Author: Davinderpal Singh

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New York Day of Remembrance 2019

On February 23, 2019, please join the New York Day of Remembrance Committee in remembering the concentration camps and to discuss our community’s role in standing up for human rights in the current political climate.

The program will feature Frank Abe speaking about the first Day of Remembrance in Seattle, Tribute to Aiko Herzig Yoshinaga, video presentation from the New York Japanese American Oral History Project, Candlelighting Ceremony to remember camp survivors, and a Community Potluck.

The program will be held at the Japanese American United Church, 255 7th Avenue, from 1pm to 4pm.

The Day of Remembrance Committee was a co-organizer of New York City’s Second Annual Korematsu Day Celebration, at which AABANY presented its Korematsu trial reenactment. Read more about the event here https://blog.aabany.org/2019/02/04/aabany-celebrates-2nd-annual-fred-korematsu-day-in-new-york-city0/

To learn more and to RSVP, click here.

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Press Release: Asian American Bar Association of New York Applauds Promotion of James S. Lin to Bureau Chief of the Green Zone In Kings County District Attorney’s Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 11, 2019

Contact: Yang Chen, Executive Director
(212) 332-2478

NEW YORK – February 11, 2019 – The Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) congratulates James S. Lin on his recent promotion from Supreme Court Deputy for the Green Trial Zone to the position of Bureau Chief of the Green Zone in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. We believe James is the second Asian Pacific American to serve as Bureau Chief at a major trial bureau in a prosecutors’ office in New York City.

In his former role as Supreme Court Deputy for the Green Trial Zone, he was responsible for overseeing felony trials and acted as DNA point person. He demonstrated a commitment to the principles of justice and the office’s intention to reduce incarcerations by focusing on the serious drivers of crime. Prior to that, James served as Deputy Bureau Chief for the Supreme Court in the Grey Zone, where he worked tirelessly on building relationships between his office and the community, by serving as one of several informal office ambassadors to Brooklyn’s growing Asian American community, as well as attending Precinct Council meetings, National Night Out Against Crime, and the West Indian Day Parade. He also fought to secure justice for victims of crimes in several significant cases, by supervising the investigation and grand jury presentations.

Before that, James served as an assistant district attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office. While there, he tried numerous cases to verdict, including homicides. He also held a number of supervisory positions, overseeing prosecutors handling misdemeanor and domestic violence cases. In addition, he honed his investigative skills as a member of the Asian Gang Unit and the Investigation Division Central Bureau investigating white collar crimes. With more than 28 years of public service in the prosecutors’ offices of New York City, James is an exemplar of an individual committed to justice and public service.

Outside of prosecution, James has also been an active member of the New York State Advisory Committee on Criminal Law and Procedure, which makes legislative recommendations to the Chief Administrative Judge of New York State. In addition, he also participates as a trainer and lecturer in the office’s New NYPD Officer Training program.

James helped found and is currently a co-chair of AABANY’s Prosecutors’ Committee, which has grown to be one of AABANY’s most active and vibrant committees. He also served as a member of AABANY’s Board of Directors from 2011 to 2015.

“James Lin’s dedication to public service and his record of leadership is well-known and appreciated by all of us at AABANY,” states AABANY President James Cho. “We commend the Kings County District Attorney’s Office for elevating him to the position of Bureau Chief in the Green Zone. We are proud of James’s achievements and expect that he will continue to serve the public and the community in his new role. We wish him every success in his future endeavors.”

For more information, please contact Yang Chen, AABANY Executive Director, at (212) 332-2478, or direct any inquiries to [email protected].

The Asian American Bar Association of New York is a professional membership organization of attorneys concerned with issues affecting the Asian Pacific American community. Incorporated in 1989, AABANY seeks not only to encourage the professional growth of its members but also to advocate for the Asian Pacific American community as a whole. AABANY is a New York regional affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).

Additional information about AABANY is available at www.aabany.org

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A Primer on U.S. Bankruptcy and Intellectual Property Transactions

On January 29, 2019, the IP Committee, along with the Asia Practice Committee and Commercial Bankruptcy and Restructuring Committee presented the panel: A Primer on U.S. Bankruptcy and Intellectual Property Transactions. The panel discussed the basics of intellectual property transactions involving distressed companies in the United States.

To learn more about each of the sponsoring committees, click on the links below.

IP Committee: https://www.aabany.org/page/145

Commercial Bankruptcy and Restructuring Committee: https://www.aabany.org/page/353

Asia Practice Committee: https://www.aabany.org/page/582

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In the News: AABANY’s Celebration of New York City’s 2nd Annual Fred Korematsu Day

On January 30th, AABANY co-sponsored and celebrated New York City’s 2nd annual Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution, at the New York County Lawyers Association. The event was covered by WNYC News.

Today is Fred Korematsu Day — named after an American-born man of Japanese descent who did everything he could to avoid being placed in an internment camp in the 1940s.

What is everything? He changed his name to Clyde Sarah. And got facial surgery in an attempt to appear less Japanese. But it didn’t work — he was arrested and jailed.

To read the full article and to listen to the podcast, click here.

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AABANY Roadshow and Mock Interviews at New York Law School

On January 31, AABANY presented a road show and conducted mock interviews at New York Law School for members of the law school’s AALSA (Asian American Law Students Association). AABANY members and leaders, including President James Cho, Executive Director Yang Chen, Student Outreach Committee Co-Chair Jonathan Li, and Intellectual Property Committee Co-Chair Jeffrey Mok, visited New York Law School and met with AALSA members to talk to them about AABANY and how they can get involved. Following the meet-and-greet, attorneys and law students met one-on-one for mock interview sessions, to practice their interview skills and get feedback from attorneys.

We thank AALSA President Corinne Chen for inviting AABANY to present the roadshow and conduct mock interviews. For information about setting up a road show or event at your law school with AABANY, contact the Student Outreach Committee.

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Access to Justice, Legal Needs, and APA Communities

On January 29, 2019, a CLE panel on Access to Justice, Legal Needs and APA Communities was held by AABANY at Cardozo Law School. The panel was organized as a part of an impressive collaborative effort between AABANY’s Academic, Government Service & Public Interest (GSPI), Pro Bono & Community Service and Student Outreach Committees. The panel came from a broad mix of public interest attorneys, law professors and private practitioners. The moderators for the panel were Academic Committee co-chair Suzanne Kim (Professor of Law, Rutgers University) and GSPI co-chair Jonathan Hernandez (Staff Attorney, Legal Aid Society).

The panelists were:

Rina Gurung, Esq., Senior Court Attorney (Trial Part)
NYS Unified Court System

Donna Hae Kyun Lee, Senior Associate Dean of Clinical Programs & Professor
CUNY School of Law

Sussan Lee, Esq., Appellate Counsel
Center for Appellate Litigation

Beatrice Leong, Esq., Associate
Parmet & Zhou LLC; co-chair, AABANY GSPI Committee

Tiffany Ma, Esq., Partner
Young & Ma LLP

Pauline Yeung-Ha, Esq., Partner
Grimaldi & Yeung; co-chair, AABANY Pro Bono Committee

The event discussed how lack of access to income-based legal assistance and to the judicial system affects lower- and middle-income families and individuals, including New York City’s Asian & Pacific American communities that experience under-recognized poverty. Using multiple examples drawn from their own experiences as attorneys, the panelists discussed the impacts of this civil justice gap in family law, elder law, housing, employment law, domestic violence, immigration, language-access, and access to courts. The panelists also encouraged all concerned attorneys and law students alike to engage in pro bono work and community service.

Attendees at the event included AABANY President James Cho, numerous AABANY Committee Chairs, law students and attorneys from a wide range of backgrounds.  Attorney attendees also received 1.5 hours of CLE credit under the new Diversity, Inclusion and Elimination of Bias requirement.  After the panel presentation, Pro Bono Committee co-chair Karen Kithan Yau, made a direct appeal to all the attendees to support AABANY’s monthly Pro Bono Clinic, whether as volunteers or as donors or both, as ways to help tackle the many pressing issues discussed by the panel. 

Thanks to all of the speakers for a compelling and informative discussion. Thanks to all who attended and to Cardozo Law School APALSA and Cardozo Law School for hosting.

We thank Kevin Hsi, Co-Chair of AABANY’s Government Service & Public Interest Committee, for providing the photos and write up for this post.

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Hon. Doris Ling-Cohan’s Letter to the Editor Featured in the New York Law Journal

The New York Law Journal featured “Child Care Must Be a Men’s Issue for True Equality,” a letter to the editor by Doris Ling-Cohan, AABANY member and Associate Justice for the Appellate Term, First Department.

Hon. Doris Ling-Cohan recalls the time she and her husband had to juggle child care responsibilities and their professional responsibilities. She notes what Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said, that in order for there to be true equality for women child care cannot just be viewed as a women’s issue by society.

To read the full article, click here.

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AABANY Celebrates 2nd Annual Fred Korematsu Day in New York City

On Wednesday, January 30th, AABANY celebrated Fred Korematsu’s 100th birthday and New York City’s 2nd annual Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution. The historic event was presented by the Asian Practice Committee of the New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA), the New York Day of Remembrance Committee, AABANY and numerous community groups. The event was hosted by NYCLA, at 14 Vesey Street, and over 150 individuals braved the freezing cold and attended to honor Fred Korematsu and his legacy.

Fred Korematsu was a Japanese American man who lived during the era of Japanese internment. Under FDR’s Executive Order 9066, more than 110,000 Japanese Americans were sent to concentration camps without any hearing or due process. Fred Korematsu challenged the order by refusing to go to the concentration camp he was assigned to; his case made it all the way to the Supreme Court in Korematsu v. United States. The Court, however, deferred to the Executive Order and ruled in a 6-3 landmark decision that internment was based on “military necessity.” Korematsu’s conviction was eventually overturned in 1984 in a coram nobis proceeding in which the court found that the government deliberately misstated facts or provided misleading information in obtaining the conviction of Fred Korematsu.

At the celebration, AABANY members performed “Fred Korematsu and His Fight for Justice,” a reenactment of legal proceedings in Korematsu v. United States. The reenactment was led by Hon. Denny Chin, United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Kathy Hirata Chin, Partner at Crowell & Moring, who reprised their roles as Narrators 1 and 2. Also part of the cast were many veterans of the reenactment team, including Hon. Kiyo Matsumoto, Vincent Chang, Vinoo Varghese, Francis Chin, Clara Ohr, Andrew Hahn, Yang Chen and David Weinberg.

A panel discussion on “Why the Korematsu Case Still Matters Today” followed the reenactment. The panelists were Prof. Rose Cuison Villazor of Rutgers Law School and Afaf Nasher, Executive Director for the New York Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, and Chris Kwok, AABANY Board Director and Issues Committee Chair, moderated the discussion. The panelist remarked on the importance of Korematsu in Asian Pacific American History, connecting his legacy to APA community outreach and condemning the parallels between Korematsu’s case and the current Administration’s stances on immigration, deportation, and detention.

AABANY was proud to be part of this historic celebration of Korematsu Day in New York. We were particularly pleased to be joined by Koji Abe, Deputy Chief of Mission, Jin Hashimoto, Political Consul, Yuki Kaneshige, Public Affairs Specialist from the Consulate General of Japan, and City Councilman Daniel Dromm who introduced the New York City Council resolution that established Jan. 30th as the Fred T. Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution in New York City.

The celebration was covered by NHK World Japan and WNYC News. To learn more click on the following links.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190131_24/

https://www.wnyc.org/story/japanese-american-internment-dramatized/

We invite everyone to learn more about Fred Korematsu and his legacy by visiting the Korematsu Institute website. http://www.korematsuinstitute.org/homepage/

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In the News: AABANY’s trial reenactment of “Fred Korematsu and His Fight For Justice”

On January 30th, AABANY co-sponsored and celebrated New York City’s 2nd annual Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution, hosted by the New York County Lawyers Association at 14 Vesey Street. The event was covered by NHK World Japan.

Lawyers in New York have reenacted the legal battle of a second-generation Japanese-American who challenged the constitutionality of the US internment policy during World War Two.

To see the video and to read the full article, click on the image below.


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Don Liu featured as the Keynote Speaker at the Fourth Annual Alumni of Color Event of Columbia Law School

On Thursday, January 24, 2019, Don Liu was featured as the Keynote Speaker at the Fourth Annual Alumni of Color Event of Columbia Law School. The event took place at the Intercontinental Barclay Hotel in Manhattan and was attended by over 200 Columbia Law School Alumnae.

Don spoke of the challenges of being an APA Attorney and In House General Counsel. He praised all of the pioneering efforts of NAPABA and AABANY to support and encourage the future careers of many APA law students and attorneys.

Of greater importance was how he inspired the audience with what Diversity and Inclusion meant to him and how important it was to embrace it.

We thank Margaret Ling, AABANY’s Director of Development and Co-Chair of AABANY’s Real Estate Committee, for providing the photos and write up for this post.

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