EDNY Accepting Applications for Mediator Incubator Program

The EDNY ADR Department is currently accepting applications for a new pilot program entitled the EDNY Mediator Incubator.

The Mediator Incubator is designed as a means to recruit and train junior attorneys (less than 10 years of experience) to serve as mediators on the EDNY Mediation Panel. Incubator candidates will participate in an initial orientation and training session, and then be permitted to observe three EDNY cases and co-mediate three EDNY cases under the supervision and guidance of experienced EDNY mediators. Upon completion of their observations and co-mediations, incubator participants will be eligible to apply for membership to the EDNY Mediation Panel. Additional information about the Mediator Incubator is available here: https://www.nyed.uscourts.gov/mediator-incubator

As this is a pilot program, the initial class will be very small (most likely 4 candidates). Below is the link to the application which is due on April 1, 2019:

Mediator Incubator Application:
https://img.nyed.uscourts.gov/files/forms/Mediator%20Incubator%20Application%20and%20Instructions%202019.pdf

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York serves a wide variety of litigants, including persons of varying age, race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, religion, socioeconomic and family status. The Court’s ADR Department recognizes that mediators and arbitrators with a wide variety of cultural and life experiences enrich the program by bringing diverse perspectives to resolving disputes. To that end, applicants of all diverse backgrounds and experiences are encouraged to apply.

 

Friday Evening Lecture Series: Asian/Asian American Scholars of Education

On Friday, March 8, 2019, AAARI, a CUNY-wide scholarly research and resource center on policies and issues that affect Asians and Asian Americans, is holding a talk, Asian/Asian American Scholars of Education: 21st Century Pedagogies, Perspectives, and Experiences, by Nicholas D. Hartlep & Daisy Ball from 6pm to 8pm, at 25 West 43rd Street, 10th Floor, Room 1000, between 5th & 6th Avenues, Manhattan.

The talk is free and open to the general public. To RSVP for this talk, please visit https://19-03-08hartlep.eventbrite.com. Please be prepared to present proper identification when entering the building lobby. If you are unable to attend the talk, streaming video and audio podcast will be available online the following week.

Nicholas D. Hartlep and Daisy Ball will discuss their book Asian/American Scholars of Education: 21st Century Pedagogies, Perspectives, and Experiences, which shares the knowledge and travails of Asian/American luminaries in the field of education. This unique collection of essays acknowledges the struggle that Asian/American Education scholars have faced when it comes to being regarded as legitimate scholars deserving of endowed or distinguished status.

Books will be available for purchase ($40 each, cash and credit card accepted) and signing after their talk.

Collaborative Bar Leadership Academy | Apply Now!

Collaborative Bar Leadership Academy

Application Deadline: April 5, 2019 at 4 p.m. CST

Apply Here

Apply for the seventh annual Collaborative Bar Leadership Academy (CBLA) in Denver, Colorado from June 23 to 25, 2019. The CBLA is a collaborative effort among the American Bar Association, Hispanic National Bar Association, National Bar Association, National Native American Bar Association, and NAPABA. The CBLA will strengthen the pipeline of diverse bar association leaders through leadership training and professional development programs.

The CBLA is intended for up-and-coming bar leaders who have been in practice for 5-15 years and have served as officers of a NAPABA affiliate and/or chair/co-chair of a NAPABA committee.

Deadline | Apply by Wednesday, April 5

The application can be accessed here.

Applicants will be asked to submit a brief essay of 250-500 words, a CV/resume, and two letters of recommendation.

Questions?

More information about the program can be found on the CBLA website. Please contact CBLA Steering Committee members Gary Zhao (gzhao@salawus.com), Greg Schwartz (gschwartz@billionarmitage.com), Kristin Haugen (kc@kchaugenlaw.com) and Marianne Chow Newman (mwchow@hearst.com) with any questions.

(Re)Invigorating Asian American Studies at CUNY Campuses

The Hunter College Mapping
Asian American New York (MAANY) Consortium
Presents

 (Re)Invigorating Asian American Studies at CUNY Campuses

March 14th (Thurs), 12:30-2:30 pm
Brooklyn College Library, Room 242

Please join us for a lively conversation with current and former directors of Asian American Studies across CUNY campuses. The panelists will share their insights on how to successfully incorporate Asian American Studies at CUNY, and the barriers they face (and are facing) to sustain their respective programs.

GUEST SPEAKERS:

  • Charlotte Brooks, former director of Asian and Asian American Studies at Baruch College
  • Madhulika Khandelwal, current director of Asian/American Center at Queens College
  • Vivian Louie, current director of the Asian American Studies Program & Center at Hunter College

MODERATED BY: Diana Pan, Assistant Professor, Brooklyn College

CO-SPONSORED BY: Brooklyn College — Dean’s Office of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Asian/Asian American Studies Steering Committee, American Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, Haitian Studies Institute, Department of Sociology, Department of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies, Department of Political Science, Department of History, & Coalition of Brooklyn College Radical Asians (COBRA)

Event is open to the public. Guests will need a photo ID to enter the campus, and the library.

RSVP: https://goo.gl/forms/t9iuUz4dNI0CWaw43


Axe Throwing Sunday with the IP Committee

On Sunday, February 24, the IP Committee got together for a fun and relaxing evening of Axe Throwing at Kick Axe in Brooklyn.  We had a good mix of members in various stages of their careers and practicing various aspects of intellectual property law.  Thanks to everyone who attended!

To learn more about the IP Committee and to get involved, please go to https://www.aabany.org/page/145

We thank Jeff Mok, IP Committee Co-Chair, for the photo and the write up for this post.

Laser Tag at Indoor Extreme Sports

On February 23, 2019, the Military and Veterans Affairs (“MVA”) Committee and Litigation Committee teamed up to co-host a Laser Tag event at Indoor Extreme Sports in Long Island City. Committee members spent the morning improving their teamwork, coordination, and communication skills by working in squads to engage their adversaries. Mission themes included Team Deathmatch, Search and Destroy, and Slayer. 

Similar future events will likely be planned due to the overwhelmingly positive experience and feedback received from those who joined.

To stay in the loop, join our listserv by contacting the co-chairs of the MVA Committee at https://www.aabany.org/page/444 or the Litigation Committee at https://www.aabany.org/page/116.

Thanks Jimmy Kang, MVA Committee Co-Chair, for the write-up and photos.

AABANY’S 30th Annual Dinner Celebrated By More Than 700 Attendees

On Wednesday, February 27, 2019, AABANY hosted its 30th Anniversary Annual Dinner: United in Action and Vision: Towards 2020 Together at Cipriani Wall Street. The dinner attracted over 700 attorneys, judges, prosecutors, in-house counsel, government officials, and dignitaries and sponsorships from more than 55 law firms and corporations.

This year AABANY was proud to honor:

Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney General for the State of New Jersey, with the Public Service Leadership Award

Gabrielle Lyse Brown, Executive Director, Diversity and Inclusion for Morgan Stanley, with the Women’s Leadership Award

Deneen Donnley, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of USAA, with the Corporate Leadership Award

Davis Polk & Wardwell with the 2019 Law Firm Diversity Award

In addition, we were also pleased to present scholarships to this year’s class of Don Liu Scholars.

We thank all of the AABANY Annual Dinner Planning Committee members and volunteers for their hard work in making this year’s celebration a huge success.

We extend sincere thanks to all of our sponsors. Their generous sponsorships make it possible for us to pursue our mission to advance the interests of the Asian Pacific American (APA) legal community and the communities we serve and support our many activities and signature events throughout the year.

Lastly, we thank everyone that attended the 30th Annual Dinner and celebrated with us.

More photos to come. Stay tuned!

New York State Complete Count Commission Announces Public Events to Prepare for 2020 Census

Beginning March 4 in Rochester, the New York State Complete Count Commission will hold six public hearings across the state for input from Census experts, advocates, and the general public about how to best ensure a complete count of New Yorkers in the 2020 census.

The Complete Count Commission, appointed last month, is tasked with building upon the sweeping efforts already underway to prepare for next year’s federal Census. With these meetings, the Commission is undertaking a multi-year, collaborative strategy involving all state agencies, local and county governments, non-profits and local stakeholders across the state.

Each meeting of the Commission will be open to the public and webcast. The events will feature detailed presentations to the Commission by various entities involved in the census, as well as testimony from advocates, and the general public on a first-come, first-served basis.

Specific details for public participation in the public comment portion of the events will be forthcoming.

The hearings scheduled are:

Monday, March 4, 2 p.m.
Rochester City Council Chambers
30 Church St.
Rochester, NY 14614

Monday, March 11, 6 p.m.
Hostos Community College
500 Grand Concourse
Bronx, NY 10451

Wednesday, March 20, 7 p.m.
SUNY Sullivan
112 College Road
Loch Sheldrake, NY 12759

Friday, April 12, 3 p.m.
Suffolk County Legislature – William J. Lindsay County Complex – William H. Rogers Building
725 Veterans Memorial Highway
Smithtown, NY 11787

Friday, April 26, 10 a.m.
Mohawk Valley Community College – Utica
1101 Sherman Dr
Utica, NY 13501

Monday, May 6, 6 p.m.
Rockefeller Institute of Government
411 State St
Albany, NY 12203

Additional hearings may be scheduled at a later date.

In addition to the above hearings, members of the Commission will meet with stakeholders across the state to augment efforts.

For more information about the Complete Count Commission and New York’s efforts to ensure a full count in 2020, please visit https://www.ny.gov/programs/2020-census.

Call for Nominations: Secretary

AABANY thanks everyone who submitted nominations for the election taking place at the Annual Meeting scheduled for February 13, 2019. We did not receive any qualified submissions for the position of Secretary and therefore it was marked as vacant for the meeting. The Board will fill this vacancy pursuant to Section 7.05 of the bylaws. If you are interested in applying for the Secretary position, please submit your nomination materials by no later than 5:00 PM on Wednesday, March 6. Note that you may be meeting with the Nominations Committee on March 13, in the evening, so please save the date.

As set forth in the Bylaws, section 5.4 (f):

The Secretary shall:(i)  be the recording secretary of the Board, shall act as clerk, record all votes and prepare the minutes of all Board, Special and Annual meetings; (ii)  prepare all correspondence to inform the Members and the Board as to the status of all orders, votes and resolutions that call for some action or steps to be taken, give any required notice of all meetings, and inform the Board of all correspondence; (iii)  keep the seal of the organization; (iv) safeguard the indemnity insurance of the Association (see Section 4.18); (v) manage and review handbooks and manuals of the Association; and (vi) assist the other Officers in the performance of their respective duties and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board or by the President.

To apply for this Officer position, please submit:
(i) a statement of interest declaring your intent to run; and
(ii) a current resume, biography or CV listing your experience and accomplishments and any honors received to date.

As part of item (i), please indicate your experience with AABANY if you have been an active member, describing any activities that you have participated in or helped to organize. If you have not been an active member in AABANY, explain what capabilities, resources, talents, skills, expertise, experience or any other contributions you would be able to make as the Secretary. Please also identify any activities indicating a dedication and commitment to issues of importance to the Asian Pacific American community.

You may email your application in Word or PDF to nominations@aabany.org. You may fax your nomination to (718) 228-7206. If you wish to submit by regular mail, it must reach AABANY by no later than close of business, March 6, at the following address: 45 Rockefeller Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10111.

Congratulations to Michael J. Rhee

On February 21, 2019, the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association (APALSA) at St. John’s University School of Law recognized Michael J. Rhee as the 2019 APALSA Honoree during their Lunar New Year Reception at China Blue-Tribeca. AABANY congratulates Michael J. Rhee on his recognition as the 2019 APALSA Honoree.

Michael J. Rhee received his J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law in 1998 and went on to lead a remarkable legal career. Mr. Rhee had served as a Special Counsel in the real estate department at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP.  Currently, Mr. Rhee is Vice President and General Counsel of the Durst Organization, one of the most prominent real estate companies in New York City. As Vice President and General Counsel, Mr. Rhee advises on leasing, acquisitions, construction and development activities, as well as the corporate and legal needs of the company. Mr. Rhee also oversees insurance and collections and manages outside counsel.

Michael J. Rhee is not only a distinguished member of the legal community, he is also an active one. He has been an AABANY member since 2015, and he is a member of the In-House Counsel Committee. Mr. Rhee is also a member of the Leadership Advisory Council of the Korean American Lawyers Associations of Greater New York. Please join AABANY in congratulating Mr. Rhee on this well-deserved recognition.

From left to right: Christopher Arcitio (St. John Law Alum & Former AABANY Intern), Anna Chen (St. John Law Alum & Former AABANY Intern), Michael J. Rhee, Yang Chen (Executive Director at AABANY)