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WSJ: Vinoo Varghese Secures Plea Deal in Art Fraud Case

WSJ: Vinoo Varghese Secures Plea Deal in Art Fraud Case

AABANY Director and criminal defense attorney Vinoo Varghese appeared in a Wall Street Journal story on January 13 about his client Richard Silver who took a guilty plea in a case involving forged appraisal documents for fake Damien Hirst prints.  Not mentioned in the article is the excellent result that Vinoo obtained for his client who was looking at a possible 7-year prison term.  Vinoo negotiated that down to 60 days in a vocational program or 12 weekends in jail.

Vinoo Varghese and Richard Silver

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Applications Now Being Accepted for 2012 Public Interest Law Fellowship

The Paul M. Dodyk Fellowship for Economic Justice has been established by generous donors to the National Center for Law and Economic Justice in honor of Paul M. Dodyk, past Chair of NCLEJ and a great champion of using the law to promote economic justice and fair and dignified treatment for everyone in our society, regardless of their means. The Fellowship is designed to foster the next generation of lawyers working for economic justice while enhancing NCLEJ’s capacity to serve those who have the least in our society.

Dodyk Fellows will participate in a variety of high-impact legal and policy matters at NCLEJ and assist in developing new matters and areas of work. Candidates with expertise or interest in specific issues are encouraged to inquire about pursuing that work through the Fellowship.

Get more details on the Fellowship here.

You can see a video launching the Dodyk Fellowship in which a recent Skadden Fellow at NCLEJ describes her experience (go to www.nclej.org). A description of a recent Equal Justice Works Fellowship at NCLEJ may be seen at http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/node/2058.

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Lunar New Year at the Met

Lunar New Year at the Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will celebrate the Year of the Dragon on Saturday February 4 with performances, interactive gallery activities, and art-making workshops for all ages.

All programs, including performances in the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, are free with Museum admission. The cafeteria will be celebrating Lunar New Year with a traditional Chinese menu including soy sauce chicken, pork buns, and Napa cabbage with garlic and ginger. All visitors are welcome.

Visit the Met’s page for a complete schedule of events.

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a4 Festival: Locating the Sacred

a4 Festival: Locating the Sacred

The Asian American Arts Alliance will hold an information session for its upcoming twelve-day event, “Locating the Sacred Festival”, on Tuesday, January 17, 2012, from 6:30PM to 8PM, at 25 West 43rd Street, 18th Floor, between 5th & 6th Avenues, Manhattan. AAARI of several outreach partners for the Locating the Sacred Festival.

“Locating the Sacred” is a twelve-day, twenty-event festival coordinated by the Asian American Arts Alliance (a4) that brings together artists and spaces in New York for creative explorations of the “sacred.” The festival showcases the diversity and talent of the Asian American community, which now constitutes more than 1 million people in New York (13% of the population) and is the most rapidly growing cultural group in the city. The festival aims to promote artists as agents of change, demonstrating the power of art and culture to unleash imagination, break down barriers, and connect communities together for the greater good.

a4 will produce three pillar events: an opening, a closing, and a panel discussion series. For the other festival events, a4 will act as an umbrella, matching artists with space hosts in an attempt to generate creative collaborations across ethnic, religious, geographic and aesthetic boundaries. These events will benefit from the festivalʼs “stamp”, from underwriting for artist fees of up to $2,000 depending on the scope of the project, and from the exposure from the festival’s citywide PR and marketing campaign.

To RSVP for the info session and details on how to apply as an Artist or Space host, please visit http://aaartsalliance.org/page/locating-the-sacred#JOIN%20US  

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Volunteers needed for National Trial Competition (NTC)

Hofstra Law School is hosting the local regional version of the National Trial Competition (NTC) and is looking for attorneys and judges to volunteer their time. CLE credits will be available to all those who serve as “presiding judge” or “evaluator.”

The competition will be held on February 9-11, 2012, at the Nassau County Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY. There will be a total of 33 trials over the three days in February, each requiring a presiding judge and at least two other individuals to serve as evaluators, to score the performances of the student competitors, three volunteers per trial for 33 trials.

Following is the schedule of trials:
Thursday, Feb. 9, 1:00 pm: Preliminary Round 1 (nine trials)
Friday, Feb. 10, 9:30 am: Preliminary Round 2 (nine trials)
Friday, Feb. 10, 2:30 pm: Preliminary Round 3 (nine trials)
Saturday, Feb. 11, 9:30 am: Semifinal Round (four trials)
Saturday, Feb. 11, 2:30 pm: Final Round (two trials)

If you have any questions about the NTC or would like to discuss the competition, please contact Jared Rosenblatt by email, [email protected].

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AALDEF SEEKS VOLUNTEER INTERPRETER – MALAYALAM

AALDEF’s Economic Justice project seeks a volunteer interpreter who is fluent in Malayalam to conduct a 2 ½-hour consultation between AALDEF attorneys and a potential client in the coming week.  The consultation may take place at AALDEF’s New York office during the afternoon in a workweek, or by telephone during the weekend.  Interested volunteers should contact Jennifer Weng at [email protected] regarding their availability.

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AALDEF SEEKS VOLUNTEER INTERPRETER – MANDARIN

AALDEF seeks a volunteer fully fluent in Mandarin to accompany an attorney on an initial legal visit in a medical setting within New York City.  The meeting is flexible, but must take place sometime between 4pm and 8pm, during the workweek (Mon. Jan. 9th through Fri. Jan. 13th).

Ideally, the volunteer is conversant with terms involving the judicial system, but a preliminary review of the terms to be used may be arranged.  If interested, please contact [email protected].

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Citizen Corps Council’s Immigrant Task Force Speaker Series

January 24, 2012 (3:30 PM) – The Time Is Now! Planning For The Unexpected

New York City depends on nonprofit and community organizations for vital services and information.  It is important that organizations to have a plan for what to do if essential services are interrupted.  This workshop, open to representatives from nonprofit and community organizations, will help you develop an emergency plan for your organization.

  • Have you thought about how your organization’s role in the community might change after a disaster?
  • Is your organization prepared if regular operations are disrupted?
  • Do you have a plan to continue vital services to your clients if this were to happen?
  • Do your employees know how to take steps to prepare themselves and their families to be ready for an emergency?

If you answered “No” to any of these questions, then this free workshop is for you.

Brandon Greenberg will provide low-cost steps on how to develop an emergency plan for your organization.  You will come away with ideas to protect your organization, clients, and essential services.  Mr. Greenberg has more than eight years of experience in the field of emergency preparedness and response, and is the founder and key contributor of DisasterNet (www.disaster-net.com), an online blog connecting all people affected by disasters

The event will be held on Tuesday, January 24 from 3:30 – 5 PM at the NYC Office of Emergency Management (165 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn).

For additional information or to register, contact Kristina Corvin at [email protected] or (718) 422-8941.

For more information about the NYC Citizen Corps Council’s Immigrant Task Force Speaker Series, visit www.nyc.gov/citizencorps.

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Free Training: Representing Unaccompanied Minors in Immigration Proceedings

Free Training: Representing Unaccompanied Minors in Immigration Proceedings

The Society of American Law Teachers—SALT—and Kids in Need of Defense—KIND—are proud to present a free training, with 2 CLE credits available to New York lawyers, on Thursday, February 9, 2012 from 6:00 pm-8:00 pm at NYU School of Law, Furman Hall, Room 214, 245 Sullivan Street, corner of West 3rd Street.

This program is being offered to practicing attorneys and law school students who want to provide pro bono counsel to unaccompanied children who are seeking safety in the United States.

More information here.