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JOINT MINORITY BAR ASSOCIATION JUDICIAL SCREENING PANEL REPORTS QUALIFICATION RATINGS

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 14, 2013 – New York

JOINT MINORITY BAR ASSOCIATION JUDICIAL SCREENING PANEL REPORTS QUALIFICATION RATINGS

(NY, NY) The Joint Minority Bar Association Judicial Screening Panel recently interviewed and rated judicial candidates for the Civil Court of the City of New York and the Supreme Court of the State of New York. Interviews were conducted by representatives of the Asian American Bar Association of New York, Dominican Bar Association, LGBT Bar Association, Metropolitan Black Bar Association, Puerto Rican Bar Association and the South Asian Bar Association of New York.

The Committee convened to determine whether candidates were qualified for the judicial office using a three-tiered rating system of “qualified,” “well qualified,” and "exceptionally well qualified."  A candidate was rated “Qualified” if the candidate satisfied the basic criteria to be considered a viable candidate for the judicial position sought. A rating of “Well Qualified” was given if the candidate met the basic criteria and demonstrated a level of skill, experience, sound judgment, and excellence in his or her professional career, which would sustain or improve the quality of the bench or judicial position sought. An “Exceptionally Well Qualified” rating reflects that the candidate has fulfilled the requirements necessary for a “Well Qualified” rating and demonstrated outstanding accomplishments. The ratings were decided during a closed-door vote after review of the each candidate’s background, professional ability, experience, character, judicial temperament, and other pertinent qualities. The Panel’s findings were as follows:

New York Supreme Court – Bronx County
Hon. Larry S. Schachner – Exceptionally Well Qualified

New York Supreme Court – Kings County
Hon. Desmond A. Green – Exceptionally Well Qualified

New York Supreme Court – New York County
Hon. Peter H. Moulton – Exceptionally Well Qualified

Judge of the Civil Court, 1st Municipal District, Bronx County
Lucianna Locorotondo – Well Qualified
Armando Montano – Well Qualified

Judge of the Civil Court, Kings County
Hon. ShawnDya L. Simpson – Exceptionally Well Qualified

Judge of the Civil Court, New York County
Dakota Ramseur – Well Qualified

Judge of the Civil Court, 2nd Municipal Disctrict, New York County
Hon. Kathryn E. Freed – Exceptionally Well Qualified
Hon. Marcy S. Friedman – Exceptionally Well Qualified
Adam Silvera – Well Qualified

For more information contact R. Nadine Fontaine at [email protected].

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WNYC News – Immigration Courts Closed Due to the Shutdown

WNYC News – Immigration Courts Closed Due to the Shutdown

Nassira Hamdi was supposed to walk out of an immigration court in Federal Plaza this week with an approval for a green card. But that court, like 14 others across the U.S., is closed due to the shutdown.

Tsui Yee, Partner at Guerrero Yee and Co-Chair of the Immigration and Nationality Law Committee, was recently quoted in this WNYC news article on the impact of the government shutdown on pending immigration cases. Tsui was quoted as follows:

In New York State, over 50,000 cases are currently pending. The Department of Justice, which oversees immigration courts, is currently only continuing hearings for immigrants who are detained. Hamdi’s attorney, Tsui Yee said several of her other clients’ appointments have also been canceled.

“We have been waiting for this day for months, if not years,” she said. “Each of my clients’ cases took, I would say on average, three to four years to make its way through the entire court process. … So it’s just very frustrating.”

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Shared with us from Guerrero Yee LLP. Rio Guerrero is a Partner at the firm and is also co-chair of our Immigration and Nationality Law Committee. Congrats, Rio!

In this “NYC Chika in the City” segment on the program “Adobo Nation,” Rio discusses the rebirth of Brooklyn and what it is like as a second-generation Filipino-American building a law firm and raising his family in New York City. Rio and his family had a great time shooting it. We hope that you enjoy it!

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
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AABANY Labor & Employment Committee in Formation

On Wednesday, October 9, 2013, sixteen Asian Pacific American (APA) attorneys attended AABANY’s general interest meeting for Labor and Employment Law practitioners to discuss the formation of a new committee to promote the education of work place issues affecting employees and employers in the Asian American community. The group also discussed ways to promote the professional development of APA lawyers practicing Labor and Employment Law through networking events, continuing legal education (CLE) programs and community outreach initiatives. The group will be planning a career panel for attorneys and law students interested in labor and employment law and a program to address “hot topics” in labor and employment law affecting employees and employers in the Asian American community.

Attendees at the meeting included attorneys representing employees/unions, employers/management, and federal, state and local government agencies, including the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Labor Relations Board, and New York State Department of Labor.

AABANY thanks Dechert LLP for hosting and providing refreshments for the meeting and Littler Mendelson for providing dinner for the attendees. If you are interested in participating in the group’s next event or would like further information about how to get involved, please contact William Ng at [email protected] or Amy Luo at [email protected].

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From our friends at AAF: SAVE THE DATE: ONE-ON-ONE WITH CARRION SET

Please join the Asian American Federation, Coalition for Asian Children and Families, and their membership agencies in meeting the top 3 Mayoral candidates.  Because of scheduling challenges, they are scheduling each candidate individually for 1 hour to hear each candidate’s vision for the city, the growing APA population and how he hopes to engage our community. 

The first meeting is Thursday, October 17th  at 2 pm at the Federation office, 120 Wall Street- 9th Floor. 

They are confirming the meeting with Joe Lhota for the following week.  Details will be sent out.

The format for all these meetings will be a roundtable discussion to learn more about his platform and will also give our community an opportunity to ask questions.  

As the leading social justice voices for New York City’s APA community, AAF and CACF encourage you to make the time to join them to hear what each candidate has to say so we can all be informed New Yorkers.  There will also be an opportunity for participants to ask questions of the candidate.  If there are specific issue areas that you have questions about, please send AAF and CACF the topics that you would like to discuss so that they can ensure that they will be able to cover as many diverse issues as possible.

They will be sending out additional information next week, but please RSVP to [email protected] or [email protected] as soon as possible.  

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From our friends at KALAGNY: Pro Bono Clinics

KALAGNY’s Pro Bono Clinics

Volunteer Today, Help Us Help Our Community

KALAGNY is pleased to announce the start of our monthly pro bono clinic in New York City. This is in addition to our ongoing monthly pro bono clinic in Flushing. Please spread the word to your family, friends and neighbors in need of legal counsel.

Clinic details are as follows:

New York City – 2013

Wednesday, October 9, 2013, 7 -9 p.m.
@ Korean American Association of Greater New York (“KAAGNY”)
149 West 24th Street, 6th Floor, NYC (between 6th and 7th Avenues) (map)

Wednesday, November 6, 2013, 7-9 p.m.
@ KAAGNY

Wednesday, December 4, 2013, 7-9 p.m.
@ KAAGNY

Flushing – 2013

Tuesday, November 5, 2013, 7-9 p.m.
@ Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York (“KCS”)
35-56 159th Street, Flushing (map)

Tuesday, December 3, 2013, 7-9 p.m.
@ KCS

New York City & Flushing – 2014

First Tuesday of Every Month, 7-9 p.m.
@ KAAGNY (NYC)
@ KCS (Flushing)

We are recruiting attorneys with a minimum of five (5) years experience related to a specific area of law including but not limited to: Immigration, Real Estate, Landlord/Tenant, Labor & Employment, Estate Planning, Family Law, General Litigation, etc. We are also recruiting law students to assist administratively and linguistically. To participate, you must be a KALAGNY member in good standing. Bilingual Korean & English is preferred but not mandatory.

If you wish to help us help our community, please click here to register to 
volunteer.

KALAGNY’s Pro Bono Committee Chair will contact you once you register. Please do not show up to volunteer at our clinic without an invitation. Thank you!

Kyun Yi, KALAGNY President

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From our friends at KALAGNY: Central Park Bike Tour, Nov. 2

KALAGNY’s Central Park Bike Tour

Bicycle with KALAGNY Members, Friends and Family… 

KALAGNY is going biking in New York City’s Central Park on Saturday, November 2, 2013 starting at10 a.m. Come out and bike with us, then join us for lunch. Every participant must provide their own bicycle. Helmets will be required for participants who are 14 and under but everyone is strongly encouraged to wear one. Please RSVP by noon on Thursday, October 31, 2013 to receive detailed (and rain check) information about this event.  Click here to sign up.