Official blog of the Asian American Bar Association of New York
On Tuesday, October 22, join A4 for a silent auction of costumes, art, clothing, and accessories created by Asian American artists and designers to benefit A4.
Your ticket supports A4 programs that seek to ensure greater representation, equity, and opportunities for Asian American artists and arts organizations.
For more information about the event and participating artists and designers, click on the following link: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/asianamericanartsalliance/295529/
The Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) was invited by the Asian American Federation and some of its member agencies – not-for-profit organizations that have substantial Chinese-speaking staff – to help with training their limited-English-proficient staff in their native languages on the prevention of sexual harassment in order to meet the new requirements under the New York State and New York City Human Rights Law.
On behalf of AABANY, Karen Kithan Yau, a co-chair of the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee and Eric Su, a co-chair of the Labor and Employment Law Committee, both of whom are long-time employment lawyers, representing workers and employers respectively, gave three trainings, one in Cantonese Chinese, one in Mandarin Chinese, and one in English. The trainings took place in late September and early October. The training participants included kitchen and housekeeping staff, part-time teachers, museum staff, policy advocates, and an executive director. The discussion was rich, lively, and illuminating.
Every New York State employer is now required to provide sexual harassment training o their employees annually. That means that, as of October 9, 2019, every employer should have provided their first such training. Moreover, the New York State and City laws now protect virtually all employees, including contractors, subcontractors, vendors, consultants or others providing services from sexual harassment in the workplace. Thus the need to provide linguistically and culturally competent instruction is acute. The New York City Human Rights Commission has provided impressive training materials, including online trainings in 11 languages. However, there remain employees who will need training in their native languages. Experienced employment attorneys or skilled trainers of human resources areas who are linguistically and culturally competent will continue to be needed.
Learn more about AABANY’s Pro Bono and Community Service Committee here. Learn more about AABANY’s Labor and Employment Law Committee here. Thanks to Karen and Eric for providing these trainings to organizations serving the Asian American community.
On October 2, 2019, the AABANY Real Estate Committee presented the CLE entitled: “Understanding Diversity and Inclusion in Our Everyday World.” The CLE was co sponsored by Flushing Bank, Big Apple Abstract Corp, KALAGNY, and Littler. It took place at Flushing Bank in New Hyde Park, New York and was attended by 40 attorneys. The panelists were AABANY’s very own William Ng, Shareholder at Littler; Samitha Lukose-Khan of Flushing Bank; and Sanjay Nair, Associate at Littler. The CLE was moderated by Margaret Ling, Co-Chair of the AABANY Real Estate Committee. The presentation invoked some powerful and informative discussion specifically on diversity, inclusion and bias in the legal profession.
Pictured above from left to right: Riyaad Khan of Allstate Insurance; Maria Silva of Flushing Bank; Margaret Ling of Big Apple Abstract and AABANY; Thomas Kane of Flushing Bank; Mohammad Yusuf of Flushing Bank; William Ng of Littler; Sanjay Nair of Littler.
Mannada, the producer of the Cannabis Law Summit and The Maze , is hosting its second annual Cannabis Media Summit (CMS), a conference for journalists, media professionals, newsrooms and cannabis companies.
For more information and to register, click on the following link: https://www.cannabismediasummit.com/
On Saturday, September 21, 2019, AABANY held its 10th annual Fall Conference together with NAPABA for the 2019 NAPABA Northeast Regional/AABANY Fall Conference, “United in Action and Vision: Towards 2020 Together.” For the third year in a row, the conference took place in Fordham University School of Law. This year marked our biggest yet, with about 450 attendees throughout the day. On Friday evening, September 20, we held a Welcome Reception at Supernova, a rooftop bar in the Novotel Hotel on West 52nd Street, to kick off the Conference, open to all attendees from New York and the Northeast region.
This year, many programs throughout the morning and afternoon offered CLE credits to attending attorneys. Twenty CLE programs were available, covering many different topics ranging from Asian American Voter Protection to Pro Bono Clinics. Also available were non-CLE programs such as the In-House Counsel Forum and “Asian American Women Corporate Counsel in Television.” In addition to all the programs offered at the Fall Conference, we had Pitch Sessions, Trial Advocacy Program (TAP), Professional Development Coaching sessions, and a Diversity Career Fair and Expo. Numerous employers from all over New York City and State set up informational tables at the Diversity Career Fair to speak with prospective candidates. This was a great way for law students, recent graduates, and practicing attorneys to learn more about the employers and their different areas of practice. Some of the employers set up onsite interviews to speak with Fall Conference attendees who submitted resumes in advance.
In one of our morning programs, the Pro Bono Committee hosted “The Art and Science of Interviewing Pro Bono Clients.” The program addressed how to communicate with and educate the clients, collect information, and manage clients’ frustrations. This included a necessary discussion regarding proper translation issues that would arise as well as establishing a reliable relationship with an interpreter. Beatrice Leong and Jonathan D. Hernandez simulated an effective and ineffective client intake meeting to demonstrate the important takeaways of this program.
Another program that took place was “State and Federal Clerkships: A Primer on Seeking, Landing, and Succeeding in the Right Clerkship for You,” organized by AABANY’s Judiciary Committee, which discussed the benefits of a clerkship, steps to landing a clerkship, and some tips on how to be successful at a clerkship. The panelists highlighted how a clerkship can help with professional development, legal writing and research skills, and building a network. The panelists were also able to give some insight into the differences between state and federal court clerkships, the application process, and how to approach interviews.
The Plenary Lunch Session featured a Special Screening of the award-winning documentary “And Then They Came for Us.” This documentary reflects on the story of Executive Order 9066 and the internment of 120,000 Japanese-Americans during World War II. It also highlighted the landmark Korematsu v. United States case and its relation to the civil rights issues people of color and under-represented communities face today. The screening was followed by a discussion with NAPABA Trailblazer Dale Minami, who was Fred Korematsu’s lawyer, and the filmmaker, Abby Ginzberg.
More programs continued in the afternoon including the Connecticut Asian Pacific Bar Association’s “Opioids and the Courts” program. This program discussed the national opioid epidemic created by certain pharmaceutical companies and how states and individuals are bringing lawsuits against those companies. We heard directly from William Tong, Attorney General of the State of Connecticut, and his approach to the multi-district litigation in Ohio that is scheduled for trial in October 2019.
Our afternoon included additional insightful programs such as “Cybersecurity: 20/20 Hindsight Not Good Enough in 2020,” organized by AABANY’s Commercial Restructuring and Bankruptcy Committee, which discussed the cybersecurity industry today, and how lawyers can help prevent data breaches and safeguard against bad actors. The panelists gave advice on how attorneys can stay ahead of data breaches and protect their clients – mainly through diligent pre-breach planning, training staff on signs of a breach, and preparing a response plan in case of a breach. The panelists also offered some advice on the ethical concerns that arise when a breach occurs, and how to best handle them.
After the programs concluded, a Cocktail Reception was held in the Bateman Room and the terrace outside the Soden Lounge. Attorneys and participants connected and reconnected with peers, friends and colleagues from AABANY and NAPABA. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong offered opening remarks to all in attendance, followed by President Brian Song presenting AABANY’s Norman Lau Kee Trailblazer Award to Parkin Lee, Chief Legal Officer of the Rockefeller Group. Parkin Lee is a pillar of the Asian American legal community who has paved the way for generations of Asian American attorneys in New York and across the country.
The night didn’t stop there as we continued the festivities in the heart of New York City at the Ascent Lounge to enjoy a Post-Conference Dinner. Located in Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle, the lounge was the celebratory finale to the Conference, and participants got to mix and mingle over a dinner buffet, drinks and dessert, with views of Central Park at night.
Many thanks to all the participants including the speakers, moderators, program coordinators, and volunteers. Thanks to our sponsors for their support which made this successful Conference possible. We also thank Fordham Law School for hosting us at their exquisite facility.
For some photos from the Conference visit AABANY’s Facebook page. The albums are organized according to the volunteers who took them: Laura Tsang, Guanlan Shen, Katherine Shen and Ziqi Guan.
Thanks to Justin Chan, Tiffany Cheung, Dasheng Lin, Wai Wong, and Lia Kim, our law student volunteers from Cardozo Law School, for their help in drafting this blog post.
On Thursday, October 17, 2019, come out to the Daedong Manor, in Flushing, to meet and greet more than 50 Korean exhibitors visiting the Queens Business Expo 2019.
This event is an excellent networking opportunity for international attorneys.
For more information and to register, click on the following link: https://queenschamber.eventbank.com/event/b2b-opportunity-to-expand-your-market-to-korea-15750/home.html
NAPABA congratulates the newly-elected officers, regional governors, and at-large members of the 2019-20 NAPABA Board of Governors. They will be sworn into office during the 2019 NAPABA Convention in Austin, TX.
Officers:
Regional Governors:
At-Large Board Members:
Register for the 2019 NAPABA Convention
The advance rate deadline is just around the corner! Save up to $150 when you register in advance. Advance rates will only be available until Oct. 28 at 11:59 p.m. CT.
To register, click here.
NAPABA is proud to announce our distinguished award winners, who will be recognized at the 2019 NAPABA Convention in Austin, TX.
TRAILBLAZER AWARDS
The Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award, NAPABA’s highest honor, recognizes the outstanding achievements, commitment, and leadership of lawyers who have paved the way for the advancement of other Asian Pacific American attorneys. Trailblazers have demonstrated vision, courage, and tenacity in their practice. They have also made substantial and lasting contributions to the Asian Pacific American legal profession, as well as the broader Asian Pacific American community.
The Honorable Richard J. Chin | Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court (retired)
Julia Markley | Partner, Perkins Coie
Byung “BJay” Pak | United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, United States Attorney’s Office
Debbie Leilani Shon | Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP
PRESIDENT’S AWARD
The NAPABA President’s Award is given to NAPABA members who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to NAPABA, the legal community, and the greater Asian Pacific American community.
Dale Ho | Director, ACLU Voting Rights Project
AFFILIATE OF THE YEAR AWARD
The NAPABA Affiliate of the Year Award recognizes outstanding NAPABA affiliates for their best practices and accomplishments in their local communities.
Asian American Bar Association of New York
APA-OWNED LAW FIRM AWARD
The NAPABA APA-Owned Law Firm of the Year Award recognizes our membership’s law firms—solo, small, and large—that have achieved prominence and distinction, and have demonstrated a strong commitment to the Asian Pacific American community. The Award celebrates law practices that embrace the Asian Pacific American community while maintaining the highest ethical and legal standards in our profession. The Award also recognizes firms that have advanced the goals and ideals of NAPABA and Asian Pacific American legal advocacy groups.
Willenken LLP
LAW FIRM DIVERSITY AWARD
The NAPABA Law Firm Diversity Award honors law firms that actively, affirmatively, consistently, and enthusiastically recruit, retain, and promote Asian Pacific American lawyers to equity partnership and firm leadership. It celebrates law firm successes in recognizing the potential, supporting the promise, and raising the influence of Asian Pacific American lawyers.
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
BEST UNDER 40
The NAPABA Best Lawyers Under 40 Award recognizes talented individuals within the Asian Pacific American legal community under the age of 40 who have achieved prominence and distinction in their fields of endeavor—be it the practice of law, academia, business, civic and charitable affairs, the judiciary, or politics—and who have demonstrated a strong commitment to Asian Pacific American civic or community affairs.
Vanessa E. Candelaria | Attorney, Law Offices of Vanessa Candelaria
Christina Chan | Assistant Attorney General, Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General
Nooree Lee | Associate, Covington & Burling LLP
Cindy Lin | Partner, King & Spalding LLP
Laurie Rose Lubiano | IP & Product Counsel, The Climate Corporation
Catherine Y. Lui | Partner, Orrick LLP
Jessica Nguyen | General Counsel, PayScale, Inc.
Marc A. Pilotin | Counsel, Wage and Hour/President, Filipino Bar Association of Northern California, Filipino Bar Association of Northern California
Sid Shenoy | Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP
Christopher Thana Sukhaphadhana | Senior Counsel, Intellectual Property, Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc.
Jerry Vattamala | Democracy Program Director, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Johnny Wang | Partner, Stinson LLP
Jovita T. Wang | Partner, Richardson Wright LLP
Bryant Y. Yang | Assistant U.S Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office
Bilal Zaheer | Partner, Fisher & Phillips LLP
MILITARY AND VETERAN SERVICE AWARD
The NAPABA Military and Veteran Service Award recognizes individuals within the Asian Pacific American legal community serving the United States Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, including Reserve and National Guard) as uniformed personnel or as civilians or as veterans of the Armed Forces whose outstanding achievements (1) greatly enhanced the mission of the Armed Forces; (2) contributed to the advancement of rights for service-members, their families, and/or veterans; or (3) furthered the administration of justice. The NAPABA Military and Veteran Service Award is meant to acknowledge APA attorneys who exhibit the highest integrity, competency and commitment to serving others, the APA community, and their country and whose character and commitment reflect the highest standards of the Armed Forces.
Captain Lia Mihoko Reynolds | Capt., JAGC, USN, Region Legal Service Office Hawaii Commanding Officer, United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corp Region Legal Service Office Hawaii.
PRO BONO AWARD
The NAPABA Pro Bono Award recognizes an attorney or a team of attorneys for outstanding achievements in pro bono service that (1) involved impact litigation to advance or protect civil rights or (2) provided direct legal services to individuals in the furtherance of the administration of justice.
Karen King | Counsel, Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP AWARD
The NAPABA Women’s Leadership Award recognizes the accomplishments of women lawyers and is presented to an individual who has achieved excellence in her field or who has demonstrated leadership and advancement of women or women’s issues.
Debbie Leilani Shon | Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP
AABANY’s Pro Bono Committee organized and held its
The Brooklyn Pro Bono Clinic has allowed AABANY’s Pro Bono Committee to service a new community in need of pro bono legal services and indicates our efforts to grow and expand these services to more New Yorkers in need. Clients local to Brooklyn were able to attend, but clients traveling from Queens and other surrounding areas also made the trip, with some clients stating that they traveled an hour or more just to receive the help they have been looking for.
The evening started off with a community presentation by AABANY’s Membership Director and GSPI Committee Co-Chair, Beatrice Leong, Esq. which focused on family law, specifically matrimonial & divorce law. The presentation alone provided the answers that one client needed. This client was able to leave the presentation knowing what their next steps were without needing any further legal assistance. The remaining 26 clients were all able to sit down with an attorney, and an interpreter when needed, for a consultation session to receive the legal help and resources they were seeking. Common legal issues at this clinic included family, immigration, and elder law matters.
In just a few years, our Manhattan clinic has assisted hundreds of low-income clients and the new Brooklyn clinic provides us the opportunity to grow those numbers and ensure that many more will be able to receive free legal advice and referrals to high-quality, culturally sensitive, and linguistically competent legal services. In order to continue to provide and expand our pro bono services to other New York communities in need, we continue to ask every member to actively support AABANY’s Pro Bono Clinics.
If you know family members, friends, colleagues or businesses, such as your firm, who would like to support the Pro Bono Clinics, please help us connect with them by contacting Karen Yau at karen.yau@aabany.org. Financial contributions can also be made directly by texting APAPROBONO to 443-21 to make a donation through Give Lively.
Thank you to our volunteers:
Lawyers:
Beatrice Leong
May Kay Wong
Michelle Yeung
Jen Rasay
Gina Kim
Chai Park
Francis Chin
Michelle DeSousa-Fiore
Kwok Kei Ng
Zhixian Liu
Pauline Yeung-Ha
Judy (Ming Chu) Lee
Karen Kithan Yau
Asako Aiba
Interpreters:
Ruth Poon
Wai Yee Chan
Shuping Deng
Xiaoxiao Pan
Guanlan Shen
Bo Hu
Meng Zhang
Steve Mei
Alex Hwang
Intake Coordinators/Interpreters:
Breanna Andree-Couturier
Henry Man
Jay Tang
Gary Chen
Xinyi Shen
Yuying Zhu
Benefits Counselor:
John Colon, NY Connects
Special thanks to Co-Chairs, Pauline Yeung-Ha, Judy (Ming Chu) Lee, Karen Kithan Yau, and Asako Aiba, and Vice Chairs, Kwok Kei Ng and Zhixian (Jessie) Liu, for coordinating this clinic. Additionally, thank you to the various community leaders and organizations whose help made this clinic possible.
AABANY’s Brooklyn Pro Bono Clinic is conducted in collaboration with: NYS Assemblyman, Peter J. Abbate Jr., NYS Senator, Andrew Gounardes, and NYC Councilman, Justin Brannan. Special thanks to our community sponsors: A+ Academy, Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), Chinese American Social Services Center (CASS), Homecrest Community Services, Academy of Medical & Public Health Services (AMPHS), Brooklyn Community Improvement Association (BCIA), Parent Child Relationship Association, and the United Chinese Association of Brooklyn (UCA).
The Brooklyn Pro Bono Clinic will be a bi-monthly clinic occurring on the fourth Thursday of every other month, except for November which would be Thanksgiving Day. The next clinic will be held on Thursday, November 21, 2019 from 6:30 pm to 8:30pm. If you are interested in volunteering at future Pro Bono Clinics, please contact Asako Aiba at asako.aiba@aabany.org.
On September 25, 2019, the Academic, Military and Veterans and Membership Committees had a mixer at Atwood restaurant. Non-members learned about AABANY events and committees and how to join! To learn more about the Academic Committee, go to https://www.aabany.org/page/352. To learn more about the Military and Veteran Affairs Committee, go to https://www.aabany.org/page/444. If you are interested in becoming a Member, please sign up on https://www.aabany.org/page/510.
A big thanks to Shawn, owner of Atwood for being a gracious host, and Galvin, a photographer who took our picture!
