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AALFNY Community Service Scholarships, Deadline Extended to Mar. 31

Each year, the Asian American Law Fund of New York awards up to three scholarships of up to $5,000 to law students that are committed to helping the Asian American community in New York. The Fund recognizes that at a time when money is tight, committing one’s time to our community service organizations can be a financial strain, especially when considering law school tuition and living expenses.

If you are a law student and are planning to work with a community service organization in the New York area during the summer 2015, you are eligible to apply. The completed Scholarship Application and all required materials must be postmarked by March 31, 2015. The recipients will be announced April 20, 2015. Click here to download the application.

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Congratulations to Jean Lee

Congratulations to AABANY Past President and Board Director Jean Lee, recipient of the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York’s Trailblazer Award! Jean Lee will be honored alongside Korea Ambassador Oh Joon at KALAGNY’s 29th Anniversary Gala on June 10, 2015 at Capitale.

Jean has been making waves for quite some time now. She was also recently honored as a Council of Urban Professionals Catalyst for Change. Since her AABANY presidency in 2012, she has served on AABANY’s Board of Directors. We’re lucky to have her passion and guidance.

To purchase tickets to the KALAGNY Gala, click here. If you have any questions regarding their gala, contact kalagny@gmail.com.

Pictured here: Jean Lee introducing the Don H. Liu Scholarship Program at the AABANY 2015 Annual Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street

Pictured here: Jean Lee (third from the left) among friends/AABANY members at CUP’s Lawyers Forum

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AABANY 2015 Membership Committee Delegate Program

Membership Secretary Irene Tan is seeking interested law students to serve as Membership Committee Delegates for AABANY. As a Membership Committee Delegate, law students will participate on the Membership Steering Committee and have the opportunity to work with senior leadership to develop and execute key strategic membership initiatives for the organization.  

Membership Committee Delegates are required to attend a minimum of four AABANY-sponsored events in a semester where the Membership Committee Delegate will assist with checking in attendees at events, distributing marketing materials, and promoting the organization. Membership Committee Delegates will be invited to participate on other Membership projects on an ad hoc basis.

This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in getting more involved in the organization. Membership Committee Delegates will attend AABANY events for free, quickly develop an expansive network within the organization, and contribute to and collaborate on membership initiatives for one of the largest minority bar associations in New York.

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KALAGNY Congratulates the Honorable Kathryn Paek

AABANY joins the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York in congratulating the Honorable Kathryn Paek on her historic appointment.

Here’s the announcement from KALAGNY:

The Honorable Kathryn Paek was appointed as a Judge of the New York City Criminal Court. She is the first Korean American woman judge in the New York State courts.

Judge Paek is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law and appointed to the bench this year by the New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio.  Prior to her appointment, she was the Chief of Staff for the Office of Policy and Planning for the New York State Court System.  She was also a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society  in the Criminal Defense Division and the Immigration Unit.

Congratulations, Judge Paek!

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Take The ATL/MoFo Communication Challenge!

Take The ATL/MoFo Communication Challenge!

Apply today to participate in the ATL and Morrison & Foerster Effective Communication Challenge, an innovative law student competition hosted by BARBRI.

Law students, take advantage of this free event on Friday, April 10, 8:30am-4:30pm hosted by everybody’s favorite legal blog, Above the Law! Basically, the challenge consists of law student teams working with attorneys from Morrison & Foerster in a pitch competition, judged by MoFo and BARBRI executive vice president Dan Schoepf. 

In the words of ATL, “Come learn from BARBRI and work with MoFo attorneys so you can stop sucking at communication. ATL’s own Elie Mystal will be there to entertain you, and pretend he knows how to do this best.”

No cost to law students. No need to assemble teams.

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CUNY Thomas Tam Scholarship

Application Due: June 30, 2015

The Thomas Tam Scholarship is funded by an endowment established by the City University of New York in recognition of Dr. Thomas Tam’s contributions as a former member of the CUNY Board of Trustees, founding Executive Director of the Asian American / Asian Research Institute, and leadership in the Asian American community. The Scholarship awards $1,000 to an individual qualified undergraduate student that is currently enrolled at any of the twenty-one colleges within CUNY, who has demonstrated creativity in the communication of the concerns of the Asian American community in areas such as Health, Education, Culture, Media and Advocacy. Last year’s recipient was Ms. Baozhen Xie, a student at Brooklyn College for her project on health and nutrition among Asian seniors.

The 2015 CUNY Thomas Tam recipient will be honored at AAARI’s 14th annual gala on Thursday, November 19, 2015.

Details: www.aaari.info/tomtamscholar.htm

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2015 NAPABA Lobby Day Registration—Open Now!

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association is now accepting registration for the 2015 Annual Lobby Day, which will be held in Washington, DC, from May 18-19. This event is an opportunity for NAPABA members from across the country to educate members of Congress and congressional staffers on issues of importance to the Asian Pacific American (APA) community. Lobby Day also gives members an active role in promoting NAPABA’s mission of advocating for justice, equity, and opportunity for APAs.

Participants will meet with legislators and voice their perspectives on a range of topics. As a participant, you will be given all the information and materials you need to meet with legislators on Capitol Hill. Registration for Lobby Day includes a webinar training prior to Lobby Day as well as onsite training the day of, so that all participants are prepared for meetings with congressional members and staffers.

Registration
Lobby Day: bit.ly/NAPABA2015LobbyDay
Congressional Reception (May 18, 2015): bit.ly/NAPABA2015Reception

Stipend
Stipends are available for NAPABA members traveling to Lobby Day from out of town. The deadline to submit an application is April 3, 2015 at 11:59 pm PST. To apply for a 2015 Lobby Day stipend please click here.

More 2015 Lobby Day information here

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NYIC Press Statement: Federal, State, and Local Government, Law Enforcement and Community Leaders Issue Alert, Warning Immigrants of Legal Assistance Fraud

(Issued Tuesday, March 17, 2015)

Press Contact:
Thanu Yakupitiyage; New York Immigration Coalition
tyaku@thenyic.org; Office: 212-627-2227 x235; Cell: 413-687-5160

***** SCAM ALERT*****

Government, law enforcement and community leaders today warned that immigrants seeking legal assistance should take precautions against scammers seeking to take advantage of them with incorrect, misleading, or false information. Officials expect that these scammers will use the delay in President Obama’s Executive Action on Immigration programs to confuse immigrant consumers into being defrauded out of their hard-earned money, and endanger their ability to stay and work in this country.

Due to a federal court order delaying immigration relief, the federal government will not begin accepting requests for Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA), nor for the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), until later in 2015. This delay in the implementation of the immigration programs may lead to more immigrant New Yorkers being defrauded by con artists posing as immigration attorneys or authorized immigration representatives, who charge fees for services that are never provided.

Immigrant consumers should make sure to get advice from the right person – whether you are renewing your Green Card, applying for naturalization or citizenship, or trying to choose the right forms.

  • Only lawyers and representatives accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) can provide advice, assistance and representation on immigration matters.
  • Anyone providing immigration services must also comply with strict rules governing contracts and advertising.

Tips on how immigrants can protect themselves from immigration services fraud:

  1. Call a qualified provider – you can get a free referral by calling the New York State New Americans Hotline at 1-800-566-7636.
  2. Make sure to get a contract, and don’t sign it until it has been explained to you.
  3. Pay with a check or money order. Don’t pay cash.
  4. Always get a receipt.
  5. Get and maintain copies of all forms and documents sent on your behalf.
  6. Don’t sign blank forms or documents that you don’t understand.
  7. Get a second opinion.

For more information about immigration issues or to seek a referral for assistance from a local community-based organization,call the free multi-lingual New York State New Americans Hotline at 1-800-566-7636. Anyone can also call the Hotline if they suspect they are or have been a victim of immigration services fraud.  

This consumer alert is brought to you by:

Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office
Manhattan District Attorney’s Office
Queens District Attorney’s Office
New York City Council
New York City Public Advocate
New York State Office for New Americans
Office of U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
American Immigration Lawyers Association – NY
Catholic Charities Community Services
Immigrant Justice Corps
Legal Aid Society of New York
Make the Road New York
New Immigrant Community Empowerment
New York Immigration Coalition
New York Legal Assistance Group

# # #

The New York Immigration Coalition is an umbrella policy and advocacy organization for nearly 200 groups in New York State that work with immigrants and refugees.The NYIC aims to achieve a fairer and more just society that values the contributions of immigrants and extends opportunity to all by promoting immigrants’ full civic participation, fostering their leadership, and providing a unified voice and a vehicle for collective action for New York’s diverse immigrant communities.

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DACA & DAPA Trainings – Be Sure You’re Ready to Help!

Registration is now open!

A judge in Texas may have delayed the implementation of Administrative Relief, but he hasn’t stopped it! We need to continue preparing our communities so that when the court injunction is lifted, as many people can be ready to apply for expanded DACA or DAPA as possible.

The time is now to learn how to be fully prepared – to engage in outreach, respond to questions, and to learn how to pre-screen for eligibility and prepare cases for legal review. Since community groups are the trusted first point of contact for many immigrant New Yorkers, it is our aim to empower you with the tools and trainings needed to make sure you are ready for Administrative Relief.

To that end, we have developed a series of trainings for community partners. We encourage you to select a training that best suits your organization’s capacity and ability to work on Administrative Relief (specifically expanded DACA and DAPA):

Community Ambassador Training (3 hour training):
This is the ideal training for partners looking for a basic understanding of what President Obama’s November Executive Actions means and for instruction on how to educate our immigrant communities through public education, workshops and referrals. This training will teach groups how to answer basic questions on Administrative Relief, offer informational workshops, and help direct community members to local Community Navigators and legal service providers. We will discuss the difference between administrative relief and immigration reform, the substance of DACA and DAPA, and ways to prepare today.

Examples of participating organizations may be small CBOs that may not want to participate as full Community Navigators, or may be large social service agencies not set-up to provide immigration services but that interact with immigrants daily.

Upcoming Ambassador Trainings:

  • Rockland County: April 17th from 2pm to 5pm at the Rockland County BOCES Conference Center (65 Parrott Rd., Bldg. 10, West Nyack, NY)
  • New York City, Brooklyn: April 21st from 9am to 12pm at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Main Branch, (10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY)
  • New York City, Manhattan: May 5th from 9am to 12pm – Location TBD
  • Westchester County: May 8th from 10am to 1pm at the White Plains Public Library (100 Martine Ave, White Plains, NY)
  • Suffolk County: Tentatively May 22nd in Central Islip.
  • Nassau County: Tentatively June 12th in Garden City.

Community Navigator Training (full day training):

This is the ideal training for partners seeking to engage more deeply by conducting pre-screenings and referrals as well as by assisting in case preparation and document collection. This workshop will cover the basic track’s content but will also include an in-depth exploration of what role “community navigators” or non-attorneys can play in administrative relief preparation, the benefits of seeking BIA recognition and accreditation, and what requirements we expect for expanded DACA and DAPA. Groups will leave able to conduct basic eligibility pre-screenings, make direct referrals to legal providers, and help community members collect documents to submit with their application.

Examples of Participating organizations may be small to medium-sized CBOs looking to take a more active role in preparing communities for administrative relief, or organizations with limited legal capacity looking to play an expanded role in administrative relief that stresses community preparedness.

Upcoming Navigator Trainings:

  • New York City, Manhattan (& via livestream): April 1st from 9am to 5pm at New York Law School (185 W. Broadway, New York, NY)
  • Westchester County: May 19th from 9am to 5pm at Neighbors Link (27 Columbus Ave, Mount Kisco, NY)
  • Dutchess County: June 5th from 9am to 5pm at Catholic Charities Community Services Office for New Americans (218 Church St. Poughkeepsie, NY)
  • Suffolk County: Tentatively July 10th

We are currently planning our calendar for further trainings later this Spring, including more outside of New York City.

All trainings will include access to a Community Provider Toolkit, and ongoing technical assistance and training opportunities from the NYIC.

Visit www.Ready4Relief.org for future dates, locations, resources and additional information.

Beyond our partnerships for these trainings, all workshops and materials will be jointly conducted and released by the New York Immigrant Assistance Consortium, a partnership of immigrant-serving providers, community-based non-profits, state and local government agencies, and other stakeholders jointly convened by the New York State Office of New Americans and the New York Immigration Coalition. The aim of the Consortium is to ensure a coordinated strategy to reach, educate, and assist every New Yorker eligible for administrative relief. For more information about NYIAC and Administrative Relief please visitwww.Ready4Relief.org.

Should you have any questions, particularly around which training might be most ideal for your organization, please contact:Betsy Plum at eplum@nyic.org or (212) 627-2227, x240.

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