NAPABA Lawyer – Submit Now
The Spring issue of the NAPABA Lawyer is now available online. Read the newest and past issue here.
NAPABA is currently looking for substantive articles on the legal and/or APA communities for the Fall issue of the NAPABA Lawyer. Please contact NAPABA Communications Manager Azizah Ahmad if you are interested in submitting an article.
From our friends at the SABANY Pro Bono Clearinghouse, here is a great pro bono volunteering opportunity coming up:
SABANY Pro Bono Clearinghouse will be partnering with the Office of the NYC Public Advocate for an upcoming immigration legal clinic. Without amazing PBC volunteers, we would not have the capacity to reach our community and serve them, so thank you so much.
What: Immigration Legal Clinic for South Asians
When: August 9, 2014
Time: 12-4pm (can volunteer for 2 hour slots)
Where: PS 69 located at 77-02 37 Ave. Queens, NY (Near the E,F,M,R, and 7 trains).
Need: Immigration and Criminal Law Attorneys (please let us
know if you speak a South Asian language though not required)
A bit of an overview, the workshop is a session for members of the South Asian community to learn the basics of current immigration laws, available public services, interacting with law enforcement, and understanding their civil rights. Our attorney volunteers will be giving a quick 10-15 minute consultations over a 4 hour period. The program will begin with a short overview of the following:
Criminal
- Your rights regardless of their immigration status.
- How to speak to the FBI/DHS/NYPD/Joint Task force
- Your rights at the border
- Trigger language to use if stopped by the NYPD or JTF unit
- Home/work visits
- Immigration consequences of your criminal convictions
Immigration
- Requirements of filing for US citizenship
- Immigration options if you are out of status
- Agencies that will serve you regardless of status
- Current City legislative priorities or laws that related to immigrants (undocumented and documented)
It would be fantastic to have 6-10 attorneys on hand to help. Please reach out if you are interested in volunteering at sabany.clearinghouse@gmail.com with your name, phone number, practice area and language background.
2014 Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition
2014 Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition
The Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition is an appellate advocacy competition sponsored annually by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Law Foundation (NAPABA Law Foundation), an IRC § 501©(3) non-profit, charitable and educational affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). The NAPABA Law Foundation works closely with the National Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (NAPALSA) and its local affiliates at law schools across the country. The purpose of this Competition is to develop advocacy skills without regard to the merit of the petitioner’s or respondent’s cases.
The Competition was founded in 1993 and is named in honor of the late Honorable Thomas Tang, a respected jurist who was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1977. Judge Tang’s decisions during his more than eighteen years on the Ninth Circuit reflected his strong commitment to civil rights for all people. Judge Tang was known for his kindness and warmth, and the leadership role he played in the Asian Pacific American legal community. Prior to his passing in 1995, Judge Tang provided tremendous support to NAPABA and its activities, including the creation of this national moot court competition.
The regional rounds of the Competition are conducted during October of each academic year throughout the country. The winner of each regional round will automatically advance to the finals of the competition, to be held in conjunction with the annual NAPABA Convention in Scottsdale, AZ, between November 5-9, 2014. The National Committee will also select additional high scoring teams from the regional rounds of the competition, to advance and compete during the finals of the competition. The Committee will select a minimum of twelve (12) teams to a maximum of sixteen (16) teams to compete in the finals of the TTMCC.
REGISTER & DOWNLOAD MATERIALS TODAY
Use the links below or follow the link in the title
The Thomas Tang Moot Court Problem
For more information, contact Hemanth Digumarthi.
NAPABA APPLAUDS NOMINATION OF AMIT MEHTA TO THE US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
1612 K Street NW, Suite 1400
Washington, DC 20006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 31, 2014
Contact: Tina Matsuoka
(202) 775-9555
WASHINGTON – Today, President Obama nominated Amit Mehta to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. If confirmed, Mehta will be the first Asian Pacific American to serve as a federal district court judge in the District of Columbia.
“Amit Mehta has had a distinguished legal career and will serve admirably on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia,” said William J. Simonitsch, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). “I urge the Senate to ensure a speedy confirmation for Mr. Mehta.”
Mehta is currently a partner at the Washington, D.C. office of Zuckerman Spaeder LLP. He is an experienced trial, litigation, and investigations attorney focusing primarily on white-collar criminal defense, complex business disputes, and appellate advocacy. Before joining Zuckerman Spaeder, Mehta was a staff attorney for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. Early in his legal career, Mehta was an associate at Latham & Watkins and clerked for the Honorable Susan Graber of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Portland, Oregon. Mehta served as Director for Facilitating Youth in Leadership and currently serves as Vice-Chair for the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project. The National Law Journal, Benchmark Litigation, and Superlawyers have all recognized Mehta for his legal excellence. Mehta graduated from Georgetown University magna cum laude and University of Virginia School of Law order of the coif.
NAPABA commends President Obama for nominating Amit Mehta to the bench and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia for her support of his nomination.
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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American (APA) attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of over 40,000 attorneys and approximately 70 national, state, and local bar associations. Its members include solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal services and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government. NAPABA engages in legislative and policy advocacy, promotes APA political leadership and political appointments, and builds coalitions within the legal profession and the community at large. NAPABA also serves as a resource for government agencies, members of Congress, and public service organizations about APAs in the legal profession, civil rights, and diversity in the courts.
SEO College Scholars
SEO is seeking volunteers from a wide range of industries to share their knowledge and advice during a fun afternoon of networking practice with SEO College Scholars on Saturday, August 2, 2014 from 3:00pm – 5:00pm at NYU Law School, 40 Washington Square South, New York, NY.
As part of a full day of career workshops, small groups of SEO’s youngest students (incoming freshmen and rising sophomores) will learn about career paths and practice networking with the volunteers who will facilitate career-related conversations with groups of students in order to inspire them and help them succeed!
To register, please email Vica Recinos at vrecinos@seo-usa.org and send a short bio, headshot and the following information: First and Last Name, Current Occupation (Title), Employer/ Organization
NYIC and NYS Dept of State Office of New Americans Present: Immigration Law Training in Buffalo
The New York Immigration Coalition in collaboration with The New York State Department of State Office for New Americans Presents Two-Day Immigration Law Training Schedule Free for all ONA groups and non-attorney staff of non-profit agencies.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014 & Wednesday, September 3, 2014
All trainings will be held at the Catholic Charities Immigration & Refugee Assistance Program 20 Herkimer Street, Buffalo, NY 14213
Tuesday September 2, 2014
8:30AM – 10:20 AM: How to Obtain BIA Recognition for Your Agency and Become an Accredited Representative (No CLE)
Instructor: TBA
In this training, we will cover in detail the requirements for obtaining Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) Recognition for your non-profit agency so that it may provide immigration legal services through Accredited Representatives. We also will cover the requirements for obtaining accreditation for individual non-attorney employees of recognized agencies.
10:30AM – 12:30PM Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals – Initial and Renewal Applications (2 CLE*)
Instructor: Karen Andolina Scott, Esq., Managing Attorney of Journey’s End Refugee Services
This training will cover the basic eligibility requirements for initial and renewal applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) as well as walk through filling out the Form I-821D, Form I-765, and Form I-765WS. The training will also discuss the potential documentation to include with a request packet.
01:30PM – 05:30PM Hot Topics in Immigration Law (4 CLE*)
Instructor: Jamie Maddalena of Fiegel Maddalena Law.
This training provides an overview of basic concepts in immigration law, including immigrant and non-immigrant visa categories, adjustment of status, consular processing, and citizenship. It will also address current trends in interpretation and processing of the most common types of applications. No prior knowledge of immigration law is required.
Wednesday September 3, 2014
08:30AM – 10:20AM: Naturalization and Citizenship (2 CLE*)
Instructor: TBA
This training will cover basic topics relating to naturalization and citizenship. Topics will include acquisition and derivation of citizenship, eligibility for naturalization, impediments and bars to naturalization, practice and procedure authorization and practical issues when dealing with foster-care caseworkers, Administration for Children’s Services, and family-court law guardians.
10:30AM – 12:30PM Immigration Consequences of Criminal Activity (2 CLE*)
Instructor: Sophie Feal, Supervising Immigration Attorney of Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project, Inc.
This training will review the various immigration law issues faced by non-citizens who have been convicted or accused of criminal conduct. The training will cover the criminal bars and waivers for noncitizens seeking lawful permanent residence or other lawful status, criminal grounds of removal and waivers applicable to lawful permanent residents, and good moral character bars and deportation risks for lawful permanent residents with criminal records who are pursuing naturalization. It will also touch on detention issues and intake strategies.
03:30PM – 05:30PM USCIS Field Office Visit (No CLE)
To register, click here.
