On September 6th, 2023, AABANY held its Queens Pro Bono Legal Clinic at the AAFE One Flushing Community Center. The clinic met with 31 clients, coming in with questions about housing, immigration, family law, and civil litigation. Volunteer attorneys and interpreters patiently addressed client concerns, answering questions and connecting them to lawyers through AABANY’s Legal Referral and Information Service (LRIS). We are extremely grateful to have volunteers willing to start early at 6pm and stay beyond 8:30pm to finish speaking with the clients.
We thank the AABANY Pro Bono & Community Service (PBCS) Committee and Asian Americans for Equality for organizing and hosting this event. We also thank Council Member Sandra Ung for partnering with us to make this service available to the community.
Thank you to our volunteers for supporting the clinic. Your time and dedication are essential for delivering crucial assistance to individuals seeking legal guidance. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to:
Volunteer Attorneys:
Richard In Lina Lee Beatrice Leong Lord Chester So May Wong Gary Yeung
Interpreters and Coordinators:
Gabriel Hisugan Jocelyn Jao Willow Liu Nuala Naranjo-Odoherty
Here is a list of upcoming Pro Bono Clinics:
● Brooklyn, October 14, from 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm, at Chinese-American Planning Council, Inc., 4101 8th Avenue. Sign up here to volunteer.
● Manhattan, October 18, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm, and AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk Street. Sign up here to volunteer.
● Queens, November 1, from 6:30pm – 8:30pm, at AAFE One Flushing Community Center, 133-29 41st Ave 2nd Floor. Sign up here to volunteer.
Click here for more information about our Pro Bono Clinics and the PBCS Committee.
On July 15th, 2023, AABANY’s Pro Bono and Community Service (PBCS) and Immigration Law Committees participated in Immigrant Resource Day, a community event aimed at promoting services for New York immigrants, including those who are newly-arrived in the country. Held in Herald Gospel Plaza in Flushing, nearly twenty New York City government departments and various community organizations came together under the banner of the Chinese Christian Herald Crusades.
The event attracted hundreds of attendees of various backgrounds, coming in for immigration information, legal consultation, social welfare programs, and to apply for the New York Resident Card (IDNYC). At the event, PBCS Committee Co-Chairs, Kwok Ng and Lina Lee, and Vice Chair May Wong, managed the Pro Bono Legal Clinic at the event. At the clinic, AABANY volunteer attorneys generously volunteered their time and expertise to offer guidance, advice, and support to those seeking legal assistance.
The event surpassed all expectations in terms of the number of individuals served in a single day. With 56 registered participants seeking advice, AABANY was able to successfully assist 28 families facing challenging situations. We are immensely grateful for the overwhelming support and dedication shown by the volunteers who participated in the event. The tireless efforts of our team, consisting of fourteen AABANY attorneys, four AABANY non-attorneys, and three staff members from Asian American for Equality (AAFE), our community partner, contributed to the overall success of the day.
Furthermore, the Co-Chairs of the Immigration Law Committee, Zhixian (Jessie) Liu and Susan Song, invited former Co-Chair Tsui H. Yee to present a workshop about asylum and immigrant rights. Ms. Yee, an immigration lawyer with over 20 years of experience, discussed the process of applying for asylum, requirements for qualification, the timeline of the application process, and answered questions posed by the audience. Overall, the workshop not only provided valuable insights into the asylum application process, but also gave attendees a platform to receive expert guidance from an experienced legal professional.
The fair also highlighted the urgent need for immigration attorneys that can provide crucial assistance to Chinese migrants and asylum seekers that have arrived at the US-Mexico border in recent months. AABANY lawyers were able to interact with many individuals seeking assistance with asylum and deportation-related matters, who were influenced by misleading information on social media platforms, exploited by unscrupulous agents, or left without legal representation. The Immigration Law Committee hopes to establish a comprehensive network of trusted referrals and legal support for this community, enlisting the help of attorneys on a pro bono basis, through paid representation, or for collaboration in future workshops.
Thank you to the PBCS and Immigration Law Committees for organizing this event. Furthermore, we extend our gratitude to Jessie Liu and Susan Song, the Co-Chairs of the Immigration Law Committee, for their exceptional efforts in conducting the workshop alongside Tsui H. Yee. We appreciate their dedication in assisting clients with immigration issues, even taking on back-to-back cases to address clients’ pressing concerns. We thank Tsui for sharing her valuable legal expertise during the workshop and for generously addressing the concerns of clients even after its conclusion. Her contributions helped drive the success of the event. In addition, we thank our partner organizations, the Chinese Christian Herald Crusades (CCHC), and AAFE.
Last but not least, thank you to the dedicated volunteers that made the Pro Bono Clinic at Immigration Resource Day a success:
Volunteer Attorneys:
Chris Kwok
Gary Yeung
John Hwang
Kevin Hsi
Kwok Kei Ng
Lina Lee
May Wong
Shengyang (John) Wu
Shirley Luong
Susan Song
Tsui Yee
Yvette Wang
Zhixian (Jessie) Liu
Zhujing Wu
Interpreters & Shadowers:
David Tse
I-Kai Lee
Jadyn Tiong
Ruo Yang
Nuala Naranja (AAFE)
Elton Ye (AAFE)
Xiaodong Zhang (AAFE)
If you have expertise in asylum and deportation matters, or you know someone who does, please reach out to the Immigration Law Committee co-chairs, Zhixian Liu or Susan Song, and help AABANY establish a network of trusted referrals for newly arrived immigrants.
You can also help out by keeping an eye out for future Pro Bono Clinics here, and registering as a volunteer. Click here to view the calendar entry for the next Pro Bono Clinic on August 16th, and fill out the registration form here. Please register as a volunteer by 12pm, August 11th, 2023.
On January 7, 2023, the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY), Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE), and dedicated volunteers staffed the Pro Bono Clinic at AAFE’s Flushing Community Center in Queens, New York.
The clinic met with 14 clients who had questions about tort, contracts, and housing laws.
Clients who filled out the clinic’s satisfaction surveys remarked:
“Hope there are more of these activities. Helps the community greatly.”
“Extremely grateful! Thank you guys very much.”
“Come frequently.”
Volunteering attorneys have asked clinic staffers about how to learn more about areas of law in which they do not practice. The best way to learn about new, developing areas of the law is from other attorneys. AABANY’s Pro Bono clinics are a great chance to connect with other attorneys.
For law students and law school graduates seeking to complete the 50 pro bono hours requirement, remember to reach out to clinic staffers to learn about the requirement fulfillment process and other ongoing projects at [email protected].
Thank you Eugene Kim, co-chair of the Pro Bono and Community Service (PBCS) Committee, for bringing the wealthy cupcakes (fat go) to share with the volunteers!
Please check AABANY’s Calendar for a listing of events and the upcoming Pro Bono Clinics:
On November 19, AABANY’s Pro Bono & Community Services Committee and Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) joined forces to hold a pro bono legal clinic at AAFE’s One Flushing Community Center in Queens.
This Saturday’s clinic used a multitude of digital and analog resources to provide top-notch services. We creatively used a hybrid Zoom call setup to bring in immigration attorneys (Jackson Chin and Judy Lee) and maintain a non-stop stream of consultations. One group of attorneys helped a client find actionable steps forward from his complex legal status, providing him with additional resources and referrals. AAFE generously made its printer and xerox machines available, which were critical in handling the larger-than-usual volume of Spanish-speaking clients we saw on Saturday. We were able to print out Spanish-language brochures about asylum, immigration eligibility for public benefits in New York State, and pro bono referrals.
AABANY Legal Intern Daniel Kang reflected on the work he witnessed at the Clinic: “Every attorney who volunteered their time on Saturday was deeply and professionally invested in the problems facing clients. I had the opportunity to shadow and complete intake forms for consultations held by Jackson Chin and Judy Lee. It was incredible seeing Jackson and Judy drill to the legal substance of each client’s case by asking the right questions and bringing their own legal expertise to the fore. I was also heartened by the presence of Spanish-speaking volunteer interpreters who successfully broke through the language barrier between volunteer attorneys and locally based clients.”
Not many of the attorneys who attended Saturday’s clinic practice immigration law or speak Spanish. Immigration law is a complicated practice area which changes with each Presidential administration. A 30-minute legal consultation may not help those in dire need of immigration legal services, but clinics like AABANY’s may be a client’s best hope. Immigrant clients come to AABANY consultations in their attempts at acquiring information about the legal process, updates in immigration policy, how to survive in New York, and legal referrals. As usual, AABANY welcomes any and all practicing attorneys across the city to sign up for future clinics—as well as non-attorney volunteers who can speak Spanish or Chinese. Free lunch is provided to all volunteers at our clinics.
AABANY thanks everyone again for coming to volunteer at Saturday’s clinic! Please join us at our upcoming clinics:
Just in the month of July, we met with 50 clients!!! There were so many positive and a few negative feedbacks from the clients.
Based on the feedback, many clients were grateful for our services and noted that “this is a much needed service in the Asian community.” Many clients cannot afford to speak with an attorney, do not understand the legal system, and are limited English proficient. A few clients complained that the time was too short or that the attorney couldn’t answer their questions.
Many clients asked questions about immigration, housing, contracts and fraud, wills, trusts, and estates. We also met with pro se litigants who have questions about liens, wage garnishment, judgment proof, and the New York State Exempt Income Protection Act.
Thank you AABANY, our volunteers, the Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE), and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of New York (CCCNY). In fact, we were amazed to have dedicated law students joining us on July 30 even though they just finished their NYS Bar exam that week.
So…if anyone’s interested in the next round of mini-bar exams, please come join us at our next Pro Bono Clinics! To volunteer or to learn more about the Pro Bono & Community Services Committee, please visit probono.aabany.org.
From Flushing, Queens (7/23): Thank you, volunteers, for helping us meet with 19 clients. These cases covered various areas including immigration, housing, contract, and fraud. Of the 19 clients, 5 spoke Spanish, 11 spoke mandarin, 2 spoke Cantonese, and 1 spoke English.
Volunteer Attorneys
Interpreters & Observers
Beatrice Leong
Alexandra Lao^
Eugene Kim
Joy Fan^
Evelyn Gong*
Nicole Morikawa^
Hooney Heoh
Reni Axelrod^
Jackson Chin*
Sharmie Azurel^
Johnny Thach
Yvette Adiguzel^ (licensed out-of-state)
Kyoung Jung
Weiqiao Lin^
Shirley Luong
Duane Morikawa
Yaoyu Liu
Yvette Wang
Zhaohua (Josh) Huang
John Hwang (licensed out-of-state)
May Wong
Theresa Yuan
^ = non-attorney volunteers
* = remote
From Chinatown, Manhattan (7/30): Thank you, volunteers, for helping us meet with 31 clients. Majority of these cases were related to housing, contracts and fraud, and wills, trusts, and estates. Of the 31 clients, 16 spoke mandarin, 7 spoke Cantonese, 7 spoke English, and 1 n/a.
Volunteer Attorneys
Interpreters & Observers
Ailsa Chau
Alex Hwang^
Beatrice Leong
Alexandra Lao^
Chao-Yung (Kloe) Chiu
Joy Fan^
Eugene Kim
Kirin Moy^
Eun Hye (Grace) Lee
Meng Zhang^
Francis Chin
Nandar Win Kerr^
Jackson Chin
Reni Axelrod^
Kwok Kei Ng
Teresa Wai Yee Yeung^
Lindsay Hao
Yvette Adiguzel^ (licensed out-of-state)
Lulu Jing
May Wong
Meghan Liu
Min Jung Esther Choi
Theresa Yuan
Please feel free to join us at our upcoming Pro Bono Clinics in August –
Manhattan – August 20 – Cutoff time to register by 12pm, 8/17 to recruit volunteers
Location – 33 Bowery, Community Room at Confucius Plaza, New York, NY 10002
On Saturday, June 25, 2022, AABANY’s Pro Bono & Community Service (PBCS) Committee in collaboration with Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) organized a Pro Bono Clinic in Flushing, Queens. Thank you to all our volunteers for participating!
AABANY
AAFE
Beatrice Leong
Gabriel Hisugan (AAFE)
Bei Yang
Keshari Tuisyan (AAFE intern)^
Evelyn Gong*
Lilian Cheung (AAFE intern)^
Kyoung Jung
Maria del Carmen Cruz (AAFE)^
May Wong
Yichun Liu (AAFE intern)
Shengyang Wu
Zulma Vazquez (AAFE) (Spanish)^
Xue Huang
Yaoyu Liu
John Hwang
Lyubing Teng^
Meg Annamaneni^
Meng Zhang
Nicole Morikawa^
Sharmie Azurel^
Yvette Adiguzel^
^ = non-attorney volunteer
At the clinic, we met a total of 13 clients: 8 Spanish-speaking, 2 Mandarin-speaking, and 3 English speaking folks who had questions related to immigration (6 cases); housing (4 cases – 1 case with criminal context involved); unemployment insurance benefits (1 case); matrimonial (1 case); and wills/trusts/estates (1 case).
Our volunteers were able to learn from each other and employ useful resources online to help clients look for information. This includes researching how to apply for IDNYC, a municipal identification card for all New Yorkers regardless of their immigration status, compiling information tool kits for a client’s ongoing immigration case, or referring them to other legal service providers. Volunteering attorneys and law students worked closely with AAFE’s interpreters to assist our Spanish-speaking clients.
Volunteer Yvette Adiguzel stated, “Some clients had issues relating to a case that had already been initiated in court. When advising a client involved with a case, a useful resource to obtain New York case-related information online is eCourts NY. Anyone can use the e-courts information service for free and can search with information such as the party name, case number, type of court. eCourts NY can also be used to look up future date appearances regarding criminal and family cases, and can provide information relating to the active and disposed cases in civil courts and the Supreme Court. A tracking service called eTrack is an option available free of charge on the eCourts NY website so that you can monitor and set reminders relating to cases in civil local, supreme and family courts as well as criminal cases.” Many of the clients were grateful to the attorneys and volunteers, like Yvette, who were able to provide their expertise and provide informed legal advice.
Thank you again to all our volunteers!
If you would like to volunteer, our next clinic dates:
7/23/2022, 12:30pm – 3:30pm. Deadline to register 7/20/2022, 12pm.
We hope to see you at our next clinic on July 23! Please sign up! To learn more about the Pro Bono Committee and what they do visit probono.aabany.org
AABANY’s Pro Bono and Community Service (PBCS) Committee would like to thank all in-person and remote volunteers at the Flushing Clinic on February 26, 2022. PBCS is especially grateful to the Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) for hosting this clinic at their Community Center, for providing the coffee and snacks to keep participants alert and energized, and for the staff to interpret for the Spanish-speaking clients.
The clinic began at 11:00 AM with attorneys quickly being split up into three rooms to prep for the arrival of clients, with other volunteers preparing documents that needed to be handed out and information that needed to be collected. The clinic assisted 17 clients facing a variety of issues from tenant disputes, domestic violence, marriage and divorce, and loans and contracts.
With the help of AAFE and AABANY translators, clients with limited English proficiency were able to find the aid they needed from volunteer attorneys who were able to understand the nuances and emotions of their situations. For example, one client who only spoke Mandarin, had a temporary order of protection made against her by a family member, but the order was limited. Under the order, the client was permitted to return to the apartment, but the family member refused to let her back in. Many factors go into the enforcement of orders of protection, and it would be difficult in the limited time available for consultations at the clinic to fully analyze a given situation. However, the two volunteer attorneys assigned to help this client assisted her to the extent they could, pointing her towards other resources, and alerting her about specific laws that could apply to her situation.
This clinic could not have been possible without the gracious help of many AABANY members and committees. A special thank you to May Wong, a current Vice-Chair of PBCS, for organizing these Pro Bono Clinics, Eugene Kim, another Vice-Chair of PBCS, for serving as an attorney volunteer, and Committee Chair Judy Lee, for helping to prep the paperwork, attending the Prep Meeting the night before (2/25), and appearing virtually to advise clients. Additionally, thank you to Beatrice Leong, AABANY’s Membership Director and long time Pro Bono Clinic participant, for guiding newer volunteers, consoling a domestic violence victim, and assisting as a volunteer; Meng Zhang, for helping to translate and helping with the organization of the clinic; Evelyn Gong, Co-Chair of the Government Service and Public Interest (GSPI) Committee, for serving as an attorney volunteer, and Kevin Hsi, also a Co-Chair of GSPI, for serving as a volunteer.
PBCS greatly appreciates the law students from Columbia University who were able to attend and observe the clinics as part of their Caravan, a program in which law students spend their spring break working on pro bono projects.
AABANY’s Pro Bono & Community Service (PBCS) Committee would like to thank the remote and in-person volunteers who assisted at the Manhattan Chinatown pro bono clinic. This was the first pro bono clinic to take place at the 2 Allen Street, Manhattan location of Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE). PBCS and AABANY would like to thank AAFE for their co-sponsorship.
Fourteen attorneys, non-attorneys, and interpreter volunteers provided 20 clients with legal information and consultation services. Volunteers performed these services in a wide variety of languages and dialects- including Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Taishanese, and Fujianese- reflecting the ability of the pro bono clinic to meet the unique needs of NYC’s Chinatown community.
A substantial number of consultations pertained to housing issues, which remain relevant amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Many clients were informed of their legal rights and choices as tenants. In one instance, a client, who is a tenant in rent-stabilized housing, discovered that landlords of rent-stabilized units could not arbitrarily raise the rent of such units for “maintenance-related issues” without the permission of the Homes and Community Renewal agency of New York. The client also discovered that they were provided with a rental lease that was not authorized for use in rent-stabilized housing units.
We would once again like to thank the pro bono clinic volunteers for their dedication and support, which make the work of the clinic possible. Everyone is encouraged to sign up to volunteer below:
The Presidential Election Day is now just a month away on November 8th. If you’re not registered to vote you still have until October 14th to register and be eligible to vote in this election. This is your last chance to have a say in the direction of our country and have your voice heard!
To register online in New York, you need a driver’s license, a driver’s permit or another official form of identification from the state.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 21, 2016 Contact: Yang Chen, Executive Director (212) 332-2478
Asian American Bar Association of New York’s Free Legal Clinics Now Moved to Asian Americans for Equality in Chinatown
NEW YORK – July 21, 2016 – The Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) is proud to announce that it is continuing its pro bono legal clinic in partnership with Asian Americans for Equality (“AAFE”) at 111 Division Street. Launched in December 2015, AABANY’s legal clinics have served members of the Chinatown community free of charge on a variety of legal issues, including housing and immigration.
The pro bono legal clinic takes place on the second Wednesday of every month from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. Appointments are currently walk-in only at AAFE’s 111 Division Street location. Those seeking legal assistance should bring all documents pertaining to their legal issues. The next pro bono legal clinic takes place on August 10, 2016.
“AAFE has a four decade history of serving the Asian American community and enriching the lives of those in need. AABANY’s pro bono clinic is relatively new, and we look forward to a productive relationship with AAFE serving the community by providing access to free legal services,” states Yang Chen, Executive Director of AABANY. “We also thank the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association for previously hosting this monthly clinic.”
AAFE’s Director of Programs, Flora Ferng, says, “AAFE is excited about this new partnership with AABANY because it will allow us to continue to serve the communities and its residents in a meaningful way.”
For more information, please contact Yang Chen, AABANY Executive Director, at (212) 332- 2478, or direct any inquiries to [email protected].
A translation of this press release in Traditional Chinese can be found here. A translation of this press release in Simplified Chinese can be found here.
The Asian American Bar Association of New York is a professional membership organization of attorneys concerned with issues affecting the Asian Pacific American community. Incorporated in 1989, AABANY seeks not only to encourage the professional growth of its members but also to advocate for the Asian Pacific American community as a whole. AABANY is the New York regional affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).
Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) is a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of Asian Americans and all of those who are in need. Founded in 1974 to advocate for equal rights, AAFE has transformed in the past four decades to become one of New York’s preeminent housing, social service and community development organizations. AAFE is committed to preserving affordable housing throughout New York and to providing new opportunities for the city’s diverse immigrant communities. Its research, advocacy and grassroots organizing initiatives help to shape government policy and to effect positive change. At its heart, AAFE embodies the hopes and dreams of New York’s many vibrant immigrant communities, and helps turn those dreams into reality.
