AABANY Co-Sponsors: Talking with Trailblazers

On February 3, AABANY co-sponsored the SDNY Chapter of the Federal Bar Association’s third edition of the Talking with Trailblazers series. The series presents conversations with legal professionals who were the first to break representational ceilings in their field. The February 3 edition featured the first Federal judges of Asian descent in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. The panelists, all AABANY members, were: 

  • Hon. Ona T. Wang, the first Asian-American Magistrate Judge in the SDNY.
  • Hon. Diane Gujarati (EDNY), the first Indian-American to serve as an Article III judge in New York.
  • Hon. Sanket Bulsara (EDNY), the first Indian-American judge within the Second Circuit. 

Attendees were welcomed to join both in-person at the offices of Dunnington Bartholow & Miller in midtown Manhattan and on Zoom. All three judges were present in person, surrounded by an audience of lawyers and law students. The moderator was Padmaja Chinta, who is a partner at Chinta & Fratangelo LLP and the SDNY Chapter’s Chief Diversity Officer.

The panelists discussed a variety of subjects, from how they started their careers to the impact of mentorship. The judges had joined the legal industry from unexpected backgrounds. For example, prior to attending law school, Judge Wang had first obtained a Ph.D. in Zoology from Duke University. The judges also discussed the challenges they faced climbing the upper rungs of their careers. Finally, the conversation closed with a reflection on how the judges’ experiences shape their philosophies and practices on the bench. 

Following the moderated panel, attendees both in-person and virtual were eager to ask questions. The event was expected to end at 7:00 pm, but due to the number of questions and the liveliness of the discussion, it did not formally end until 7:30 pm. At closing, in-person attendees also took the opportunity to meet the judges and members of the SDNY Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.

Thanks to Judge Wang, Judge Gujarati, and Judge Bulsara for sharing their stories and their insights. Thanks also to the Federal Bar Association’s SDNY Chapter for organizing this series and including AABANY as a co-sponsor.

AABANY Launches Oral History Project with “How to Conduct a Journalistic Interview” Training

AABANY is starting a project that records the stories and memories of its founders and early members. Its goals are to help connect AABANY members across generations, generate research about the history and experience of Asian American lawyers, help younger lawyers and law students develop interviewing skills, and create shareable content. The project aims to post one story per day during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month on AABANY’s social media and have recordings for the AABANY Youtube Channel, presented in “Humans of New York” style of storytelling. 

The project kicked off on February 16th with a training on how to conduct a journalistic interview. Led by former journalist and current attorney Stephen Lee, the virtual training gave pointers on how to capture stories that will resonate with people. 

The training opened with examples of digital storytelling through Stephen’s online initiative, Our APA Heritage. Stephen launched Our APA Heritage to help share the history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The website provides resources on how to gather and create visual content. Stephen also shows examples through memories collected from his own family members. 

To help AABANY document its history, Stephen shared the following tips to conducting a good journalistic interview: 

  1. Research beforehand to understand the context
  2. Prepare an outline, not a script 
  3. Ask specific questions 
  4. Make your subject comfortable; for example, the interviewer could share something about herself to establish rapport 
  5. Do not talk over pauses or break silences during the interview 
  6. Listen actively
  7. Ask follow-up questions, especially to clarify details 

To view the recorded webinar, please visit: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/xfycajTu4Y-D747nhp54m2oAxvLOG9_EgF1jJmQVZueIqRLh-RJsnO5q-RUYO5s.ht0Ph6-1MuWoQbje

Thank you to Stephen Lee, the Membership Committee and the Intellectual Property Committee for putting this event together. If you are interested in participating in this project, please fill out this Google Form: https://forms.gle/WeGB3ZRw8aoh6JdP6

AABANY Co-Sponsors Asian Financial Society’s 2022 Women Leadership Panel

On February 24, AABANY co-sponsored a hybrid Women’s Leadership panel, together with the Asian Financial Society, the Chinese Finance Association, East West Bank, and MSCI which hosted the event and the reception afterwards. Around 30 attendees joined in-person, with the rest participating by Zoom. 

The panel of industry leaders were: 

  • Jennifer Wu Partner, Paul, Weiss and AABANY Women’s Committee Co-Chair;
  • Janny Cheung, FVP-CRE Manager, Eastern Region CRE, East West Bank;
  • Chengying Xiu, Shareholder of Becker & Poliakoff, Chairwoman of AFS;
  • Angelene Huang, Executive Director, VisWise Global and board member of TCFA; and
  • Jigar Thakkar, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Engineering, MSCI.  

The panel was moderated by Cara Chen (Executive Director, Client Coverage (Hedge Funds), MSCI).  

The discussion focused on allyship and how women of color can meaningfully advance in their careers including through the support of bar associations like AABANY.  Jigar talked about his practice of communicating with diverse people not just about what they have done right but the challenges of running a company; Janny Cheung talked about the diverse and supportive environment at East West Bank that treats everyone like individuals and that has allowed women like her to succeed; Chengying Xiu talked about the importance of speaking from the heart and being true to yourself; Angelene Huang talked about starting an organization that brings together Asian American professionals and how much she values toughness; and Jennifer talked about her journey from a premed student to a litigation partner and how as a first generation lawyer, other people had dreams for her that she did not have for herself. 

Thank you to Asian Financial Society for inviting AABANY to co-sponsor and to Jennifer Wu for representing the Women’s Committee as a panelist. To learn more about the Women’s Committee, please visit https://www.aabany.org/page/122.

AABANY Congratulates Sudha Setty on Appointment as Dean of CUNY Law School

On February 22, Sudha Setty was named dean of the CUNY School of Law, the nation’s leading public interest law school and New York City’s only publicly funded law school. An exceptional scholar and legal leader, she is the first person of South Asian descent to lead a CUNY school.

“Dean Setty boasts a sustained record of accomplishment as an antitrust litigator, pro bono civil rights counsel, scholar of constitutional law and legal education leader, as well as a pioneering administrator and leader,” said Chairperson William C. Thompson Jr. “We are thrilled to welcome her to CUNY Law.”

Setty has been the dean of the Western New England University School of Law since 2018, when she became the first woman of South Asian descent in the U.S. to serve as dean of an American Bar Association-accredited law school. At Western New England University School of Law, Setty’s deanship has focused on enhancing the social justice work at the school and its commitment to racial justice and diversity, equity and inclusion. Projects she has overseen include the creation of the Center for Social Justice in 2019 and the inaugural Workshop for Asian-American Women in Legal Academia.

She is also a leader outside of the university. Currently, she serves on the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Standing Committee on Alternative Pathways to the Bar (co-chairing one subcommittee), on the Bipartisan Advisory Committee on Massachusetts Judicial Nominations to the U.S. District Court, on the Advisory Committee for the ABA Legal Education Police Practices Consortium, on the Deans’ Steering Committee of the Association of American Law Schools, as a board member for Community Legal Aid, and on the editorial board of the Journal of National Security Law and Policy

AABANY congratulates Dean Setty on this most recent accomplishment in a distinguished career. To read more about Dean Setty and CUNY Law School, please visit https://www.law.cuny.edu/newsroom_post/cuny-names-sudha-setty-as-law-school-dean/

AAS @ Hunter College Presents Beyond Representation: What the Image of Inclusion Conceals

Join AAS @ Hunter College on Wednesday March 16th at 5PM EST on Zoom for Beyond Representation: What the Image of Inclusion Conceals.

RSVP: https://bit.ly/AASMarch16

Join us for a discussion on the politics of representation in the cultural field and the problematics of visibility organized around hegemonic constructions of racial identities.

The Asian American Arts Movement, including the renowned art collective known as Godzilla (1990-2001), centered on representation and inclusion.

Today, with more Asian Americans in the arts, does inclusion conceal the transformative work that still needs to be done?