Lillian Moy, the newly-appointed Chair of the Capital District Chapter of AABANY, submits this report:
The inaugural event for AABANY’s Capital District Chapter kicked off on September 15 at a Volcano BBQ and Hotpot in Niskayuna. Our turnout exceeded expectations with more than 15 attendees gathering together to enjoy great drinks, food, and conversations.
In attendance were AAPI lawyers spanning multiple industries and experience-levels, including administrative judges and law graduates. We were honored to be joined by Tina Sodhi, candidate for Albany County Clerk Judge, who, if elected, will be the first AAPI person to serve in that role.
Between snacks, we pitched ideas for future events, both social and educational, as the warm season comes to a close. We also discussed how certain AABANY Committees – through their focused network and programming – could strengthen our relationship with APALSA members from Albany Law School.
We hope to increase AABANY membership and participation in the full range of activities that AABANY offers. We are particularly excited that Committees can offer virtual attendance via Zoom, to open the door for upstate involvement. Our group is deeply talented and believe we have much to offer to the local community and AABANY at-large.
Thanks to Lillian for stepping into this important new role, as AABANY deepens its ties to the legal and AAPI community upstate. Lillian will be joined by Kaitlyn Chopra, Associate at Barclay Damon LLP, and Steve Nguyen, Assistant Attorney General at the Office of New York State Attorney General, as Vice Chairs. Please join us in congratulating the Capital District on its kick-off event!
Bilingual Legal Volunteers Needed Volunteer remotely during early voting and on Election Day to help ensure voters can access election information in their preferred language.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC are recruiting bilingual volunteers with legal backgrounds to support the 888-API-VOTE Asian Language Voter Hotline for the 2026 Election.
Volunteer service hours may be eligible to satisfy pro bono requirements for legal professionals. Eligibility is subject to the rules of your jurisdiction and/or employer. Please consult the applicable requirements for more information.
Languages Needed
Bengali
Cantonese
Hindi
Urdu
Korean
Mandarin
Punjabi
Tagalog
Vietnamese
Volunteer Responsibilities As a hotline volunteer, you will:
Answer live calls from voters during early voting and on Election Day
Help voters locate polling places and access election resources
Document calls in the hotline tracking system
Report emerging issues to hotline captains
Receive support from experienced hotline captains throughout every shift
No previous hotline experience is required. Training is available on demand after you register, and all volunteers—including returning volunteers—must complete the training and sign the Volunteer Code of Conduct before serving.
The Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award is NAPABA’s highest honor, celebrating the outstanding achievements of lawyers whose leadership and dedication have left a profound mark on both the legal profession and the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community. This lifetime achievement award recognizes those whose vision, courage, and commitment have opened doors and paved the way for future generations of attorneys.
Trailblazers are leaders who have not only excelled in their practice but have also made enduring contributions to advancing equity, opportunity, and justice within the legal community and beyond.
NAPABA is honored to celebrate the 2026 Trailblazer Award recipients and their extraordinary impact at this year’s NAPABA Convention in Los Angeles.
Alicia Garrido Limtiaco, Esq. Former Attorney General of Guam & U.S. Attorney for Guam and NMI, NAPABA At-Large Board Member, ABA Representative to UN ECOSOC
Alicia Limtiaco’s distinguished career in public service has been marked by historic firsts and an enduring commitment to justice, representation, and the communities she serves. She made history as the first woman elected Attorney General of Guam and later as the first woman appointed United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Throughout her career, Alicia has championed protections for vulnerable communities, including efforts addressing family violence, human trafficking, child exploitation, civil rights, and public safety. Her leadership has also brought the experiences and perspectives of Pacific and Indigenous communities to national and international forums. Within the AANHPI legal community, Alicia broke another barrier as the first Pacific Islander and first attorney from Guam to serve on NAPABA’s Board of Governors, helping ensure that Pacific Islander voices have a place in national legal leadership.
The Honorable Elwood Lui Administrative Presiding Justice, California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District
Justice Elwood Lui’s more than five decades of service have left an enduring mark on California’s judiciary and AANHPI legal community, opening doors and building institutions for generations of attorneys and judges. In 1981, he became the first Chinese American appellate judge in California and later became the first Asian American to serve as Administrative Presiding Justice of any California Court of Appeal. His influence extends well beyond his own historic appointments. Justice Lui co-founded the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association in 1975 and founded the California Asian Pacific American Judges Association in 1981, creating institutions that have supported and connected generations of AANHPI attorneys and judicial officers. Throughout his career on the bench, in private practice, in public service, and as an educator and mentor, Justice Lui has consistently opened doors that were previously closed to Asian American attorneys and judges and helped build the infrastructure for future generations to lead.
Hugh H. Mo Founder & Principal, The Law Firm of Hugh H. Mo, P.C. (“Mo Law”) Hugh H. Mo has spent nearly five decades shaping Asian American representation in law, government, and civic life through a career marked by historic firsts, institution-building, and service to his community. He broke significant barriers as the first Asian American Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and later as the first Asian American Deputy Commissioner in Charge of Trials for the New York City Police Department, becoming, at the time, the highest-ranking Asian American official in New York City government. Just as significant has been his commitment to creating opportunities and institutions for those who followed. Hugh co-founded the Asian American Bar Association of New York, the Chinatown Health Clinic, now the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, and the NYPD Asian American Police Executives Council. Throughout his career, he has paired professional achievement with sustained civic leadership, mentorship, and advocacy, leaving an enduring legacy within New York’s AANHPI legal community and beyond.
Reporter Hu Shengqiao for the World Journal, the largest Chinese-language newspaper in the United States, recently featured AABANY’s Pro Bono and Community Service (PBCS) Committee , highlighting its more than a decade of dedicated service to the community. What began as a single consultation site at the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in Manhattan has since expanded to Queens and Brooklyn.
Over the past decade, hundreds of pro bono lawyers and law students have served more than 3,000 Asian American residents across the three boroughs, with consultations covering housing, immigration, family law, inheritance, employment, and workers’ compensation. Most clients speak Mandarin or Cantonese, and many of them face systemic hurdles in the U.S. legal system. Each 30-minute session gives a volunteer attorney time to offer legal advice, review documents, and refer clients to more specialized services when needed.
The article showcases the three attorneys who coordinate the Pro Bono Clinics: Beatrice Leong, who manages the Manhattan clinic and specializes in family and divorce law; Kwok Kei Ng, a Court Attorney who manages the Brooklyn Clinic; and Gary Yeung, an attorney at McDermott Will & Schulte, who manages the Queens Clinic. They remarked that when they offered free legal advice, the people sitting across from them often reminded them of their own families—parents and elders who didn’t speak English facing difficulties with nowhere to turn.
Among the cases they recalled memorably was a nine-month-old girl with an inoperable brain tumor, who they helped by connecting with Yen-Yi Anderson, whose firm Anderson and Associates, P.C., provided the family with pro-bono services and established a trust fund for the girl. PBCS has also held more than ten “Know Your Rights” and community legal education sessions over the years. The Committee currently partners with local elected representatives and various nonprofit organizations, including the Chinese-American Planning Council in Brooklyn (CPC) and the Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) in Manhattan and Flushing.
To read the full article, click here (in Chinese).
