AABANY thanks everyone who submitted nominations for the election taking
place at the Annual Meeting scheduled for February 13, 2019. At this
time, we have not received any nominations for the Officer position of
Membership Director. If you are interested in applying for this
position, please submit your nomination materials by no later than 5:00
PM on Friday, December 28.
As set forth in the Bylaws, section 5.4 (g):
The Membership Director shall: (i) receive and process applications or
renewals of membership, and promptly notify acceptance or non-acceptance
of the same; (ii) create and maintain accurate and up-to-date records
of the membership of the Association, including categorizing the Members
into their respective membership categories; (iii) maintain mailing
addresses for each Member and person or organization doing business with
the Association; (iv) advise members when their membership will expire
and request renewal of the same; (v) at the request of the President or
the Board, prepare a list of Members; 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.
The Membership Director is supported in the above functions by AABANY
staff, and per the bylaws, section 6.05, “shall be the Chair of the
Membership Committee. The Membership Committee shall develop
recommendations for programs and services that will meet the needs of
the membership and encourage new Members to join the Association. The
Membership Committee shall assist with the provision of general
membership functions, such as application, renewal, and notice of
expiration of membership.”
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 the Membership
Director. 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,
December 28, at the following address:
Best wishes for a happy holiday season!
AABANY Comments on Public Charge Rule
On December 7, 2018, AABANY submitted comments to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services in opposition to the rulemaking on Proposed Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds. AABANY wrote:
The Asian American Bar Association of New York believes that this rule change will cause irreparable harm to our community. Many of AABANY’s members are immigrants, or children of immigrants, and are personally impacted by this rule. The Proposed Rule changes the rules of the system in midstream and are directly intended to prevent immigrants from becoming American citizens.
To read the full text of the comments, click here.
AABANY thanks the Community Response Task Force of the Issues Committee for leading this effort on behalf of AABANY.
Academic Committee Holiday Lunch
On December 12, the Academic Committee celebrated the holidays as Nick and Rachel would have at Tea & Sympathy in Greenwich Village. Our Academic Committee hosted a great afternoon get-together and enjoyed authentic British favorite desserts and teas. The event saw participation from many local area law schools, including: Brooklyn, CUNY, Fordham, NYU, Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John’s. Thanks to everyone who came. For more information about the Academic Committee, go to https://www.aabany.org/page/352
Please Support AABANY’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic
Dear AABANY Members,
Happy holidays!
In this season of giving, we count among our blessings being part of the great community that is the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY). Our strongest asset is you, our members, and we are writing now to appeal to you for support of AABANY’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic.
From its beginning, AABANY has sought to serve the community and to advocate for it. In that spirit, AABANY started the Monthly Pro Bono Legal Advice and Referral Clinic. By leveraging expertise and language skills of AABANY’s active and diverse membership, the Clinic effectively expands access to justice and provides the Asian American community a way to receive high-quality legal services that are also culturally sensitive and linguistically competent.
Working with community organizations, the Clinic in the last few years has provided hundreds of low-income clients with free legal advice. These clients hail from all five boroughs, with some coming from as far as Yonkers, Long Island, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Most of these clients are monolingual Chinese and Japanese speakers. This fall the Clinic began to systematically incorporate Know-Your-Rights training on topics such as employment and housing law.
The dry facts do not adequately convey the Clinic’s importance to the Asian American community, especially in these trying times. Let us share with you some recent cases that exemplify typical clients and the routine problems they face:
- An elderly woman and her son were being harassed and evicted by their landlord. The mother and her deceased spouse had raised her entire family in her apartment, and her son had spent his entire life there. The basis for the eviction was that they declined to sign leases that their landlord suddenly demanded after allowing this practice for nearly 40 years. We provided them with an understanding of the holdover process and referrals to pro bono counsel and lawyers who charge on a sliding scale.
- A woman recently was seeking a divorce from her husband who held all of their assets and frequently threatened to kill her and himself, if she ever left him. A light bulb went off in her head during the consultation when she first recognized the signs of domestic violence and abuse in her situation. Because of this community member’s cultural upbringing, she would have never termed her marriage abusive. At the Clinic, we referred her to a legal services office that specializes in representing survivors of domestic violence.
- Just last month, we counseled an employee whose employer broke its written promise of a specified salary. This employee began to suffer from anxiety and depression due to this work-related stress and sought treatment. The same employer not only declined to move her assignment closer to her home to accommodate her disability but it also publicly disclosed her mental health status to her colleagues in violation of the law.
At these monthly sessions, we are often outraged by the reports of flagrant violations of the law. We are gratified that numerous AABANY members volunteer as pro bono lawyers for two hours once a month to bring access to justice to many community members who otherwise would have continued to bear the brunt of these injustices and illegalities, without recourse or effective assistance.
The Clinic can only operate with the generosity of donors and volunteers. During this holiday season, please consider supporting this vital project that is close to our hearts by donating to the Clinic. The Clinic has grown in the last year to the point that we are sometimes seeing nearly 50 clients in a short two-hour span. Your donations will help to pay for much needed administrative support and supplies that currently come out of the limited budget allocated to the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee that is charged with running the Clinic.
AABANY’s 501(c)(3) affiliate, the Asian American Law Fund of New York (AALFNY), is accepting charitable donations and can issue a tax receipt to you for your generous support. Any amount, large or small, would help, but if you can spare $25, $50, $100 or more, it would go a long way. The community members coming to the Clinic will greatly appreciate it!
When you go to the AALFNY website to make your donation, please be sure to indicate in the memo field that you are donating to the Pro Bono Clinic. Please take a moment today to visit this link and make a donation:
https://www.asianamericanlawfund.org/donate/
Best wishes to you and yours,
Yang Chen
Executive Director
Karen Kithan Yau
Pauline Yeung-Ha
Judy Ming Chu Lee
Asako Aiba
Co-Chairs, Pro Bono and Community Service Committee
Zombie Asian Moms at La MaMa
We are pleased to tell you about the World Premiere of Zombie Asian Moms at La MaMa, in New York City, November 29-Dec 9. Use the discount code HELLOKITTY for a $5 discount on regular tickets.
This is a comedy/electric violin/spoken word/video piece based on oral history interviews with Asian American moms of all different backgrounds.
Find out more about Zombie Asian Moms here.
If you are interested in funding their work, go to indiegogo campaign here.
Meaningful Diversity: The Next Chapter of the ADR Story | New York Law Journal
Meaningful Diversity: The Next Chapter of the ADR Story | New York Law Journal
Congratulations to Chris Kwok, Director on AABANY’s Board and Chair of the Issues Committee and Co-Chair of the Asia Practice Committee, on being published in the New York Law Journal. Below is a quote from his article, which can be accessed by clicking the link above. Please note that to read the entire article, you must have a New York Law Journal subscription.
Given the historical exclusion of minorities from the legal profession, the lack of diversity in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is not surprising. The diversity and inclusion issue is magnified by the unique features of the ADR field. Neutrals with diverse backgrounds can help administer justice in today’s increasingly diverse society, as they are a reflection of the people they serve. Of course, mere diversity is not enough; the meaningful inclusion of those diverse candidates in the industry is the next chapter of the ADR story.
Thank you to our November Pro Bono Clinic Volunteers!
November’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic, held on Wednesday, November 14 at 3 Bowery Street in Confucius Plaza, brought out 13 lawyers and 9 interpreters who volunteered their time to help 29 clients:
Lawyers:
- Christopher Chin
- Sylvia Chin
- Gaye L. Chun
- Kelly Diep
- Jonathan Hernandez
- Mihea Kim
- Beatrice Leong
- Zhixian Liu
- David Lu
- Kwok Kei Ng
- Annie Tsao
- John Wu
- Jessie Xian
Interpreters:
- Satoshi Kurita
- Derek Ting-Che Tai
- Weiling Huang
- Emily Xianxiao Li
- Haoyi Deng
- Vicky Qiuyan Zhao
- Jessica Wang
- Teresa Wai Yee Yeung
- Eric W. Dang
Special thanks to Johnny Thach and Roger Chen for coordinating the clinic, Social Worker Ann Hsu, and the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee Co-Chairs Karen Kithan Yau, Ming Chu Lee, and Asako Aiba for their leadership.
If you are interested in volunteering at next month’s Pro Bono Clinic on December 12, 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.
