Join us for NAPABA’s annual Lobby Day hosted in our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. from May 20-21, 2019. This event brings NAPABA members from across the country to meet and discuss with members of Congress and congressional staffers on issues of importance and help promote NAPABA’s mission of advocating for justice, equity, and opportunity for APAs.
Registration | DEADLINE NOW APRIL 25, 2019 Registration includes a webinar training prior to Lobby Day as well as onsite training the day of, so that all participants are prepared for meetings with congressional members and staffers. For more information about the 2019 Lobby Day, visit our page.
Congressional Reception | May 20, 2019 In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May, NAPABA will be hosting a Congressional Reception. The reception will bring together Lobby Day participants, members of Congress and their staff, and leaders in the APA community. This event is open to the the public.
Hotel | RESERVATION DEADLINE EXTENDED to April 25, 2019 The official 2019 Lobby Day hotel, the Hyatt Place Washington DC/National Mall, is at the heart of Washington DC and walking distance of the Federal Center SW Metro Station, and the newly built Wharf.
You may also call Hyatt’s reservations department at 1-800-993-4031 and ask for “NAPABA Group” or Group Code “G-NAPA” Rate: $239 king plus applicable taxes & fees.
If you have any questions about any of the events above, please email Oriene Shin at oshin@napaba.org.
More 2019 Lobby Day information can be found here.
On April 11, 2019, the AABANY Real Estate Committee successfully presented a CLE and networking event entitled “Trends in Long Island Real Estate Development – IDA Zoning and Land Use.” Over 60 attorneys and real estate professionals were in attendance. The event was held at the Omni Building in Uniondale and was co-sponsored by AABANY, KALAGNY, Forchelli Deegan Terrana, Flushing Bank, and Big Apple Abstract Corp.
The panelists were:
Margaret Ling, AABANY Development Director and Real Estate Committee Co-Chair
Daniel Deegan, Partner at Forchelli Deegan Terrana
Kathleen Deegan Dickson, Partner at Forchelli Deegan Terrana
Rose Liu, Director of Finance & Research at Colliers International
Herbert Agin, CEO of Colliers International
The speakers led an insightful discussion on the following topics: title insurance, the key facets of Industrial Development Agencies (IDA) in Nassau and Suffolk County, zoning, variances, and municipal regulations in Long Island and how they have a significant impact on the success of real estate projects.
In addition, Rose Liu discussed the latest statistics involving real estate development projects in Long Island and Herbert Agin shared the latest updates on the Lesso Holdings development project in Westbury, Long Island.
The key takeaway of the event was that there are a lot of real estate development opportunities for investors in Long Island, but for the project to be successful, you need to have the right people on your team to navigate the rules and regulations surrounding real estate developments.
NEW YORK – The Asian American Bar Association of New York
(“AABANY”) congratulates Glenn Lau-Kee, Partner at Lau-Kee Law Group PLLC and
former AABANY President (1997-99), on receiving the American Bar Association
Solo and Small Firm Lifetime Achievement Award. This award honors solo and
small firm attorneys who are widely accepted by their peers as having
significant lifetime distinction, exceptional achievement, and distinction in
an exemplary way. Mr. Lau-Kee and his fellow awardees will be honored on
Friday, May 3, 2019 at the ABA Solo and Small Firms Award Luncheon at the
Marriott Marquis in New York City.
Mr. Lau-Kee began his legal career as an associate in the
Hong Kong and New York offices of Coudert Brothers LLP where he worked on bank
financing, leasing, and corporate acquisition transactions. In 1977, he became
a partner at Kee and Lau-Kee PLLC where he has developed a thriving real estate
and bank financing practice. He was also
a partner at Koo Larrabee Lau-Kee & Lane LLP for six years.
Aside from practicing real estate and business law, Mr.
Lau-Kee has spent much of his legal career tirelessly serving the Asian
American community of New York City. He helped found the Chinatown YMCA, as
well as the US-Asia Institute. For his long-standing service to the YMCA, he
received the Order of the Red Triangle, the highest honor bestowed by the
organization. Along with his father, Norman Kee, Mr. Lau-Kee received the Hon.
George Bundy Smith Pioneer Award in 2010, recognizing their outstanding record
of public service and commitment to providing exceptional legal services to the
Chinatown community in New York City. In 2017, Mr. Lau-Kee was honored as a
Community Hero by the Museum of Chinese in America.
Mr. Lau-Kee made history as the first Asian American
President of the New York State Bar Association (“NYSBA”) for the 2014-15 term.
He continues his involvement with NYSBA as a member of the Business Law, Health
Law and Real Property Law sections. Mr. Lau-Kee has also been an active member
of New York County Lawyers Association (“NYCLA”) since 2000, serving on the
Board of Directors until 2004 and serving on various task forces and committees
until 2010. He also served on the Board of Directors for the NYCLA Foundation
and the New York Bar Foundation, which function as the charitable and
philanthropic arms of their respective organizations.
Mr. Lau-Kee has been an active leader in AABANY for over
twenty years. He served as President
from 1997-1999 and on the Board of Directors from 1994-2000. He has served on the Nominations Committee,
contributing to the promotion of future leaders for AABANY.
Mr. Lau-Kee is a graduate of Yale College and Boston
University School of Law.
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).
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Additional information about AABANY is available at www.aabany.org
In commemoration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, celebrating the national theme, “Unite Our Mission by Engaging Each Other,” the New York/New Jersey Regional Network of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders will host a listening session for Asian American and Pacific Islander-serving agencies and organizations on Tuesday, May 21, 2019, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at 26 Federal Plaza, 6th Floor GSA Conference Center, Rooms A and B, New York, NY 10278. Please join regional executives representing the federal agencies comprising the Regional Network as they provide you up-to-date information about their respective programs and services, and listen to your suggestions on how they may engage better with their communities, as well as any concerns or issues you may wish to raise. If you are interested in attending, please contact Everett Lo at everett.lo@ssa.gov by close of business Friday, May 2, 2019, providing the name(s) and email address(es) of your participant(s), to whom a building access letter will be issued by return email.
Participating federal agencies include:
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Environmental Protection Agency
General Services Administration
National Labor Relations Board
Small Business Administration
Social Security Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
U.S. Census Bureau
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Health Resources and Services Administration
Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Customs and Border Protection
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
U.S. Department of Justice
Community Relations Service
U.S. Department of Labor
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Wage and Hour Division
U.S. Department of Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Benefits Administration
Veterans Integrated Services Network
We look forward to speaking with you, and engaging in a thoughtful dialogue to ensure that our communities are aware of the programs and benefits available from our Regional Network. Thank you.
Thank you to Everett Lo for sharing this information. Please direct all inquires to him at everett.lo@ssa.gov.
The NYC Family Justice Center, Manhattan (MIFJC)’s Advanced Training series includes a variety of topic-specific trainings for service providers, community leaders, and city agency staff who are working with populations directly or indirectly affected by intimate partner violence, sex trafficking, and/or elder abuse.
All trainings listed below are free and located at the MFJC 80 Centre Street 5th Floor New York, NY 10013. For more information, please email Indhira Castro at IndhiraC@fjcnyc.org.
Please click on the link below to register for the sessions you wish to attend. If you plan to attend more than one of the scheduled sessions, you must select each one. Once the training is no longer listed or available to select, it has reached maximum capacity of participants.
NEW YORK – April 16, 2019 – The Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) enthusiastically supports the renomination of Board Member Diane Gujarati to serve as a United States district court judge in the Eastern District of New York. “We are pleased with the renomination of our former Board Director Diane Gujarati to the bench,” said Brian Song, President of AABANY. Ms. Gujarati was first nominated by President Obama in 2016, and subsequently renominated by President Trump in 2018. Her nomination was unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“Diane is actively involved with AABANY on various levels and served with distinction as a dedicated member of our Board. Her intelligence, work ethic, judgment and dedication to serving the community will make her an exceptional federal judge,” continued Mr. Song
Asian Pacific Americans (“APAs”) are significantly under-represented in the Federal Judiciary, including in New York State. If confirmed, Ms. Gujarati will be the first Article III judge of South Asian descent in the Second Circuit. “We welcome the announcement of Diane’s renomination,” said Dai Wai Chin Feman, Co-Chair of AABANY’s Judiciary Committee. “She is a trailblazer in the community and will be an excellent addition to the federal judiciary. Diane has already been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and we look forward to her taking the bench in the Eastern District.”
Ms. Gujarati began her legal career by serving as a law clerk to the Honorable John M. Walker, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She then worked as a litigator at Davis Polk & Wardwell before beginning a dedicated, lengthy career in public service. In 1999, Ms. Gujarati joined the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Office’s Criminal Division. Since April 2012, Ms. Gujarati has served as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division. She previously served as Deputy Chief and then Chief of the White Plains Division and as Deputy Chief of the Appeals Unit in the Criminal Division. In addition to her work as a federal prosecutor, Ms. Gujarati taught as an Adjunct Professor of Clinical Law at New York University School of Law. In September 2016, Gujarati was nominated by President Obama to serve as a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, with the support of Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. Ms. Gujarati also served as an AABANY board member and has been an active member of several AABANY committees, including as a Board Liaison to AABANY’s Prosecutors’ Committee. Ms. Gujarati graduated summa cum laude from Barnard College of Columbia University and received her J.D. from Yale Law School.
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For more information, please contact Yang Chen, AABANY Executive Director, at (212) 332-2478, or direct any inquiries to main@aabany.org.
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 the New York regional affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).
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Additional information about AABANY is available at www.aabany.org
On Thursday, April 11, AABANY hosted a screening of “Blowin’ Up,” a feature documentary that explores the complex realities of sex work in New York City and the compassionate approach of a human trafficking court in Queens County. The film features AABANY member Honorable Toko Serita, Queens Supreme Court, as well as other heroines of the Human Trafficking Intervention Court, that work with victims of sexual exploitation who face prostitution-related charges.
After the screening, Beatrice Leong, AABANY Government Service and Public Interest Committee Co-Chair, led a panel discussion featuring speakers from the NYPD/FBI Joint Human Trafficking Task Force and a Queens Assistant District Attorney who prosecutes human traffickers. The panelists talked about how they worked together to prosecute the traffickers and how one can identify and help a suspected trafficking victim. The panel gave important insight into how gangs and traffickers target their victims, and the audience learned that many victims are new immigrants, local high school students or children in the foster care system. “Drugs can only be used once, but a person can be used over and over.”
April’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic, held on Wednesday, April 10 at 33 Bowery Street in Confucius Plaza, brought out 20 lawyers and 8 interpreters who volunteered their time to help 32 clients.
At this month’s clinic, we also presented videos created in partnership with AARP to prevent immigration fraud. In the videos, former Immigration Law Committee co-chairs Susan Akina and Amanda Bernardo provided tips and advice on how to avoid being a victim of immigration scams. Scammers pretend to provide quality legal advice, help with paperwork, or other tasks involved in the immigration process. The scammer usually asks for an upfront fee, takes the money, and disappears immediately. Or worse, they provide ineffective or even harmful representation by filing the wrong paperwork, using fraudulent measures, or misrepresenting facts. Susan and Amanda stressed how important it is to only work with qualified immigration lawyers.
To see Susan’s and Amanda’s videos, click on the following links:
We are asking every member to actively support AABANY’s Monthly Pro
Bono Clinic by making donations that are vital to its continuing
operation. In a few short years, with the tireless and generous
assistance of our volunteers, we have helped hundreds of low-income
clients with free legal advice and referrals to high-quality, culturally
sensitive, and linguistically competent legal services. Together we
have helped expand access to justice for underserved Asian American New
Yorkers.
If you know family members, friends, or businesses, such as your
firm, who would like to support the Clinic, please help us connect with
them by contacting Karen Yau at karen.yau@aabany.org.
Or please urge them to make a donation directly. They can visit the
website of Asian American Law Fund of New York (AALFNY), AABANY’s
501(c)(3) affiliate: https://www.asianamericanlawfund.org/donate/ AALFNY
is accepting charitable donations on the Clinic’s behalf and can issue
any donor a tax receipt. Any contribution, large or small, would help.
Please be sure to indicate in the memo field that the donation is
intended for the Pro Bono Clinic.
Thank you to all of the April Pro Bono Clinic Volunteers!
Lawyers:
Kathy Yung Beatrice Leong Angela Wu Gloria Tsui-Yip Mayumi Cindy Iijima Zhixian Liu Anna Jinhua Wang Eun Hye (Grace) Lee Xianxiao Li (Emily) Amanda Bernardo Samantha Sumilang Kevin Hsi Barbara Hayes Christopher Chin Sae-Eun Ahn Kwok Kei Ng Pauline Yeung-Ha Ming Chu Lee Karen Kithan Yau Asako Aiba
Interpreters:
Alva Lin Justina Chen Emily Arakawa Derek Ting-Che Tai Weiling Huang Jessica Wang Satoshi Kurita Ruth Poon
Special thanks to Johnny Thach and Kwan Shun Jason Cheung for coordinating the clinic, and the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee Co-Chairs Karen Kithan Yau, Pauline Yeung-Ha, Judy Lee and Asako Aiba for their leadership.
If you are interested in volunteering at next month’s Pro Bono Clinic on May 8, please contact Asako Aiba at asako.aiba@aabany.org. AABANY’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic occurs every second Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 PM.
