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In The News: Law 360 Article “Responding To DOJ’s Increasing Int’l Antitrust Extraditions” Co-Authored by Brian Song

On April 1, 2020, Law 360 published an article co-authored by Immediate Past President Brian Song. The article is entitled “Responding To DOJ’s Increasing Int’l Antitrust Extraditions.”

The article discusses how the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice is increasingly using extradition to prosecute individuals alleged to have violated U.S. law. It discusses various recent cases where extradition has successfully been exercised, mainly from Italy and Germany, by the Department of Justice solely based on an antitrust charge.

The article notes that foreign nationals facing prosecution by the Antitrust Division have few choices of recourse. They include pleading guilty in exchange for the possibility for lower sentences, hunkering down in their home country and not traveling abroad, and seeking to have the charges dismissed on constitutional or statute of limitation grounds from abroad.

However, since the options available to foreign defendants are limited, and given the success of recent extraditions, foreign defendants should consider their options very carefully.

To read the full article, click on the following links:

https://www.bakerlaw.com/webfiles/Litigation/2020/Alerts/Obrien-Law360s.pdf

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AABANY Hosts First Membership Mixer via Zoom on April 1

On April 1, 2020, AABANY held its first Monthly Membership Mixer virtually on Zoom. Over 25 people joined Brian Song, who became the Immediate Past President, and Sapna Palla, who officially became the President of AABANY on the same day.

Brian remarked how it had been a tremendous honor for him to serve as President of AABANY for the past year. He was amazed at how the year went by so quickly and thanked everyone for their support and dedication in making 2019 a successful year for AABANY.

Sapna next spoke about how pleased she was to be taking on the Presidency and how AABANY’s theme of “Stronger Together: Unity in Diversity” is extremely fitting in the current situation. Sapna noted that AABANY is an exceptional community, and by sticking together, we will definitely get through this tough situation. She also encouraged people to reach out to each other professionally and socially via online platforms like Zoom until things return to normal.

Chris Kwok informed attendees about an upcoming webinar he is working on with NAPABA taking place on April 3. The webinar will discuss the rise in racist attacks against Asian Americans fueled by misinformation surrounding the spread of COVID-19 and what we can do to counter them.

Yang Chen and Chris Kwok also discussed the stimulus bill that recently passed to provide economic support to millions of Americans and businesses that are suffering as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. AABANY is working on distilling the bill down to clarify who it covers and the type of relief they are eligible for under the new bill.

Lastly, the virtual floor was opened up to all attendees for a free discussion. Members discussed the current situation and what AABANY can do to engage its members and serve the overall Asian American community in this new normal.

Overall, our first meeting on Zoom was very lively and went smoothly. In the coming weeks, AABANY is planning on hosting more and more programs online, including CLEs and informative webinars. Stay tuned!

Thanks to everyone that attended the mixer.

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NAPABA and GAPABA Celebrate the Appointment of Judge Carla Wong McMillian to the Supreme Court of Georgia

WASHINGTON – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) and the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association (GAPABA) celebrate the appointment of Judge Carla Wong McMillian to the Supreme Court of Georgia. Appointed by Governor Brian Kemp on March 27, 2020, Judge McMillian will be the first Asian Pacific American to serve on the state’s highest court when sworn in.

“NAPABA extends congratulations to Judge Carla Wong McMillian on her appointment to the Supreme Court of Georgia,” said Bonnie Lee Wolf, NAPABA President. “A leader in her community and past president of the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Judge McMillian will bring her record of legal excellence to the bench. During this challenging time, it is uplifting news to celebrate Judge McMillian blazing the trail as the first AAPI nominated to Georgia’s highest court.”

”GAPABA is thrilled that our own Judge Carla Wong McMillian has been appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court,” said Angela Hsu, GAPABA President. “Currently, there are no other AAPI serving on the highest courts of any state in the South, the Southeast or the Midwest. In addition to the historic nature of this appointment, Judge McMillian is a jurist, a colleague and a friend who has the love and respect of the entire legal community.”

“We are extremely proud to hear that Judge Carla McMillian has been elevated to the Supreme Court of Georgia,” added Judge Benes Aldana (ret.), chair of the NAPABA Judicial Council.

“Justice McMillian is an active member of the NAPABA Judicial Council and has been a trailblazer and an inspiration to our community.  Her elevation to the highest court in Georgia makes her the first and only Asian Pacific American to serve on a state supreme court in the South. This is such welcome news during these difficult times for our nation, as we see a rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans.” 

Judge McMillian has served on the Court of Appeals of Georgia since 2013. In 2014, she became the first and only Asian American elected to statewide office in Georgia. Prior to joining the Court of Appeals, she served as a state court judge for Fayette County. Before her appointment to the bench, Judge McMillian was a partner at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP (now known as Eversheds Sutherland). A current board member and past president of GAPABA, she is also a past recipient of NAPABA’s “Best Lawyers Under 40” Award. Judge McMillian is a graduate of Duke University and received her law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law.

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National Bar Associations Denounce Rising Anti-Asian Hate Related to the Coronavirus

Seven national bar associations today released a joint statement denouncing the rising number of incidents involving anti-Asian discrimination and racist remarks related to the coronavirus and COVID-19.

Calling for unity in these challenging times are the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), the American Bar Association (ABA), the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA), the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), the National LGBT Bar (LGBT Bar), the National Native American Bar Association (NNABA), and the South Asian Bar Association of North America (SABA North America).

“Unfortunately, the emergence of the coronavirus has led to an increase in acts of hate and discrimination targeting the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. The legal community stands united against hate. The current situation calls for unity and support—not acts of division and words that sow fear,” said NAPABA President Bonnie Lee Wolf.

The FBI has warned about a surge in anti-Asian hate crimes related to the coronavirus. Numerous community organizations have documented that acts of discrimination and bias are increasing, including incidents involving stereotypes and xenophobic language.

President Wolf continued, “Thank you to our sister bars who issued their own messages of support for the Asian American and Pacific Islander community when they saw these acts of hate and discrimination on the rise. A special thank-you to ABA President Judy Perry Martinez, HNBA President Irene Oria, NAWL Executive Director Karen Richardson, LGBT Bar President Wesley Bizzell, NNABA President Robert Saunooke, and SABA North America President Aneesh Mehta for joining me in the video statement to launch this campaign. We encourage other bar associations, law firms, and organizations to join us in denouncing discrimination. We stand together. We stand against hate.”

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CPC: Housing Know Your Rights

Due to the ongoing pandemic, community members have been struggling with answers to rent, housing and bill payments during this period of unstable income and job security.

New York State has implemented an eviction moratorium for 90 days, which applies to residential and commercial tenants. The Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) calls upon the New York State legislature to cancel rent for New Yorkers who have been impacted by COVID-19. To support this bill, you can visit the website here at Housing Justice For All.

Info sheets on housing rights are included below in English and Chinese (simplified and traditional).

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Register for C100’s Strategic Lessons from Within China for Responding to COVID-19

C100’s continuing teleconference series, Strategic Lessons from Within China for Responding to COVID-19, features business executives and education leaders with experiences on the ground in China responding to the coronavirus, offering timely and actionable advice to American job creators and educators.

Registration is now open for this upcoming session below:

Please register by entering the code “C100Friend.” The sessions are available for free to AABANY members. Please share! They are presented via Zoom web-conference, and the video and audio recordings are made publicly available after each session. 

Full videos and highlights from C100’s past sessions including their exclusive interview with C100 Member Dr. David Ho, Director & CEO of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center moderated by MSNBC News Anchor and C100 Member Richard Lui are available here.

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In The News: Chris Kwok’s Op-Ed on Weaponized Coronavirus Language Against Asian-Americans Published in the New York Daily News

On March 26, 2020, the New York Daily News published an op-ed co-authored by Chris Kwok. The piece is entitled “Weaponized coronavirus language is endangering Asian-American lives.” (Chris, who sits on the AABANY Board and chairs the Issues Committee, co-wrote the op-ed in his capacity as a Board member of the Asian American Federation).

The article discusses how anti-Asian rhetoric and labeling the coronavirus as “the Chinese virus” is endangering the lives of Asian Americans across the United States. It also provides historical examples of what happens when you link a disease to a particular group of people. It can easily lead to stigma and violence against that group. For example, in the 14th century, Jews were accused of spreading the Bubonic Plague in Europe and massacred. Similarly, in the 1980s to 1990s gay people were blamed for spreading AIDS and suffered violence as a result.

Furthermore, the article notes that this is not the first time Asian Americans have faced something like this in the United States. In the 1850s to 1890s, the Chinese were accused of being carriers of venereal disease and leprosy. As a result of the openly anti-Chinese rhetoric during that period, Chinese people were “…rounded up into thousands of railroad cars, steamers, or logging rafts, marched out of town, or killed.”

Now, history seems to be repeating itself as the spread of the coronavirus pandemic is falsely being attributed to Asian Americans. In recent weeks we have seen a spike in xenophobic incidents targeting Asian Americans throughout the nation. Such incidents include “…Asian Americans being beaten, slashed, kicked, spat at, sprayed with things, yelled at or ostracized in public.” To make matters worse, President Trump’s deliberate campaign to label the coronavirus as “the Chinese virus” has put Asian Americans at an even higher risk.

To read the full article, click here.

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Congresswoman Grace Meng Introduces Resolution to Denounce Anti-Asian Sentiment Caused by Coronavirus

On March 25, 2020, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives that denounces the anti-Asian sentiment caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus.  

“The increased use of anti-Asian rhetoric, particularly from our nation’s leaders such as the President, and their use of terms like ‘Chinese virus,’ ‘Wuhan virus,’ and ‘Kung-flu,’ is not only irresponsible, reckless, and downright disgusting, it threatens the safety of the Asian American community; such language demeans, disparages, and scapegoats Asian Americans,” said Meng. “Asian Americans, like millions of others across the nation, are worried about the coronavirus; however, so many Asian Americans are also living in fear following the dramatic increase of threats and attacks against those of Asian descent. During this time of heightened anxiety and fear surrounding COVID-19, we cannot lose sight of protecting the health and safety of every single person – no matter their race, ethnicity, or background. The House must take a strong stand against the sickening intolerance, bigotry, and violence that is leaving a terrible stain on our nation’s history, especially during this moment of an unprecedented public health crisis. I am grateful to my colleagues who introduced this resolution with me today, and for joining me in saying loud and clear: xenophobia and discrimination is absolutely unacceptable. I strongly urge all of my House of Representatives colleagues, to support this measure, and its passage.”  

The resolution has 124 cosponsors. They include: Reps. Chu, Pressley, Castro, Pascrell, Malinowski, Speier, Watson Coleman, Brown, Takano, Cisneros, Schakowsky, Velázquez, Pingree, Lieu, Napolitano, Correa, Haaland, Huffman, Torres, Blumenauer, Fudge, Cárdenas, Omar, Schrader, Moulton, Suozzi, Lynch, Dingell, Connolly, Case, A. Green, Bonamici, Trone, C. Maloney, Khanna, McGovern, Thompson (CA), Larson, Foster, E. Johnson, Jayapal, Kilmer, Jackson Lee, Lofgren, Porter, Raskin, Lowenthal, DelBene, Castor, Jeffries, Trahan, Smith (WA), Rose, Beyer, Rouda, Costa, Serrano, DeFazio, Krishnamoorthi, Ocasio-Cortez, Cicilline, Kim, Sanchez, Soto, Bustos, McCollum, Pocan, Welch, Sablan, Schiff, Larsen, Higgins, Yarmuth, McEachin, DeLauro, Quigley, Clark, Grijalva, DeGette, Engel, Butterfield, Rush, Deutch, Allred, Eshoo, S. Maloney, Kennedy, D. Davis, Bass, Boyle, Nadler, Lee (CA), Norton, Lewis, Mucarsel-Powell, Bishop, Evans, “Chuy” García, Schneider, Horsford, Carson, Wild, Tlaib, Casten, Craig, Frankel, Meeks, Brownley, Spanberger, Wexton, Vargas, S. Garcia, Hastings, Escobar, Cohen, Vargas, Sherman, Waters, McNerney, Cox, McNerney, Lawrence, Tlaib, and Gallego.  

To learn more and to read the text of the resolution, click here.

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From KALAGNY: New York Court Restrictions and Protocols, COVID-19 Update

Thanks to KALAGNY for sharing these important court updates for New York courts.

New York State Unified Court System

March 20, 2020 Executive Order No. 202.8 from Governor Cuomo (Link)

“[A]ny specific time limit for the commencement, filing, or service of any legal action, notice, motion, or other process or proceeding, as prescribed by the procedural laws of the state, including but not limited to the criminal procedure law, the family court act, the civil practice law and rules, the court of claims act, the surrogate’s court procedure act, and the uniform court acts, or by any other statute, local law, ordinance, order, rule, or regulation, or part thereof, is hereby tolled from the date of this executive order until April 19, 2020”

Executive Order 202.8 directs a 100% in-person workforce reduction as of March 22, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. for “non-essential” services. Law firms have not been identified on the Executive Order or the Governor’s guidances as “essential.” Please see the NYSBA’s summary of the Executive Order here.

March 22, 2020 Administrative Order from Chief Administrative Judge Marks.

“[E]ffective immediately and until further order, no papers shall be accepted for filing by a county clerk or a court in any matter of a type not included on the list of essential matters attached as Exh. A. This directive applies to both paper and electronic filings.”

March 19, 2020 Memo from NY State Court Regarding Essential Services (Link)

For information, please see: https://www.nycourts.gov/

United States District Court, Southern District of New York

March 11, 2020 Memo Re: COVID-19 Protocols (Link)

For more information, please see: https://nysd.uscourts.gov/covid-19-coronavirus

United States District Court, Eastern District of New York

March 18, 2020 Administrative Order 2020-06 from Chief Judge Mauskopf (Link)

March 18, 2020 Administrative Order 2020-11 from Chief Judge Mauskopf (Link)

For more information, please see: https://www.nyed.uscourts.go

United States District Court, Northern District of New York

March 13, 2020 General Order #58 in Response to Coronavirus COVID-19 Public Emergency (Link) For more information, please see: https://www.nynd.uscourts.gov/public-emergency

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Effective March 23, 2020, oral arguments will be held by teleconference. For more information, please see: http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/

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From NQAPIA: Attorney Ethical Obligations & Census 2020

Lawyers are under a general ethical obligation to advise their clients and the public, in general, to comply with federal law and participate in Census 2020. Our partners at the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA) commissioned legal research reviewing attorney ethical considerations and obligations regarding the Census under the Rules of Professional Conduct in the following thirteen jurisdictions: CA, DC, FL, GA, IL, MD, MA, NJ, NY, PA, TX, VA, and WA. The Memorandum of Law is here: http://bit.ly/2IJgQQl

The memo is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice covering a specific situation, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship. Contact an ethics lawyer for legal advice in your jurisdiction. 

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