New York State COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Fireside Chat on February 4, 2021
NAPABA Commends President Biden’s Memorandum on Anti-AAPI Xenophobia
For Immediate Release: Date: January 27, 2021
Contact: Priya Purandare, Executive Director
WASHINGTON – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) commends President Biden’s Presidential Memorandum denouncing discrimination and xenophobia against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.
In the memorandum, President Biden directed the Attorney General, to investigate, document and address hate incidents and harassment against AAPIs. Additionally, the President directed the Department of Health and Human Services, in coordination with the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, to issue guidance, including language access, toward AAPIs in the nation’s COVID-19 response.
“Members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community have been victims of increased acts of discrimination, hate and racist violence, and harassment during the COVID-19 pandemic, much of which has been underreported by the media,” said NAPABA president A.B. Cruz III. “We applaud President Biden’s efforts to unify the country by recognizing and addressing these despicable acts that have devastated our community and businesses. We strongly urge all leaders, organizations and individuals to join us and take a stand against hate.”
According to the Stop AAPI Hate project, there were over two thousand documented incidents of hate or violence targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders over the summer of 2020 related to COVID-19.
Please see NAPABA’s Hate Crimes Center for more resources on how to respond to acts of hate. Organizations are invited to join NAPABA’s Stand Against Hate campaign. NAPABA addressed and condemned racist language in an organization statement last fall.
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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of approximately 50,000 legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local Asian Pacific American bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity in government and the judiciary on the local, state, and federal levels, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of color in the legal profession.
AABANY Officer Margaret Ling Quoted in New York Law Journal Article about Women in the Law
Margaret Ling, AABANY’s Officer, Director of Development, and founder and co-chair of the Real Estate Committee, was featured in a New York Law Journal article about the New York State Bar Association’s Women in Law panel held on January 26, 2021.
About midway through a New York State Bar Association panel on the challenges of retaining and advancing women attorneys, Margaret Ling, a veteran real estate lawyer, told the story of how she’d once toiled for months on an important matter only to be told by her male superior before a vital, well-attended matter meeting that “you are to sit there and you are to say nothing.”
Read more here (subscription is required).
STATEMENT OF THE ASIAN AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK MOURNING THE PASSING OF CORKY LEE
On Wednesday, January 27, the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) received the news that Corky Lee succumbed to his battle against COVID-19. We join the community in mourning this iconic and ever-present figure who graced us through his art and advocacy with a deep and unwavering love for Asian Americans in New York and across the country. Read more here.
AABANY Hosts Weekly Membership Mixer Featuring Board Member Andy Yoo on January 29
On January 29, 2021, the Membership Committee hosted their weekly virtual Membership Mixer, with 19 participants in attendance. This week AABANY hosted a Zoom room to meet Board Member Andy Yoo and learn more about his career as General Counsel for education companies.
This week, participants were asked: “What was the riskiest thing you ever did in your life?” Participants answered that riskiest moves they made included partying under the influence of alcohol in foreign countries including Japan, South Korea and Mexico, traveling alone without knowing the local languages, skydiving, leaving their partnership at a private law firm to become Executive Director, moving to NYC alone to start a job, skiing on Black Diamond snow slopes, and swimming with sharks.
As always, after the regular mixer ends at 7:30pm, members are encouraged to stay for the Mixer afterparty to chat in smaller groups. This week, we were joined by AABANY President-Elect Terry Shen, and former AABANY Board Member Steve Chung and former AABANY Program Associate Simone Chung. Steve even drew a portrait of Terry. The afterparty ended at 11pm.
Congratulations to Tansy Woan, who won a Masterclass program of her choice!
Our weekly Friday mixers are open to everyone, but only members who register for the weekly mixers through the calendar entry on the AABANY website have a chance at winning a prize. Thank you to the In- House Counsel Committee for co-sponsoring this week’s mixer prize.
Please join us this week in the REMO room for smaller group breakouts and on February 12, 2021 for our Lunar New Year celebration. To register for this week’s mixer, please sign up online by February 4 at https://www.aabany.org/events/event_details.asp?legacy=1&id=1468893.
New York State COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Fireside Chat on January 29, 2021
NAPABA | Statement on Executive Orders
For Immediate Release: Date: January 21, 2021
Contact: Priya Purandare, Executive Director
Reversing the Muslim Ban, Restoring DACA, and Promoting Diversity
WASHINGTON—The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) supports the efforts by President Biden to repeal the Muslim Ban, to preserve Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion—values important to NAPABA, as outlined in the Executive Orders he signed yesterday.
“We applaud President Biden’s initial executive orders that specifically address many of the key issues that NAPABA cares about and has been advocating on,” said A. B. Cruz III, president of NAPABA. “We are encouraged by the Administration’s steps today to promote religious tolerance by reversing the Muslim Ban, fortify the DACA program to better protect DREAMers, and commit to promoting racial equity for all Americans. We look forward to working with the new administration on policies that meaningfully support and advance our community.”
NAPABA and our affiliated bar associations opposed the Muslim Ban, including filing amicus briefs in the Supreme Court. NAPABA supports the DACA program and efforts to find a bipartisan solution for the status of the undocumented in the country.
NAPABA congratulates President Biden and Vice President Harris on their historic inauguration.
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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of approximately 50,000 legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local Asian Pacific American bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity in government and the judiciary on the local, state, and federal levels, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of color in the legal profession.
AABANY Hosts Weekly Membership Mixer Featuring the Academic Committee on January 22
On January 22, 2021, the Membership Committee hosted their weekly virtual Membership Mixer, with 20 participants in attendance. This week AABANY featured the Academic Committee represented by Co-Chairs Elaine Chiu, James Cho, Suzanne Kim, and Donna Lee. They shared with the group their career paths from being practitioners to professors, gave tips on how to become adjunct professors, and took questions about careers in academia.
This week, the ice breaker question to participants was: “What was your favorite law school class?” Participants responded that their favorite classes were property, criminal law, corporations, evidence, civil procedure, constitutional law, critical race theory, international human rights, law of international development, civil rights, and law and the movies.
The Membership Committee previously hosted Monthly Mixers at bars, ballparks, stadiums, operas, etc, but due to COVID, we have moved online to offer members a weekly outlet to share their feelings, see old friends, and make new connections. Mixers start at 6:30pm on Friday and the main event ends at 7:30pm but many often stay on after 7:30pm for smaller breakout groups.
Membership Committee will continue to host weekly virtual mixers until it is safe to gather together again in person.
We are giving away door prizes at some of the mixers. In order to win, you must be a member and must RSVP on the calendar entry on the AABANY website to get a raffle number. Non-members can join the mixer but won’t be eligible to win a prize.
Congratulations to Dianna Lam for winning this week’s prize: a full HD 1080p webcam with microphone and ring light! May your online courses at Fordham go smoothly, and your classmates and professors see and hear you in the best light!
Please join us on January 29, 2021 for our Meet the Board series, featuring Andy Yoo. Register by Thursday, Jan. 28, at https://www.aabany.org/events/event_details.asp?legacy=1&id=1468892.
2021 NAPABA Call For Programs
Submit a Program for the 2021 NAPABA Convention
NAPABA is now seeking program submissions for the 2021 NAPABA Convention, Nov. 4-7!
We welcome submissions on a wide range of substantive legal matters and topics concerning the legal community. We aim to deepen our members’ knowledge and skills and provide them with opportunities to forge bonds through panel discussions, workshops, and interactive presentations.
Program submissions must be adaptable for both an in-person and virtual meeting.
Remember:
- The deadline to submit a program is March 16, 2021 by 5 p.m. ET. Late submissions will not be considered.
- If accepted, your program will be presented at the 2021 NAPABA Convention, Nov. 4-7.
- You do not need to be a member of NAPABA to submit a program.
For more information, visit our Call for Programs page.
Join Our Speaker Database
Interested in speaking at the NAPABA Convention without submitting a program? Join our speaker database!
Programs seeking additional speakers may contact [email protected]. If you know anyone who would be interested in this opportunity, forward them this email!
New York State COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Fireside Chat on January 15, 2021
