WASHINGTON—The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), South Asian Bar Association of Chicago (SABA Chicago), Chinese American Bar Association of Greater Chicago (CABA), and Filipino American Lawyers Association of Chicago (FALA Chicago) condemn the alleged plot to carry out a mass shooting at the largest Hindu temple in Aurora, Illinois. Last week, law enforcement authorities arrested and charged a suspect who allegedly planned an attack targeting worshippers at the temple. According to law enforcement officials, the suspect allegedly possessed white supremacist materials and expressed hate towards individuals of South Asian and Indian descent along with Jewish and Black individuals.
We are deeply disturbed by this alleged act of hate and stand in solidarity with the Hindu, Indian American, and broader South Asian communities. We are grateful to the individuals who alerted law enforcement and to the authorities whose actions helped avert a potential tragedy.
Who we are, and how and where we choose to worship, are part of the tapestry of American life. A refuge for peace and prayer must never be transformed into a place of violence by perpetrators of hate. Hate—whether in the form of anti-South Asian hate or any other form of bigotry—has no place in our society. We remain committed to eradicating hate in all its forms, including by urging governments at every level to fully support and strengthen hate prevention efforts.
Attendees at the event learned how to grip a traditional Chinese brush properly and practiced various brush techniques. and were provided step-by-step instruction on how to paint iconic Mid-Autumn Festival symbols, including the rabbit, moon, and pomelo.
To read the full article by Law 360, see screenshot above.
On September 29, 2026, AABANY hosted the latest installment of its Dumplings & Discussion fireside chat series, featuring Allen Lo, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at Madison Square Garden Entertainment and Sphere Entertainment. The event drew a fantastic turnout, bringing the community together for a night of vibrant conversation, high-level career insights, and excellent networking.
Allen gave a candid look at his remarkable career journey and shared thoughtful, deep insights with the room. Allen stayed well into the night for the reception, generously sharing his time with attendees.
It was a special treat to welcome back Dumplings & Discussion alum Kelly Koyama-Garcia, who proudly sported her dumpling pin.
A big thank you to Allen for his candor, his practical advice, and his generosity with his time. We’re glad to have him in the New York community. Additional thanks to host Jeffrey Mok, and to everyone who joined and made it another memorable night of great conversation, company, and, of course, great dumplings.
See here to read about past Dumplings & Discussion chats.
This summer, NAPABA launched the 2026 Civic Engagement Challenge, inviting Affiliates and National Associates to develop innovative, measurable, and sustainable initiatives that engage and empower AANHPI communities.
From nonpartisan voter engagement and education to immigration resources and community legal services, organizations across the NAPABA network answered the call.
Today, NAPABA is proud to announce the recipients of the 2026 Civic Engagement Challenge and celebrate the innovative work they are undertaking in AANHPI communities across the country.
2026 NAPABA Civic Engagement Challenge Champions
Asian Bar Association of Washington (ABAW)
Beyond the Citizenship Interview: An Educational Video Project
ABAW will develop a multilingual educational video series to help aspiring citizens prepare for the U.S. naturalization process, covering civics education, citizenship interviews, and immigrant contributions to American history.
Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association (GAPABA)
Mobilizing and Protecting Georgia’s AAPI Voters
In partnership with Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, GAPABA will expand nonpartisan voter education, multilingual outreach, and election protection efforts to support AAPI voter participation across Georgia during the 2026 election cycle.
Greater Orlando Asian American Bar Association (GOAABA)
GOAABA AAPI Civic Education & Engagement Series
GOAABA will partner with community organizations to expand nonpartisan voter education, registration, and civic engagement opportunities for AAPI residents in Central Florida, building a sustainable network for participation beyond the 2026 election.
National Filipino American Lawyers Association (NFALA)
Safeguarding the AANHPI Vote
NFALA will partner with Hoosier Asian American Power to strengthen voter protection for AANHPI communities with limited English proficiency across Indiana, Ohio, and Nevada through translated voter education materials, volunteer poll monitoring, and educational webinars.
South Asian Bar Association of Northern California (SABA-NC)
Community Legal Access & Know-Your-Rights Initiative
SABA-NC will expand access to legal information and assistance for South Asian, AANHPI, and immigrant communities across Northern California through free webinars, legal clinics, and community programs addressing immigration, citizenship, and other essential legal rights.
Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association (SCCLA)
Know Your Rights: Immigration Rights Education Series
SCCLA will host an immigration rights education series featuring attorney-led discussions and interactive outreach at Lunar New Year festivals to help community members understand their rights.
You may have seen recent news about AALDEF’s lawsuit challenging the Trump administration over its threats to deploy federal agents at or around polling sites. Election protection is absolutely critical in this year’s election—and AALDEF needs your help.
Every election cycle, the Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund (AALDEF) mobilizes volunteers to meet voters where they are, solve problems in real time, and help ensure everyone can participate. This November, AALDEF needs you. They are recruiting volunteers in Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia.
Whether on the ground or online,join AALDEF and help protect the vote by signing up here. They will give you the training and tools you need to ensure voters feel informed, welcomed, and empowered to cast their ballots freely, safely, and without interference.
Prefer to volunteer virtually? You can support the national Election Protection hotline— including language assistance hotlines serving Asian American voters. Have any questions? Email Marlena Truong at [email protected].
On Tuesday, August 11, AABANY members and their guests met at Yankee Stadium to watch the New York Yankees take on the Seattle Mariners. The evening doubled as KPop Demon Hunters Theme Night, and the ballpark was buzzing with fans decked out for the occasion. The first 18,000 fans to arrive got to take home a free Rumi bobblehead.
The game had a quiet and defensive start, with neither team scoring during the first five innings. In the 6th inning, the Mariners broke the deadlock with a solo home run to go up 1-0. But the Yankees exploded in the 7th, taking advantage of clutch hits to score four unanswered runs. New York’s pitchers shut the door from there for a 4-1 win, handing Seattle its fifth straight loss.
Beyond the game, the night offered exactly what these outings are meant to provide: an easy, low-pressure setting for AABANY members to connect outside the usual office setting. Standing together in the open area by the Toyota Terrace, members swapped stories between innings, cheered the late-game rally, and soaked in a fun summer night at the stadium. Thanks to everyone who came out and made the evening memorable and enjoyable, and a special thanks to the Membership Committee for organizing another great outing!
–Written by Victor Way, AABANY Intern, Summer 2026
On July 31, 2026, AABANY’s Student Outreach Committee and Government Service & Public Interest Committee partnered to host Crafting Connections, a friendship bracelet-creating event. This event celebrated International Friendship Day and took place at On Lab in New York’s Lower East Side. While making bracelets, AABANY members conversed, connected, and crafted over a variety of food and drink. This event drew numerous attendees, with registration filling up very quickly after the event was announced.
The Crafting Connections event featured a beautiful selection of beads, string, and crafting templates spread across multiple tables in the cafe. Upon arrival, attendees were able to choose from a large selection of beads and charms, as well as their desired string type. They then chose their seat and began an evening of crafting, laughter, and connections. Law students had the opportunity to connect with a variety of legal professionals, including practicing attorneys and a law professor.
The environment fostered a relaxed atmosphere that encouraged a range of conversations between new people and long-time AABANY members alike. Topics of conversation included attendees sharing their own legal paths and laid-back discussions on upcoming vacations or bonding over connections made by pet owners. Attendees helped others choose charms and beads, and even made bracelets for each other, truly embracing the spirit of International Friendship Day.
The event concluded with new bracelets, full stomachs, and most importantly, new connections.
The photos from this event capture the joyful nature of the evening. To see the full photo album, click here.
The Governance, Elections, and Nominations (GEN) Committee is pleased to present for your consideration the following Officer candidates for 2026-27. The GEN Committee has approved candidates who have demonstrated leadership capabilities, are passionate about NAPABA’s mission, and who have skill sets and perspectives that align with NAPABA’s strategies, goals, and needs—not just now, but into the future. In preparation for exercising your right to vote, the GEN Committee encourages you to take the time to consider each candidate’s vision for NAPABA and the diversity of the Board as a whole.
We thank each of the candidates for their willingness to serve the organization and the community.
2026-27 NAPABA Board of Governors | Officer Candidates
The GEN Committee believes that the active participation of member affiliates and individuals is essential to a vibrant and diverse organization. The GEN Committee encourages the engagement of NAPABA’s members in the nomination and election process. For these reasons, the GEN Committee desires to facilitate the ability of members to inform other members of candidate qualifications and support candidates through endorsements, advertisements, articles, etc. NAPABA supports the use of endorsements in the nomination and election process that determines NAPABA leadership for future years.
Click here to view the candidates’ statements and biographies, including information on how to submit an endorsement. Any NAPABA member in good standing may endorse. Any bar association that is a NAPABA affiliate in good standing may endorse any candidate with confirmation of such endorsement provided by the current president of the bar association. NAPABA will accept endorsements through August 31 at 8 pm ET.
On June 24th, 2026, Glenn D. Magpantay, a Commissioner on the United States Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR), was honored at Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. ‘s Annual Pride Month Celebration at Queens Borough Hall. Glenn is the first openly LGBTQ and Asian American commissioner in the USCCR since its founding in 1957. Glenn is a longtime member and leader at AABANY and a current Board Director. Recently, we took this opportunity to meet with Glenn to interview him about his lifelong work as a civil rights attorney and an LGBTQ rights activist.
In a distinguished and storied career, Glenn has been recognized with a variety of awards, including NAPABA’s Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Lifetime Achievement Award and the AALAM Community Service Award. However, Glenn reflects that his award from BP Richards feels different because of the incredible support he has received from others in the local community. Being a Queens native—a borough bursting with diversity—Glenn has experienced firsthand how important diversity within communities is. For Glenn, the community recognition is what makes this honor deeply personal and truly special.
In his acceptance remarks, Glenn reflected on the difficulties of coming out as a gay man during the peak of the HIV epidemic. He extended deep gratitude to his family and supporters in both the LGBTQ and legal communities, noting that their unwavering support was vital during this challenging period of his life and the successes he achieved throughout his career. He also highlighted his impactful advocacy on the USCCR, including his efforts to ensure that the Commission acknowledges violence against transgender women of color. Glenn called upon those in attendance to persistently speak out and advocate for justice. As his remarks drew to a close, he extended his sincere thanks to the community for offering their continuous support throughout his journey.
“I would have never achieved all of this, were it not for so many of you who are here in the audience today. You all have supported me and have given me poise. You have lifted me up, even though I know I’m a little heavy,” he quipped. Click here to listen to Glenn’s speech.
Glenn is a Co-Founder of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), an organization that aims to create a world where queer and trans Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) people can flourish. Through this work, underrepresented communities continue to tackle ever-changing political and societal issues. Glenn claims that the changes the new administration implemented—the dismantling of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and cutbacks on transgender healthcare and services for the poor—have affected millions of minority populations across the U.S., including AANHPI and LGBTQ communities.
Glenn credits affirmative action for his success as an LGBTQ Asian American. Following the government rollback of the policies supporting underrepresented communities, many feel the current legal and political landscape is stacked against them. Faced with these issues, Glenn shares how individuals and organizations can navigate this shifting landscape:
Vote in every election
Protest injustice
Engage with your community
Cultivate allies from those not in your communities
Be more open-minded to diverse perspectives
To achieve meaningful progress, according to Glenn, it is essential to transform hearts and minds. For many AANHPI and LGBTQ individuals, this transformation begins at home and involves finding a healthy balance between traditional expectations of family duty and the fundamental right to live authentically. Glenn observes a distinct tension between traditional, collectivist, and conformist Asian values and the emphasis on individualism in America, leading to the conflict that arises between parents and their second-generation children.
Glenn maintains that such cultural tenacity served as a way of survival for previous generations. It remains equally essential for navigating today’s challenges. While this cultural friction often causes painful divides, bridging these two worlds requires a slow, empathetic dialogue. “Coming out in Asian cultures is a process, not an event,” Glenn stated. “Parents have struggled and sacrificed for us. We should honor and respect them with patience.”
As a parent himself, Glenn states that his choices are guided by a desire to provide the very best for his child—similar to his own parents and many other Asian parents in America. American interactions are often transactional, while Asian interactions are deliberate and transformative—something AANHPI and LGBTQ youth must be mindful of while balancing their identities. “Unfortunately, everything that is beautiful and fulfilling in this world is a struggle to get to,” Glenn declared.
Teaching has also played a significant part in Glenn’s life. His teaching journey began when his friend, the late Professor Gary Okihiro, professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University, suggested that he teach, recognizing the unique insights the Commissioner had to share with students. Glenn chose to begin teaching as a personal mission to give back to the community with the ultimate goal of showing that students from underserved communities can also become accomplished lawyers. Many of them—first–generation immigrants or poor—have never met a brown gay attorney before. They thought that all the successful lawyers were white, male, and Jewish.
He hopes that he can help his students find a potential greater than they have ever imagined for themselves. The mentor and mentee relationships that teaching has enabled him to form motivate him to continue. He imparts his personal knowledge while the students keep him updated on current social media lingo, allowing them to form meaningful and relevant connections. Although Glenn no longer teaches, he hopes to return to the classroom sometime in the future. He is beloved and admired by his students, as his “Rate My Professor” reviews show.
Ultimately, Glenn intends to continue leveraging his role in the USCCR and his position as an LGBTQ and Asian American civil rights pioneer to help underrepresented communities achieve their fullest potential.
Please join AABANY in congratulating Glenn on his most recent recognition from Queens BP Richards during the Annual Pride Month Celebration in June.
PBCS volunteers, comprising volunteer attorneys and law students, met with 19 clients and provided guidance on a range of legal issues, including housing, family and matrimonial law, immigration, real property, trusts and estates, torts and other civil litigation.
Here are some of the clients’ feedback:
“May Wong is very professional and answered all my questions. She also gave me helpful advice and referrals. Thank you!”
“Thank you, Shirley, for listening to our concerns. She is very knowledgeable about different routes going forward.“
“Very grateful this service is available for the Asian community as it always seem there is always a lack of community service for us.”
We thank the following volunteers for attending the Queens Pro Bono Clinic and for their dedicated services:
Attorneys:
Wendy Cheng
Marcus Cheung
Kevin Hsi
Richard In
Shirley Luong
Sinbay Tan
Johnny Thach
Anthony Wong
May Wong
Gary Yeung
Evelyn Yu
Interpreters/shadowers:
Nathan Cao
Michelle Chen
Kaitlyn Cheng
Helen Ding
Nandar Win Kerr
Momo Sano
Jingjing Wang
Suzie (Sue) Yu
Wendy Zeng
We invite you to continue supporting our community by joining us at our upcoming Pro Bono Clinics:
– August 19th [Manhattan link here] from 6:30-8:30pm, AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk Street, NY, NY 10002
– September 12 [Brooklyn link here], from 12:30 – 3:30pm, CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232
– October 7 [Queens link here], from 6:30 – 8:30pm, AAFE One Flushing Community Center, 133-29 41st Ave, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355
To learn more about the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee, visit probono.aabany.org.
We look forward to your participation in our future clinics!
