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The Durst Organization

The Durst Organization

AABANY congratulates Michael Rhee on his recent promotion to General Counsel of the Durst Organization. According to the company’s website:

For 100 years, The Durst Organization has been a family-run business dedicated to the principles of innovation, integrity, community, and sustainability. We develop, build, own, and manage premier office towers and residential buildings that set new standards in environmental responsibility and user efficiency. Our enduring relationships with our tenants and partners are critical to our success and have made us generations of builders, building for generations.

As Vice President and General Counsel, Michael Rhee supports The Durst Organization’s leasing, acquisitions, construction and development activities, as well as the corporate and legal needs of the company. Michael also oversees insurance and collections and manages outside counsel.

Prior to joining The Durst Organization in 2012, Michael was Special Counsel in the real estate department at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP. Michael began his legal career at Battle Fowler LLP and spent 14 years in private law firm practice.

Michael has a Juris Doctor degree from St. John’s University School of Law, where he was an Articles and Notes Editor for the St. John’s Law Review, and a Bachelor of Science. from Cornell University.

From the Durst Organization’s press release:

“Over the past five years, Michael and his team have been instrumental to numerous
commercial lease closings and acquisitions,” said Jonathan (Jody) Durst, President of The Durst
Organization. “He provides outstanding counsel, produces a tremendous quantity of work that
impacts the entire organization and is an invaluable member of our senior management team.”

Please join us in congratulating Michael on this major achievement! (Follow the link in the title for his photo and bio.) For the full text of the press release, click here.

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Apply for the Brooklyn Legal Pipeline Initiative

The Brooklyn Legal Pipeline Initiative (BLPI),  will be a professionally moderated program designed to give diverse students who live or attend college in Brooklyn direct instruction on how to successfully apply to and fund a law school education. The program is being jointly run by the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association (BWBA), the Brooklyn Bar Association(BBA) and the Defense Association of New York (DANY). Each participant will be matched with an attorney mentor. Participants who attend all sessions will be offered an opportunity to obtain a non-paying summer internship. Stipends may be available to defray certain transportation and ancillary costs associated with the internships.

Selected students will attend five (5) two-hour classroom sessions, once a month, starting February 27, 2017 that will be moderated by Paula Edgar, an attorney, diversity and inclusion coach and former law school administrator.

Classes will be held at the Brooklyn Bar Association’s landmark building located at 123 Remsen Street in downtown Brooklyn. These classes will be held from 5:30- 7:30 PM and will address the following topics:

  • February 27, 2017 – The Legal Profession – What is a lawyer? What do they do? – Panel discussion with judges and attorneys describing the areas in which they practice.
  • March 13, 2017 – Applying to Law School – Course selection- Time management – Writing skills – IRAC – The LSAT’s – Paying for law school – Guided questions and answer session with a college career counselor and a law school admissions officer.
  • March 27, 2017 – Networking and Mentoring – Each participant will be paired with an Attorney Mentor – Developing a resume and cover letter.
  • April 24, 2017 – Internships –Interview Skills – Professionalism.
  • May 22, 2017– Mock Interviews – Each participant will participate in simulated interviews and will receive immediate constructive feedback.
  • June -August 2017 – Summer Internship Program

Application deadline is February 10. Click HERE for the brochure containing additional information.

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Lend Your Expertise to the 2017 NAPABA Convention

Call for Programs
NAPABA is excited to announce the 2017 call for programs, speakers, and plenary topics is now open! We invite all of our members to submit a program proposal and encourage you to present creative and timely legal topics in which you are passionate and experienced. If accepted, your program will be presented at the 2017 NAPABA Convention in Washington, D.C. — the largest gathering of Asian Pacific American attorneys in the country.

For more information on how to submit a program proposal, please visit our Call for Programs page. The Call for Programs will close on March 20, 2017, at 5 p.m. EDT and no late submissions will be accepted.

Call for Speakers and Speaker Database
NAPABA is looking for speakers interested in serving on a CLE panel at the 2017 NAPABA Convention. Lend your expertise and add your name to our speaker database! For more information and to join, please visit our Call for Speakers page.

Call for Plenary Topics
Have an idea for a plenary topic? Your idea could be featured and presented during the Convention. For more information and to submit an idea, please visit our Call for Plenary Topics page.

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Mark Your Calendar!

On Feb 16, 2017,  Leaders on the Horizon, Safe Horizon’s volunteer leadership council, presents: Speakeasy A Benefit For Safe Horizon to raise funds and awareness for Safe Horizon. The fundraiser will take place at the famous Webster Hall.

Safe Horizon, the leading victim services non-profit organization in the United States, provides a host of services for victims of abuse and violence in 57 locations throughout the 5 boroughs of New York. Established in 1978 as a pilot program in New York City’s court system, Safe  Horizon’s original mission was to assist criminal court witnesses who had been intimidated, or who felt too threatened to testify in court. Since then, they have expanded their reach to help homeless youth, victims of domestic violence, victims of human trafficking, and some of New York’s most vulnerable citizens – victims of child abuse.  Today, Safe Horizon touches the lives of more than 250,000 New Yorkers each year, helping victims of crime and abuse move from crisis to confidence.  

Tickets are $150 but donations in any amount, in lieu of attendance, can be made on their site: https://www.safehorizon.org/events/speakeasy-a-benefit/

Many thanks to AABANY member Steve Madra for sharing this information with us!

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Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez Announces Promotions to Key Leadership Positions – The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office

Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez Announces Promotions to Key Leadership Positions – The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office

Check out this press release from the Kings County District Attorney’s Office announcing some great news about AABANY Prosecutors Committee Co-Chair Kin Ng:

Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced a series of promotions to important leadership positions in the District Attorney’s Office. Those include naming Timothy Gough as the new Homicide Bureau Chief, hiring of Danielle Eaddy, a distinguished defense attorney and former Assistant District Attorney, to lead one of the Trial Bureaus and promoting two veteran prosecutors – Kin Ng and Robert Walsh – to head two other Trial Bureaus.

…

In addition, ADA Kin Ng has been promoted to Bureau Chief of the Red Zone Trial Bureau. A Brooklyn prosecutor since 1991, he was most recently the Chief of the Immigrant Fraud Unit. Prior to that, he held a variety of positions in Supreme and Criminal Court and served as Director of Training for the Office. ADA Ng has regularly lectured about public service, diversity and leadership in government and worked with local and foreign media, particularly Asian media, to raise awareness in immigrant communities regarding various criminal justice issues. He is replacing former Bureau Chief Joseph Alexis, who was promoted in December 2016 to Chief of the Trial Division.

We commend Acting DA Gonzalez on his decision. As long as we have known Kin, he has been a talented and capable attorney with a passion for public service. Please join us in congratulating Kin Ng in his elevation to Bureau Chief of the Red Zone Trial Bureau. We believe Kin to be the first Asian Pacific American to be appointed bureau chief of a major trial bureau.

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Hmong Language Scholarship

The mission of San Joaquin College of Law is to educate and develop highly skilled attorneys and problem solvers who will benefit their communities through public and private service. The Hmong Language Scholarship (HLS) seeks to aid prospective attorneys who are proficient in the Hmong language so that community may be better served and represented.

As an applicant, you are required to meet the following qualifications to be considered for this scholarship:

  • Submit an application to SJCL and be deemed admissible by the SJCL Admission Committee.
  • Have an established record of community service.
  • Demonstrate a proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the Hmong language.

Please attach the following items to this application (applications will not be considered without these attachments):

  • A resume demonstrating an established record of community service.
  • An essay (no more than 500 words) explaining why you are interested in practicing law in the Valley.

Applications must be submitted no later than June 30, 2017, to:

San Joaquin College of Law
c/o Hmong Language Scholarship Committee
901 5th Street
Clovis, CA 93612

The HLS is a Tuition Reduction Scholarship only, which can only be applied to the applicant’s first year of law school at SJCL. Fifty percent of the Tuition Reduction Scholarship shall be applied to each of the first two semesters. It may not be transferred to another person or institution, and there is no refund if the winner leaves SJCL either due to withdrawal or being academically disqualified. The deadline to accept the HLS is 30 days after it is offered.

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Practising Law Institute’s “Challenging Immigration Detention with Habeas Petitions – A Basic Overview”

Online Seminar

Thursday, February 2, 2017, 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm EST

Join expert faculty as they provide basic training on habeas petitions for detained immigrants.  

Topics to be addressed include:

  • Nuts and bolts of filing a motion for temporary restraining order
  • Legal standard for TROs
  • Nuts and bolts for filing a petition for writ of habeas corpus
  • Common legal claims for habeas petitions          

This important free briefing is offered in response to community demand and the great need for training on this topic.  For a more in-depth discussion of habeas and immigration, please register for PLI’s three-hour Habeas Petitions for Detained Immigrants program on March 3rd in San Francisco and live webcast.

Speakers:

Holly S. Cooper, UC Davis School of Law
Matthew H. Green, Law Offices of Matthew H. Green

UPDATE:  In light of PLI’s comprehensive seminars on 2/2 and 3/3, FALA New York, AABANY and their sister bar associations will not be hosting habeas petition trainings.  Be sure to reserve your spot with PLI today!

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