, Violence Against Asian Americans During the Pandemic” By Zijia Eleanor Song and Jennifer Vázquez, February 11, 2021, NBC New York, https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/study-shows-rise-of-hate-crimes-violence-against-asian-americans-in-nyc-during-covid/2883215/

“지난해 뉴욕 아시안 대상 혐오·폭력 사건 급증” By Shim Jongmin, February 12, 2021, The Korea Daily, http://www.koreadaily.com/news/read.asp?art_id=9086440

“Greater Asian-American representation in leadership ranks needed to stem hate crimes in the US, says report” By Mark Magnier and Owen Churchill, February 12, 2021, South China Morning Post, https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3121518/greater-asian-american-representation-leadership-ranks-needed-stem-hate

“歧視亞裔紐約市全美第2多亞裔律師協會籲政府採取行動” By 顏潔恩, February 13, 2021, World Journal, https://www.worldjournal.com/wj/story/121381/5249694

“【武漢肺炎】紐約巿針對亞裔仇恨罪案大增7倍　分析指受害人不願報案問題被低估” February 13, 2021, Apple Daily, https://tw.appledaily.com/international/20210213/SRL5UCFZUZBJXAEQOKN42SY6I4/

“Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Anti-Asian Violence Spikes Across the U.S.” February 15, 2021, NPR The Takeaway, https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/takeaway/segments/amid-covid-19-pandemic-anti-asian-violence-spikes-across-us

“NY Bar Group Tackles Pandemic-Fueled Anti-Asian Crimes” By Marco Poggio, February 16, 2021, Law360, https://www.law360.com/pulse/articles/1354591 (subscription required)

Here are some news stories about recent incidents of anti-Asian violence, where they mention AABANY’s report:

“Anti-Asian Hate Crime Surge Fuels Demands for Systemic and Sensitive Responses” By Christine Chung, February 11, 2021, The City, https://www.thecity.nyc/2021/2/11/22279407/anti-asian-hate-crime-surge-fuels-demands-for-systemic-and-sensitive-responses

“Remember, Racism Isn’t Just Black And White. Anti Asian Racism Is On the Rise in the Pandemic Era” By Eric Hinton, February 11, 2021, NBC 5 Dallas Fort-Worth, https://www.nbcdfw.com/lx/remember-racism-isnt-just-black-and-white-anti-asian-racism-is-on-the-rise-in-the-pandemic-era/2549631/

“VP Harris responds to surge in violent attacks against Asian Americans” By Hannah Miao, February 12, 2021, CNBC, https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/12/vp-harris-responds-to-surge-in-violent-attacks-against-asian-americans.html

“38 Ways to Donate in Support of Asian Communities” By The Editors, February 12, 2021, New York Magazine (The Strategist), https://nymag.com/strategist/article/where-to-donate-to-help-asian-communities-2021.html

“大门涂粪诅咒！华人幼儿园遭种族仇恨攻击！暴力升级，全美亚裔吁政府采取行动！” By 新西兰中文先驱网, February 15, 2021, Chinese Herald, https://www.chineseherald.co.nz/news/education/racial-hate/

“Hundreds of volunteers are escorting elderly Asian Americans to keep them safe” By Austa Somvichian-Clausen, February 16, 2021, The Hill Changing America, https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/539083-attacks-on-elderly-asian-americans-cause-advocates-to-stand

The report has also made the news on WNYC-FM and MSNBC. If you have come across a news report or article about our report that is not listed above, please let us know at [email protected].

More public awareness about our report and the rise in anti-Asian violence is needed. Please share our report widely. If you have ideas or thoughts about how we can combat anti-Asian violence, please share them with us at [email protected].

February 19, 2021February 22, 2021

AABANY is Proud to Launch The Whole Lawyer Podcast, Hosted by Jane Jeong

AABANY is proud to launch its official podcast series, The Whole Lawyer Project, hosted by Jane Jeong, which showcases Asian American attorneys and leaders throughout the nation and the human stories behind their success.

For Jane, learning about the human stories — and sacrifices — behind our external success is a personal passion and mission. As a member of AABANY’s Young Lawyers Committee, Jane previously wrote about her pursuit of wellness in the legal profession on the AABANY blog, where she published The Ten Tips Our Asian Parents Never Told Us, Upside Down, and The (COVID) Days of Our Lives.

Most recently, Jane shared her story with Law360, in an article entitled The Pursuit Of Wellness In BigLaw: Lessons From My Journey (subscription required). In a heartfelt account, Jane opened up about mental health and wellness issues in Big Law — including her personal experiences with the pressures of the industry, the costs of perfectionism, reaching an emotional breaking point and, as a potential blueprint for others, how she has set boundaries and made changes to her daily routine to take care of herself. “I conflated sacrifice with success and exhaustion with excellence. I just continued to reach and reach — demanding that I become the perfect attorney I knew I was not, waiting for the day I could finally stop acting and just be,” she writes.

Together with Jane, AABANY is proud to further explore the human side of lawyering in The Whole Lawyer Project. The inaugural episodes of the podcast, which feature immediate past AABANY President Brian Song and AboveTheLaw Founder, David Lat, can be found under the tab for The Whole Lawyer Project on the AABANY blog. It can also be found on Spotify and iTunes. For anyone hoping to gain further insight into the human stories behind our external success, it is well worth a listen.

February 19, 2021February 19, 2021

AABANY Welcomes Professor Carol Izumi and President Frank H. Wu to New York

AABANY’s Academic Committee hosted a reception on February 17 to welcome Professor Carol Izumi, Clinical Professor of Law, UC Hastings College of Law, and Professor of Clinical Law, Emerita, George Washington University Law School, and President Frank H. Wu, President of Queens College, The City University of New York (CUNY) to New York City. Attendees included law professors calling in from the midwest, northeast, New York, southwest, and west coast. Professor Izumi joined in from San Francisco.

President Wu kicked off the reception by asking two icebreaker questions: 1) Where are you from (literally, figuratively, or however the attendee wanted to interpret the question)? and 2) What new skill or activity did you take up during the pandemic? Special guests, Frank Wu and Carol Izumi, indicated they came from the midwest originally, but have both traveled around the country due to their academic careers. President Wu’s new activity he started was cooking with a donabe, a Japanese clay pot, and Professor Izumi started a virtual mediation clinic during quarantine. Attendees continued taking turns sharing their responses to the icebreakers.

Elaine Chiu, Academic Committee Co-Chair and Professor of Law at St. John’s University, concluded the reception by remarking that “Carol and Frank together have accomplished so much and are also very accomplished as individual giants. They were shining lights inspiring many to join as clinicians and as doctrinal professors and eventually to become deans too.”

Thank you to the Academic Committee co-chairs Elaine Chiu, James Cho, Suzanne Kim, and Donna Lee who were all in attendance, for organizing this reception. AABANY is pleased to welcome President Frank H. Wu and Professor Carol Izumi to New York.

Join AABANY in honoring President Frank H. Wu with the AABANY Impact Award at the Virtual Gala on February 24, 2021. Everyone is invited to celebrate with us! To watch the livestream, visit https://www.aabany.org/events/event_details.asp?legacy=1&id=1452739 for more details.

February 19, 2021February 19, 2021

AABANY Student Outreach and Bankruptcy Committees Co-Hosted Successful “What Do Bankruptcy Lawyers Do?” Panel on February 11

The Student Outreach and Bankruptcy Committees co-hosted a panel titled “What Do Bankruptcy Lawyers Do?” on February 11, 2021 as part of the SOC’s Students Meet Mentors series. William Lee, Associate at Alston & Bird, moderated the panel and speakers included William Hao, Counsel at Alston & Bird; Jessica Liou, Partner at Weil; Charlie Liu, Associate at Morgan Lewis; and Geoffrey Williams, Associate at Alston & Bird. The panel provided law student attendees an opportunity to learn about the bankruptcy and restructuring practice area and what being a bankruptcy attorney entails.

William Lee began the event by asking panelists to give an introduction of what bankruptcy and restructuring is. Panelists described bankruptcy as a tool companies are given to reorganize themselves and remove liability pre-bankruptcy. Restructuring encompasses a wide spectrum of processes available to companies, such as filing for court protection, financial restructuring, and operational restructuring. William Hao summarized chapters 7, 11, and 13, the three most common processes used by bankruptcy lawyers.

Next, panelists were asked to describe their experiences working as a bankruptcy and/or restructuring lawyer. Jessica Liou stated that bankruptcy and restructuring is flexible and described it as a hybrid between litigation and transactional work. Some lawyers work in the bankruptcy-litigation niche, while others take the transactional route. When asked what type of student would fit the mold of a bankruptcy lawyer, panelists answered that it would be someone who is interested in a variety of things. Not only can a bankruptcy case be quick-paced, but a bankruptcy lawyer also gets to work with different groups in the firm, such as the tax group, executive compensation group, or litigation group. No two bankruptcy cases are the same, so a bankruptcy lawyer must be willing to do and understand many different things. Jessica Liou also shared how it is extremely rewarding to be a restructuring lawyer as she helps save jobs and helps companies get a second chance.

The panel concluded with tips and recommendations to students who may be interested in getting involved in the bankruptcy and restructuring practice area. Panelists suggested that students should look for opportunities to get exposure to bankruptcy. These include trying an internship or bankruptcy judicial clerkship, taking a bankruptcy course, talking to bankruptcy lawyers, or participating in the Duberstein Moot Court competition.

Thank you to the Student Outreach Committee and the Commercial Bankruptcy and Restructuring Committee for organizing this informative panel. And thank you to William Lee for moderating and to William Hao, Jessica Liou, Charlie Liu, and Geoffrey Williams for volunteering their time and sharing their experiences. To learn more about the Commercial Bankruptcy and Restructuring Committee, go to https://www.aabany.org/page/353. To learn more about the Student Outreach Committee, go to https://www.aabany.org/page/121.