WE Blog @ AABANY

May 9, 2022May 9, 2022

AABANY Hosts Orientation and Reception for Committee Co-Chairs

On May 5, 2022, AABANY held a kick-off event for Fiscal Year 2023 at Allen & Overy. The new Fiscal Year began on April 1. Vice President of Programs and Operations Beatrice Leong, together with Executive Director Yang Chen, provided an orientation for new co-chairs and vice-chairs and a refresher for returning chairs on information and resources available to them to facilitate their work organizing programs and events for AABANY members and the broader community. (VPPO Joe Eng was unable to attend due to pressing work obligations.)

The 2023 cohort of Committee leadership learned best practices for being a leader of AABANY and learned how to plan and host events. AABANY’s Committee Chairs are ready to put on exciting events, panels and CLEs that all members look forward to.

After the orientation, the attendees got to meet each other and mingle at Faces & Names Bar and Lounge, a few blocks north of Allen & Overy’s offices.

We thank Allen & Overy for donating their beautiful space and for being a strong sponsor of AABANY. We also thank our Committee leaders for their dedication to AABANY. Special thanks to Kevin Hsi, Co-Chair of the Government Service & Public Interest Committee for his photos of the event.

See https://www.aabany.org/page/CommitteesPage2022 for the list of all current Committee Chairs.

Please check the AABANY Calendar often to see the events being presented by our Committees. https://www.aabany.org/events/event_list.asp

May 4, 2022

NAPABA Mourns Loss of Secretary Norman Y. Mineta

For Immediate Release:
Date: May 3, 2022

Contact: Mary Tablante, Associate Strategic Communications & Marketing Director

WASHINGTON – Secretary Norman Y. Mineta, a 10-term congressman and the first Asian American to serve in a presidential cabinet, died today at his home in Edgewater, Md., at the age of 90.

“A legend in the Asian American community, Secretary Mineta dedicated his life to public service,” said NAPABA Executive Director Priya Purandare. “Sec. Mineta’s story began during one of the darkest times in American history, Japanese American incarceration. He then went on to become one of the country’s highest profile political leaders, and lived and led with courage, strength, and resilience. Throughout his life and career, he advocated for the civil liberties of Asian Americans, and was a co-founder of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. His lived experience with incarceration informed his fight against the racial profiling of Muslims after the 9/11 attacks because he did not want history to repeat itself. May we and future generations all be inspired by his legacy as we mourn this enormous loss.”

Secretary Mineta served as the U.S. Secretary of Transportation in President George W. Bush’s cabinet and as Secretary of Commerce in President Bill Clinton’s cabinet. He was the first Asian American to become mayor of a major U.S. city, San Jose, California. He was also a military veteran, having served as an Army intelligence officer in Korea and Japan. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 2006.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting APA communities. Through its national network, 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 all backgrounds in the legal profession.

May 2, 2022May 2, 2022

AABANY Celebrates 2022 Annual Dinner with 800+ Attendees

On Thursday, April 28, 2022, AABANY hosted its 2022 Annual Dinner with the theme “Forging a New Path to an Equitable Future” at Cipriani Wall Street. The dinner attracted over 800 attorneys, judges, prosecutors, in-house counsel, government officials, and dignitaries and sponsorships from more than 50 law firms and corporations.

AABANY was proud to honor:

Flora W. Feng, Senior Legal Director, Global Intellectual Property, PepsiCo with AABANY’s Corporate Leadership Award
Emily A. Kim, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Zeta Charter Schools with AABANY’s Women’s Leadership Award

To read more about our extraordinary honorees, read the press release here.

We were joined by New York Governor Kathy Hochul who delivered remarks on the strength of the AAPI community and the importance of coming together to effectuate change.

This year, Actress/Comedian/Activist Kate Siahaan-Rigg served as MC. She was our MC last year during our Virtual Gala, and this was her first time serving as our live MC at the Annual Dinner. Thank you, Kate, for raising awareness on “representASIAN” while adding color and fun to the ceremony!

We were proud to honor Allen & Overy with the Law Firm Diversity Award for its commitment to improving diversity and inclusion within the legal profession. To read more about the award, read the press release here.

In addition, we were also pleased to present the 2022 class of Don H. Liu Scholars: Seung Hye Yan, Edward Jung, and Brian Liu. Read more about the program here.

We extend sincere thanks to everyone who helped us raise over $30,000 for AABANY-AALFNY’s Turn the Tide (T3) Project to fight anti-Asian hate and violence. We thank Mayer Brown for challenging the audience to match its initial donation of $10,000. Over the course of the evening, attendees tripled the match! We thank MC Kate Siahaan-Rigg for her endless humor and compassion in helping us exceed our fundraising goal. To learn more about the T3 Project see https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.aabany.org/resource/resmgr/2021aav/Turning_the_Tide_v5_compress.pdf

We thank all of the AABANY Annual Dinner Planning Committee members and volunteers for their hard work in making this year’s celebration a huge success.

We thank all of our sponsors. Their generous sponsorships make it possible for us to pursue our mission to advance the interests of the Asian American and Pacific Islander legal community and the communities we serve. Our sponsors support AABANY’s many activities and signature events throughout the year.

Lastly, we thank everyone that attended the 2022 Annual Dinner and celebrated with us. We were happy to see you all in person after two years of quarantine, social distancing and endless Zoom meetings.

More photos to come. Stay tuned!

April 25, 2022April 25, 2022

An Invitation to Flushing Town Hall’s Happy Birthday Gala

Veronica Y. Tsang, Presenting Sponsor | Queens College, City University of New York, Presenting Sponsor

On Thursday, June 9, 2022 at 6pm, Flushing Town Hall’s Happy Birthday Gala will celebrate the historic building’s 160th birthday. We are thrilled to be honoring NYC Council Speaker Adrienne E. Adams, the first Black woman Speaker of the NYC Council, and a proud representative of Queens’ 28th City Council District; and Frank Wu, the first Asian American President of Queens College, City University of New York, for his contributions to the University, Flushing, and larger Queens community.

The evening will consist of cocktails in the gallery, a sit-down dinner in the theater, and live entertainment throughout—all supporting Flushing Town Hall’s mission of providing global arts for a global community.

LEARN MORE & PURCHASE NOW

For more information or to make your purchase via check, please contact Jessica Peña at [email protected].

April 21, 2022April 22, 2022

2022 NY Legal Education Opportunity Program

The Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission is pleased to share information about the 2022 NY Legal Education Opportunity Program (NY LEO):

The application portal is open for the NY Legal Education Opportunity Program Class of 2022!

NY LEO immerses students that are educationally and/or economically disadvantaged, and/or from groups traditionally underrepresented in the law, to the rigors of the first year of law school; 1L experience.

The 6-week intensive program runs from June 5 – July 14, 2022, at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law, located on Pace University’s campus in White Plains, NY. Students must apply online, see the tab, “LEO Fellow Application” on the NY LEO website (http://ww2.nycourts.gov/attorneys/leo).

Priority consideration will be given to applications received by May 6. Please share information about NY LEO with your networks.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact:

[email protected] or by telephone at (914) 824-5800.

April 18, 2022April 18, 2022

AABANY Presents: What Do Labor & Employment Lawyers Do?

On April 7, AABANY’s Student Outreach and Labor & Employment Committees hosted a panel on careers in Labor and Employment law. Topics included the types of lawsuits affecting employers and employees, the role of related government agencies and the impact of COVID on employment law. The panelists were:

William Ng, Shareholder at Littler Mendelson P.C.;

Chris M. Kwok, JAMS Mediator and Arbitrator;

John S. Ho, Chair of Cozen O’Connor’s OSHA Practice;

Yoojin DeNiro, Associate at Goodwin Proctor LLP; and

Jennifer S. Kim, Associate at Jackson Lewis.

The event was moderated by Jay Hawlader, AABANY Student Leader and a 2L at Brooklyn Law School.

The panelists provided a wide range of perspectives based on their different experiences. Students learned about career tracks at labor and employment law firms, companies with in-house practices, regulatory agencies and the courts. Panelists also concurred that labor and employment law is a downturn-proof industry with increasing demand and thus offers great opportunities for eager young lawyers.

Thank you to the panelists, moderator and attendees. To learn more about the Student Outreach Committee, please visit https://www.aabany.org/page/121. To learn more about the Labor & Employment Law Committee, please visit https://www.aabany.org/page/398.

April 18, 2022April 18, 2022

Congratulations to Francis Chin on Receiving the Community Service Award from Brooklyn Law School APALSA

Left to Right: Karen Lin, Hon. Dean Kusakabe, Francis Chin, Hon. Christopher Chin, Mary Kim

AABANY Director of Technology and Professional Development Committee Chair Francis Chin was honored with the Community Service Award at Brooklyn Law School’s Annual APALSA Alumni Dinner on April 12. The award recognized Francis’ work with Brooklyn Law School students and dedicated leadership at AABANY and AALFNY (Asian American Law Fund of New York). Francis has been active with AABANY since his days as a law student, and he has remained active for more than two decades, now serving in recent years on the Board and in important Committees. Congratulations and thank you, Francis, for all that you do!

April 18, 2022April 18, 2022

SOC and NOBL Present: Experiences and Tips to Sustain your Legal Career

On March 31, AABANY’s Student Outreach Committee and the Network of Bar Leaders hosted a mentoring session for law students. The event was titled “Experiences and Tips to Sustain Your Legal Career” and featured five distinguished bar leaders:

Vincent Chang, President, New York County Lawyers Association and Past President, AABANY (2007)
Jean Dassie, Treasurer, Federal Bar Association SDNY Chapter
Austin D’Souza, President, South Asian Bar Association of New York
Karen Kim, President-Elect, Asian American Bar Association of New York
Meredith Miller, Past President, Network of Bar Leaders and LeGal

The moderators were Margaret Ling, Vice President of the Network of Bar Leaders, and William Lee, Vice Chair of AABANY’s Student Outreach Committee.

Reflecting on their career paths, the speakers agreed on the importance of setting professional goals with an open mind. Both Karen and Margaret encouraged students to explore broadly, get to know their classmates and warned about tunnel vision in law school. Meredith shared that membership in a bar association has been important to her career as it helped her form many meaningful connections. Vincent added that many bar associations host mentorship programs that are especially beneficial to students and young attorneys.

In the second part of the event, attendees had the opportunity to talk informally with the speakers. Attendees introduced themselves and received advice tailored to their areas of interest. The conversation ranged from law practice in real estate to how COVID is changing legal academia.

Thank you to the speakers, moderators and attendees for a festive and informative event. To learn more about the Student Outreach Committee, please visit https://www.aabany.org/page/121. To learn more about the Network of Bar Leaders, go to https://www.networkofbarleaders.org/.

April 18, 2022April 18, 2022

Special Invitation to Attend DisOrientalism Part 2: The Revenge of Hello Kitty

May is Asian American Heritage Month. And in 2022 we have a serious #stopasianhate situation since a certain someone dubbed Coronavirus the “Kung Flu.” Enter an entire cohort of killer Nuyorasian Artists — New York’s premier Asian American performers — tearing up the stage and changing the dynamic with their world class talent: Top notch performers from Broadway, Stand Up Comedy, Burlesque, Rock and Classical Music (with a twist) join forces for one electrifying show. Curated and hosted by notorious comedienne/rapper Kate Siahaan-Rigg alongside child star-turned-Broadway actress Olivia Oguma. This program lasts about 75 minutes and is recommended to boost your immunity against boredom, inaction, xenophobia, and orientalism.

Monday May 2nd, 7pm at Joe’s Pub 425 Lafayette Street.

A special message to AABANY members from event curator and AABANY Annual Dinner master of ceremonies Kate Siahaan-Rigg:

From the first ever Asian American to play Hamilton on Broadway to a legendary burlesque dancer, to an award winning classical duo to a rising comedy star. Part of the reason violence against Asian Americans has exploded in the face of rhetoric around Corona Virus and the rise in xenophobia is becasue Asians have always been marginalized and shut out of the cultural converation about what it is to be an American. Artists are on the front lines of visibility and speaking up for our community. By showing up and speaking up and practicing their art in a public way, AAPI artists are part of the inclusion of all of us and actively fight racism.

I have assembled the best of the best and we intend to sing, dance, get crazy, have fun and celebrate our place in the cultural conversation. Please come. Friends and family discount code: HELLOKITTY

To learn more and purchase tickets, please visit https://publictheater.org/productions/joes-pub/2022/d/disorientalism-part-2/.