AABANY asks: Have you served as a judicial clerk?

Clerking is an invaluable experience that not only provides excellent practical skills training but also enables you to build close relationships with judges and fellow clerks. For the benefit of our members, AABANY will be holding two information sessions on judicial clerkships in October 2013, possibly one focusing on federal clerkships and the other on state clerkships (more details to come). We would like these sessions to be as robust as possible, and to that end, we’d like to compile a list of all AABANY members who are former clerks to create an informal mentoring circle and to invite to speak at the sessions. If you have clerked for a either a state or federal judge (not an internship/externship), please contact Lina Zhou at [email protected]. Thank you in advance for your help!

From CUP: Meet the Candidates for New York City Comptroller

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The Council of Urban Professionals  

Cordially Invites You to Attend Our  
New York City Comptroller Forum 
Featuring
Eliot Spitzer
Former Governor of New York
 
&
 
Scott Stringer
Manhattan Borough President 
 
 
CUP is a nonpartisan non-profit organization, that works to connect, empower, and mobilize the next generation of diverse business and civic leaders. 
 

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

8:30am – 10:00am 
Hosted By: 

BakerHostetler

630 5th Avenue,14th Floor
(Between 50th & 51st Streets)
New York City
 

____________________________________________________________________

RSVP IS REQUIRED
For more information, please contact: 
Taylor Biancone, Program Associate
  
About the Council of Urban Professionals:

The Council of Urban Professionals (CUP) connectsempowers, and mobilizes the next generation of diverse business and civic leaders. Founded in 2007, CUP is a 21st century leadership development organization with over 1,500 individual members, a national network of 20,000, and 65 corporate partners spanning the financial services, law, media & entertainment, digital & technology, healthcare, consumer packaged goods, and non-profit and public sectors. Through a series of forums, leadership development programs, and peer networks, CUP empowers aspiring diverse professionals to develop connections, opportunities, and expertise that best position them for top leadership positions, resulting in transformative impact on our communities.

  
For more information about CUP, visit www.nycup.org
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On Thursday, August 8, AABANY held the third in its series of “Get to Know AABANY” Happy Hours for 2013, this time co-sponsored by the Judiciary, Young Lawyers and Membership Committees. Many members and friends gathered at O’Nieals on Grand Street, near Chinatown, to connect, re-connect and make new connections. The first thirty that came to O’Nieals got a free drink. Light appetizers were passed around for those in our party. 

Among those in attendance were Judiciary Committee Co-Chairs Theo Cheng and James Chou, and Young Lawyers Committee Co-Chair Liz Mo. Judy Kim, Chair of the Membership Committee attended. Also there was Michael Yim, candidate for NAPABA Vice President of Programs and Operations, handing out campaign stickers that had his name and Han Choi’s name on them. Han Choi is candidate for NAPABA President-elect. Both Han and Michael received AABANY’s endorsement in the NAPABA election.

Thanks to all who came and made it a successful happy hour!

AABANY Announces NAPABA Election and Endorsements.

Dear AABANY Members & Friends,

As you may know, AABANY is an affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (“NAPABA”).  All dues paying members of AABANY as of August 1, 2013 are NAPABA members and have the right to vote in the upcoming NAPABA election, except for student members who are not voting members of AABANY and thus not eligible to vote in the election. Note that AABANY Sponsor Members (those who joined through sponsorship of the Annual Dinner) are voting members of AABANY and thus eligible to vote in the election.

Certain NAPABA candidates in this year’s NAPABA election reached out to AABANY seeking its endorsement. These candidates were afforded the opportunity to address AABANY’s Board and answer various questions from our Board members.  After due deliberation and consideration by the Board of each of the candidate’s presentations, AABANY is pleased to announce its endorsement of, and recommendation that its members and friends vote for, the following candidates (click name to view candidate’s statement):

For President-Elect:  Han Choi 

For VP, Programs & Operations: Michael Yim 

For VP, Finance & Development: Alexander Lee 

For VP, Communications: Cyndie Chang

For VP, Membership: Brad Yamauchi

Further information about the NAPABA election may be found at www.napaba.org.

The Board recommends each eligible member of AABANY to vote in the upcoming NAPABA elections for the candidates that have been endorsed by AABANY.  All ballot submissions must be received by 11:59pm PT on Sunday, September 15, 2013.

If you believe that you were a dues paying member of AABANY as of August 1, 2013 but do not receive the NAPABA election ballot by email or mail from NAPABA (by August 15, 2013), please contact AABANY at [email protected].

Thank you.

Mike Huang, President

Mentors Needed for Legal Outreach

Thanks to Board member Will Ng for sharing this call for mentors from Legal Outreach. Please read and respond to the call if you are available to help out.

At Legal Outreach, we focus on helping underserved students matriculate to top colleges and universities. We have been very successful in our efforts, as every one of our students graduates from high school, 85% complete college within four years, and 14% go on to become lawyers themselves.

We achieve these results through comprehensive programming that includes internships for the students at law firms and public interest organizations, SAT prep, after-school tutoring, and academic counseling. We also run a Constitutional Law Debate Program where students read fact patterns, analyze case-law, prepare briefs, and perfect oral arguments for constitutional law debates.  

All students in our program are assigned an Attorney  Mentor. These mentors are lawyers from major legal services firms, non-profit organizations, and government agencies throughout New York City. We are currently recruiting 50 attorneys to be mentors to our rising-sophomores. Attorney Mentors play an integral role in the success of our program and, based on surveys, students have credited much of their academic, personal, and professional accomplishments to the guidance and support they have received from their mentors.  

Mentoring is a low-commitment, high reward volunteer activity. Although we do ask that our mentors commit to mentoring a student from their sophomore through senior years of high school, mentoring is only a 4 hour per month commitment. Mentors help students with their constitutional law debate preparation and provide academic and personal counseling to our students. Mentors also receive 3 CLE credits each reporting cycle for participating in our Attorney Mentoring Program. 

Our online mentoring application is found at: www.legaloutreach.org/mentor. The application takes only 10-15 minutes to complete. More information about the mentoring program can be found at http://www.legaloutreach.org/ and on Legal Outreach’s mentoring program page. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to Ari Joseph, Director of Legal Education at Legal Outreach, at 718.752.0222, ext. 208.

SDNY ANNOUNCES A NEW EDITION OF ELECTRONIC CASE FILING RULES AND INSTRUCTIONS

NOTICE TO THE BAR 
CONTACT: Clerk of Court, 212-805-0136

SDNY ANNOUNCES A NEW EDITION OF ELECTRONIC CASE FILING RULES AND INSTRUCTIONS

On August 1, 2013, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York will issue a new edition of the court’s Electronic Case Filing (ECF) Rules & Instructions. Updates include: 
        
Electronic Letters 
Effective September 3, 2013, letters addressed to judges who accept letters, including certain letter motions, may be filed electronically unless the assigned judge’s Individual Practices provide otherwise. Letters solely between counsel may not be filed electronically. More information and a schedule of in-person demonstrations are available at www.nysd.uscourts.gov/ecf
        
Service in Pro Se Cases 
The Clerk’s Office will scan filings from pro se parties and add them to the ECF system. Effective July 19, 2013, the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) sent in conjunction with such filings will constitute service upon all other Filing Users (one who has permission to file electronically) and Receiving Users (one who has registered to receive notice from the court by electronic mail).   
        
Obligation to View PDF Documents 
New Rule 4.3, effective July 19, 2013, describes the parties’ obligation to view PDF documents in addition to the summary docket text. If a discrepancy occurs between the two, the language in the PDF document will control. 

Case Caption Requirements 
A case caption no longer has to include an indication that it is an “ECF Case.” Please visit the court’s website at http://nysd.uscourts.gov/ecf_filing.php to view the new ECF Rules, online ECF training materials, and a schedule of in-person demonstrations of the electronic filing of letters and letter motions. 

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NAPABA CELEBRATES CONFIRMATION OF RAYMOND T. CHEN TO THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT

National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

1612 K Street NW, Suite 1400 
Washington, DC 20006


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
August 1, 2013

Contact: Emily Chatterjee 
(202) 775-9555

NAPABA CELEBRATES CONFIRMATION OF RAYMOND T. CHEN TO THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT

President Obama Doubles the Number of Asian Pacific American 
Circuit Court Judges in History

WASHINGTON—Today, the Senate confirmed Raymond T. Chen to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit by a unanimous vote. He is the first Asian Pacific American to serve on the court since Judge Shiro Kashiwa retired from the Federal Circuit in 1986.

“NAPABA celebrates Ray Chen’s nomination to the Federal Circuit, which we are proud to have supported,” said Wendy Shiba, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). “He has superb credentials to serve on this court, and we commend President Obama for nominating him. NAPABA also thanks Senator Mazie Hirono for her support of his nomination in the Senate.”

Since 2008, Chen has served as the Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law and Solicitor at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He began his tenure at the office in 1998 as an Associate Solicitor. During his time there, he has received numerous awards for his service, including: the Gold Medal Award, U.S. Department of Commerce (2011); the Bronze Medal Award, U.S. Department of Commerce (2005); and Attorney of the Year, Office of the Solicitor. Chen previously worked as a technical assistant at the Federal Circuit from 1996 to 1998. Prior to government service, Chen worked as an associate at the law firm Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear from 1994 to 1996 and as a scientist at Hecker & Harriman (now Hecker Law Group) in Los Angeles. He is a graduate of the New York University School of Law and the University of California, Los Angeles.

With Chen’s confirmation, President Obama has doubled the number of Asian Pacific American circuit court judges in our nation’s history. Despite the tremendous progress made during the Obama Administration, however, Asian Pacific Americans continue to be significantly underrepresented in the federal judiciary. Only four out of over 180 federal appellate court judges in the entire nation are held by individuals with Asian Pacific American heritage. NAPABA salutes President Obama for his continued commitment to nominating well-qualified, diverse nominees to the federal judiciary.

###

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of over 40,000 attorneys and 66 state and local Asian Pacific American bar associations. Its members include solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal service and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government. NAPABA continues to be a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network of committees and affiliates, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of color in the legal profession.

Special Offer for AABANY Members–Get NYCLA Member Rate for NY Civil Practice Guide

Special Offer for Asian American Bar Association-NY Members–Get NYCLA Member Rate 

Attorneys’ Guide to Civil Practice in the New York County Supreme Court–Print and eBook Available

An essential tool for civil practice in Manhattan, the Attorneys’ Guide, produced by NYCLA’s Supreme Court Committee, provides important information practitioners need to know in order to master the complexities of the New York County Supreme Court in a painless but effective way. 

Take advantage of NYCLA Member Pricing–Purchase  the Guide–at a full 50% discount off the non-member price

*The eReader versions of this publication can be accessed using either an eReader or eReader app such as Nook (which is Barnes & Noble’s format) or Kindle (which is Amazon’s format). These apps are readily available through the app store for most mobile devices including tablets and phones. eReader versions of this publication cannot be opened using any other software, including but not limited to Good Reader or Adobe. We do not offer this publication in PDF format. Please email Natalie Wimbush at[email protected] for assistance obtaining the eBook format you need.

Highlights include:
• Comprehensive listing of locations and phone number of all Justices, offices, and Office of the County Clerk along with descriptions of each back office and roles
• Recent developments that will directly affect practitioners
• Court’s approach to preliminary conferences and other conferences
• Differentiated Case Management and the discovery process, pre-trial proceedings, Mediation I and II, and other ADR projects
• Key litigation-related functions of the County Clerk’s Office
• Extensive biographical information about and photographs of Justices
• New Chapters on References and Article 81 cases.