October 2021 - WE Blog @ AABANY

October 25, 2021October 25, 2021

Thank You for Joining AABANY for Our 2021 Fall Conference

AABANY’s twelfth annual Fall Conference, with the theme “Uniting for Justice and Equity,” took place on Oct. 22 and 23. We started on Friday afternoon, Oct. 22, with the GC Roundtable: The Evolving Role of General Counsels in Promoting Justice & DE&I in the Workplace, which ran concurrently with Pro Bono Crisis Lawyering: Challenges and Lessons Learned. After these two programs concluded, we held our Reception and Norman Lau Kee Trailblazer Award Presentation in person at King & Spalding, in hybrid format, with some attendees joining in person and others online via Remo. Those in attendance at King & Spalding got to meet and mingle in person with AABANY Board members and Committee Chairs, as well as the Trailblazer Award honoree Glenn Lau-Kee. To learn more about Glenn Lau-Kee and the Trailblazer Award, please see: https://conference2021.aabany.org/trailblazer/

Saturday kicked off with two concurrent programs, Fighting for Housing and Community Justice: The Role of Lawyers in the Movement and Measuring, Reporting and Improving Outside Counsel Diversity, followed by two more concurrent programs, Virtual Chat With Hon. Stacey L. Meisel, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, D.N.J. and Achieving Justice and Equity Through Litigation. The Plenary Session, The Rising Tide of Anti-Asian Hate & Violence: Where Are We Now?, closed the Fall Conference.

We thank all the Program Chairs, Moderators, and Speakers for putting on important CLE programs on timely subjects that strongly reflected the Conference theme. We also thank our sponsors:

Gold

Broadridge
White & Case LLP

Bronze

New York State Bar Association Business Law Section

Finally, we thank everyone who joined us Friday afternoon and evening, and then again on Saturday morning into the early afternoon. We are processing your CLE certificates now and you should be receiving them soon. If you have any questions about CLE credits, please contact [email protected]. If you have any questions or comments about the Conference, please contact [email protected].

October 22, 2021October 22, 2021

In the News: AABANY Member Lina Lee Comments on Hurricane Ida Basement-Flooding Deaths

In early September, Hurricane Ida made landfall in New York City and left countless individuals to suffer the aftermath of flooded basements. A closer look into the eleven basement-flooding deaths reveals that a majority of them were Asian residents. A number of factors played into this tragedy including a lack of affordable housing, climate change, and pandemic change. These issues are prominent among low-income Asian immigrants who resort to illegal basement apartments that are deemed to have unsafe living conditions.

“Realistically, a lot of these tenants would have family members, many who are clustered into very, very small rooms,” said Lina Lee, executive director of housing justice nonprofit organization Communities Resist. “When you have these natural disasters, there’s obviously going to be really a life-and-death situation, and when you have very limited or no access to leave your living space, these families really had no way out.”

Lee continues, “They cluster in small communities where they are able to access people who speak the same language, who are from the same culture and are living in the same conditions that they have to live in. For them, they have nowhere else to live with, except those small pockets in Queens.”

Punishing tenants is not an ideal solution. Lee said reporting landlords for housing violations enforces building codes which could prompt agencies to issue a vacate order and inadvertently force a tenant to move out.The Mayor proposes an emergency warning system for basement-dwellers but the victims’ families are not convinced.

To read the full NBC News article, click here.

Lina Lee will also be the moderator for a program titled “Fighting for Housing And Community Justice: The Role of Lawyers In The Movement” at AABANY’s Fall Conference on Saturday, October 23. Click here for more information.

October 22, 2021October 22, 2021

Don Liu Featured on Ascend Leadership’s #TheOtherSide

Ascend Leadership, one of the largest professional membership organizations that represent the interests of Asian American/Pacific Islander professionals within North America, has featured Don Liu in its #TheOtherSide campaign.

Don Liu currently serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Legal and Risk Officer at Target Corporation. Despite his notable successes, Mr. Liu’s career path demonstrates the prevalence of discrimination in Asian American professional life.

Don, a graduate of Columbia Law School, was one of many Asian American business and professional leaders invited to discuss their perspectives on Asian Americans and the workplace as part of Ascend Leadership’s #TheOtherSide campaign. Mr. Liu reflected on his encounters with racial stereotyping during his extensive and distinguished legal career.

In his first year of practice, Mr. Liu was exposed to others’ characterization of him as the “stereotyped Asian American worker bee.” He was assigned to work on a large case simply because of the false impression that he “would never miss a typo.”

“I guess I should be thankful, but on the other hand, that’s so unlike me,” Mr. Liu notes. “I’m a big thinker, strategic thinker. I think that’s my strength. I was not going to wind up being that stereotyped Asian American worker bee.”

To watch Don Liu’s interview for the #TheOtherSide campaign, click here.

To learn more about the #TheOtherSide campaign, click here.

To help ensure that future leaders in the legal profession do not succumb to the same stereotyping that Don faced, two Past Presidents of AABANY, Jean Lee and Mike Huang, founded the Don H. Liu Scholars Program in 2014. The Program seeks to identify, cultivate and inspire future Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) leaders within the legal profession to address the single most important reality facing AAPI professionals today: the barrier to advancement.

To support emerging AAPI leaders, the Program continues to award each of three Scholars a financial scholarship of $15,000. The Scholars also receive mentorship and assistance with their career development from leading AAPI lawyers from across AABANY’s network.
The deadline for consideration for the 2021 Don H. Liu Scholarship is November 15, 2021. For more information as well as application information, click here.

October 11, 2021October 11, 2021

From Asian American Studies Center and Program at Hunter College: “Arts and Activism: Reflections from Curtis Chin and Bino Realuyo” on October 20th

Between the AIDS crisis, attacks on the National Endowment for the
Arts, and the Miss Saigon controversy, artists and activists in the
early ’90s needed to find new ways to build solidarity and counter
invisibility. Founded in 1991, the Asian American Writers Workshop
(AAWW) was a product of these times.

Join a discussion with two of the organization’s co-founders – Curtis
Chin, award-winning writer and documentary filmmaker, and
acclaimed novelist Bino Realuyo – and learn how the AAWW built the
foundation from its roots. The discussion will be moderated by
Vivian Louie, Director of the Asian American Studies Center and
Program at Hunter College and Professor of Urban Policy and
Planning.

RSVP WITH THE LINK BELOW
bit.ly/aas1020
Co-sponsored by Hunter College’s English Dept., Sociology Dept., and
The Urban Policy & Planning Dept.

October 11, 2021October 11, 2021

Apply for EDNY Federal Judicial Internship with Hon. Dora L. Irizarry

The Honorable Dora L. Irizarry, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, currently is accepting applications for Spring 2022 Internships.

Qualifications

Must be a second or third year law student.
Must have good grades.
Must have good research, writing, and analytical skills, although participation in Law Review or a Journal is not a prerequisite.
Military and/or other life/career experience is a plus.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, interested law students should forward their application package in PDF format via email to [email protected].

One-page cover letter briefly describing your background, why you are interested in a legal career and setting forth why you are interested in interning for Judge Irizarry specifically.
Resume
Law school transcript. Self-prepared transcripts will not be accepted.
One recent writing sample no longer than 10 pages. Journal or research articles will not be accepted.
A list of 2-3 references with their contact information. Reference letters preferably should be included with the submitted package, but also may be sent to chambers at the chambers email address above and not directly to the Judge.

The deadline for receipt of materials is November 1, 2021.

Please note that, while these are not paid internships, the Judge will participate in any appropriate sponsored program that provides academic credit or stipends for interns.

If you have further questions, please contact chambers at: 718-613-2150.

October 11, 2021October 11, 2021

NAPABA Receives Grant from American Arbitration Association’s International Centre for Dispute Resolution Foundation to Combat Anti-Asian Bullying in Schools

In recognition of October as National Bullying Prevention month, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is proud to announce that the American Arbitration Association’s International Centre for Dispute Resolution (AAA-ICDR) Foundation has awarded it grant funding under its Rapid Response Fund which focuses on conflict-resolution initiatives helping Asian American/Pacific Islander communities combat the surge in anti-Asian hate across the United States.

“NAPABA is grateful to the AAA-ICDR Foundation for its generous support on this critical project,” said A.B. Cruz III, president of NAPABA. “With thousands of cases of anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents—and seemingly no end in sight—we must do all we can to protect the most vulnerable victims of hate—children, and stand up for them harnessing the power of our nationwide network of affiliates as trained advocates.”

The award, made through the NAPABA Law Foundation, will be used, in part, to develop a toolkit to combat COVID-19-driven anti-Asian bullying in schools as well as for other anti-bullying advocacy efforts. The toolkit will seek to equip and train NAPABA affiliates on legal and non-legal responses alike and provide best practices on how to interact with school officials. The toolkit is aimed at educating not only NAPABA lawyers on conducting best advocacy practices, but also to help families, students, educators, and communities understand the availability of remedies including appropriate alternative dispute resolution approaches to addressing anti-Asian bullying. For more on the AAA-ICDR Foundation and its Rapid Response efforts to combat the surge in anti-Asian hate, please visit here.

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting APA communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.

October 8, 2021October 8, 2021

AABANY Rooftop Picnic on Oct. 2

On October 2, AABANY members and their friends gathered at the rooftop of One Union Square South for a BBQ event co-sponsored by the Young Lawyers Committee and the Litigation Committee. The BBQ was held in lieu of the annual AABANY Picnic that was canceled earlier in the year due to inclement weather warnings. Luckily, the weather was sunny and breezy during the entire BBQ event, which ran from 12 PM to 3 PM, and everyone attending had a great time catching up and connecting, some of them meeting each other for the first time after only seeing each other over Zoom during the pandemic.

It was the first in-person gathering hosted by the Young Lawyers Committee in 2021. Although the event size was capped at 30 persons, the intimate size of the event allowed for all attendees to meet and connect with one another as they enjoyed a beautiful day grilling and enjoying an assortment of food and desserts.

Special thanks to the Young Lawyers Committee, and the co-chairs, Jane Jeong, Sheila Shen, and Janet Jun, for planning and organizing this event. Thanks also to the Litigation Committee for co-sponsoring the event. Both committees thank everyone for coming and spending part of their Saturday with AABANY at the rooftop BBQ, which was a wonderful reminder of the tremendous value of in-person bonding and building relationships. The Young Lawyers Committee is working to host additional small in-person events throughout the year. To learn more about the Young Lawyers Committee, click here. To learn more about the Litigation Committee, click here.

October 6, 2021October 6, 2021

NAPABA Applauds the Historic Judicial Nominations of John H. Chun, Dale E. Ho, Jinsook Ohta, and Loren L. AliKhan

WASHINGTON – On September 30, 2021, the White House announced its eighth slate of judicial nominees to serve on the Federal and Washington, D.C. benches, with four Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) candidates including several with strong ties to the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). President Biden has nominated: Judge John H. Chun to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington; Dale E. Ho to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York; Judge Jinsook Ohta to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California; and Loren L. AliKhan to serve on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

“NAPABA offers its congratulations to Judge Chun, Dale Ho, Judge Ohta, and Loren AliKhan on their nominations,” said A.B. Cruz III, president of NAPABA. “We applaud President Biden for putting forth a strong and historic slate of highly qualified AAPI candidates and for continuing to broaden the diversity of backgrounds and professional experiences to the bench. We urge the Senate to swiftly confirm them.”

Judge John H. Chun
Judge John H. Chun currently sits as a Judge on the Washington State Court of Appeals in Seattle, Washington, after previously serving as a judge on the King County Superior Court from 2014-2018. If confirmed, Judge Chun would be the first AAPI man to preside in the Western District of Washington. He has been recognized as a top Washington “Super Lawyer.” Judge Chun previously served as the President of the Korean American Bar Association of Washington and is also a member of the Asian Bar Association of Washington and NAPABA. He previously clerked for the Hon. Eugene A. Wright on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Judge Chun is a graduate of Columbia University and Cornell Law School.

Dale E. Ho
Dale E. Ho currently serves as director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) Voting Rights Project and supervises the ACLU’s voting rights litigation across the country. Notably, Ho has argued two crucial cases before the Supreme Court challenging the inclusion of a citizenship question on the 2020 Census and the exclusion of undocumented immigrants from the population count to determine apportionment for the House of Representatives. If confirmed, Ho would be the only active AAPI judge in the district. In 2019, Ho was the recipient of the NAPABA President’s Award and in 2017, was named one of the best Asian American Lawyers Under 40 by NAPABA. He is endorsed by the Asian American Bar Association of New York. Ho previously clerked for the Hon. Barbara Jones on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and Judge Robert S. Smith of the New York Court of Appeals. He is a graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School.

Judge Jinsook Ohta
Judge Jinsook Ohta currently sits as a judge on the California Superior Court in San Diego. Previously Judge Ohta served as a Supervising Deputy Attorney General with the California Attorney General’s Office. If confirmed, she would be the first AAPI female judge to preside in the Southern District of California. Judge Ohta is a member of NAPABA and the Korean American Bar Association of San Diego. Judge Ohta previously clerked for the Hon. Barry Ted Moskowitz on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. She is a graduate of Yale University and the New York University School of Law.

Loren L. AliKhan
Loren L. AliKhan currently serves as the Solicitor General of the District of Columbia where she directs the District’s appellate litigation and has overseen more than 1,800 appeals before the D.C. Court of Appeals, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. If confirmed, AliKhan would be the first AAPI judge to sit on the D.C. Court of Appeals. She is endorsed by the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington DC Region. Alikhan has been recognized with the Public Sector Trailblazer Award by the South Asian Bar Association of Washington D.C., and previously clerked for the Hon. Thomas L. Ambro on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the Hon. Louis Pollack on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. AliKhan is a graduate of Bard College at Simon’s Rock and the Georgetown University Law Center.

NAPABA thanks Senators Schumer and Gillibrand of New York, Senators Feinstein and Padilla of California, Senators Murray and Cantwell of Washington, and Delegate Norton of Washington D.C. for their support of these nominees.

###

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting APA communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.

October 5, 2021October 5, 2021

Register for the 2021 NAPABA Convention: One Spectacular Convention, Two Ways to Participate

October 5, 2021October 5, 2021

AABANY Members: Apply for The New York County Lawyers Association and Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission’s Special Masters Program

On September 22nd, 2021, The New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA) published a press release announcing its relaunching of the Special Masters Program. A team effort among NYCLA, the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission, and the Unified Court System, the relaunched Special Masters Program aims at “offering a pipeline for attorneys of color, as well as underrepresented communities to volunteer in the courts and to inspire them to become part of the court system.” The hope of this program is to “increase the representation of attorneys of color in the New York State Court System.” Vincent T. Chang, former President of AABANY (2007) and now the current NYCLA President, expressed his support and praise for this new program, and stated that he is “confident that the relaunched Special Masters Program will improve opportunities for underrepresented communities to play a greater role in the courts” and that the program will “highlight the skills of attorneys who have been historically less represented in our community.” Through this unique program, Special Masters will have the opportunity to train through NYCLA’s CLE Institute, work closely with Justices within the Supreme Court, Civil Term in New York County, as well as assist judges, conduct legal research, and draft memorandums of law advising the Court on legal issues.

To learn more about the Special Master’s Program, requirements and frequently asked questions, please click here to visit NYCLA’S website.

Application Instructions: To apply to the program, please submit your resume and a one-page letter indicating why you are interested in serving as a Special Master and how you are qualified for the role. Please email the documents to the attention of L. Austin D’Souza, the Special Masters Coordinator at [email protected] by Wednesday, November 10, 2021 at 5pm.