Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund Fall 2014 Internships For Undergraduate, Graduate, and Law Students

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), founded in 1974, is the first organization on the East Coast to protect and promote the legal rights of Asian Americans through litigation, legal advocacy, and community education.  For more information about AALDEF, please visit our website at www.aaldef.org.

Fall internships are available for the following program areas (open to all unless otherwise noted):

Immigrant Access to Justice, litigation, legal services, and organizing/outreach with communities impacted by post 9/11 immigration and law enforcement policies. An additional emphasis on Asian communities’ access to representation and education about immigration policies and practices that may impact them, including deferred action policies and administrative relief for youth and other immigrants, unconstitutional DHS stops, and collaboration between state/local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement, e.g., “Secure Communities” program. **Law students ONLY**

Voting Rights, legal research and fact development under the Voting Rights Act and Equal Protection Clause challenging anti-Asian voter discrimination, advocacy on bilingual ballots, and state and local election reform; produce reports and organize public forums; work with volunteer attorneys and assist in organizing legal trainings. Voting Rights Interns work on the following:

  • Election monitoring to ensure that Asian Americans are treated fairly at the polls and to document violations of the Voting Rights Act and the federal Constitution.  The Voting Rights Act mandates the availability of Chinese, Korean, and Bengali language assistance and forbids anti-Asian voter discrimination.
  • Work with pro bono lawyers at corporate law firms and volunteer law students to inspect poll sites for compliance with the Voting Rights Act and the Help America Vote Act.  
  • Coordinate a survey of Asian American voters to document the use of bilingual ballots and report on Asian American voting patterns.  The survey will be taken at several poll sites across the nation.  Interns will recruit, train, and supervise volunteers, as well as coordinate logistics at three dozen polling locations.
  • Register new voters after citizenship swearing-in ceremonies.
  • Conduct research and advocacy on local, state, and federal election reform proposals.

Administrative Assistant, provide administrative support in preparation for AALDEF’s annual gala, including: researching for prospective dinner sponsors and silent auction donors.  Computer experience with databases, graphics and web programs are helpful. **Undergraduate students ONLY.  Workstudy grants accepted.**

Description of Internships:
Interns are supervised by attorneys and/or AALDEF staff in specific program areas.  These internships are not paid positions, but academic credit may be arranged.  Interns work anywhere between 8 to 25 hours per week.  The internship usually commences with the start of classes and ends in early December.

To Apply:
Any bilingual ability should be stated in the resume.  Bilingual ability is helpful but not required.  Applications should also state the number of hours the intern is able to work per week and which program area(s) you are interested in.  Email applications are accepted.  Applications reviewed on a rolling basis.  Send a resume and cover letter (law students should include a writing sample) to:

AALDEF Fall Intern Search
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)
99 Hudson Street, 12th floor, New York, New York 10013-2815
Fax: 212-966-4303 or Email: [email protected]

For more information, contact Jennifer Weng at 212-966-5932, ext. 212 or [email protected].

Meet Lu Jun, Human Rights Lawyer from China

Meet Lu Jun, Human Rights Lawyer from China

Congratulations to Eve Guillergan!

AABANY member Eve Guillergan was among six distinguished women honored Saturday, April 5th, at New York City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer’s Annual Open House Celebrating Women’s History Month. 

She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and currently serves on the board of the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York. Eve received the award for her outstanding community work with bar associations, advocating for immigration reform and immigrants’ issues, and supporting non-profit social service and community agencies with legal services. 

Please join AABANY in congratulating Eve Guillergan on this well-deserved recognition.

MCGUIREWOODS/NAPABA LAW FOUNDATION SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

The NAPABA Law Foundation (NLF) is accepting applications for the McGuireWoods/NLF Internship Program. The Program will support students interested in the legal profession and will help students develop a commitment to advocacy on behalf of the APA community. The Program seeks to achieve these goals by providing undergraduate and law school students with meaningful internship experiences at the Washington DC offices of NAPABA and NLF.

About the Program

Each law clerk and undergraduate intern shall be assigned projects that will further the missions of NAPABA and NLF, including:

  • Promoting justice, equity and opportunity for APAs;
  • Fostering professional development, legal scholarship, advocacy and community involvement; and
  • Developing and supporting programs to educate the legal profession and APAs about legal issues affecting those communities.

Please note the deadline to apply has been extended to March 21, 2014. Click here for more information.

2014 KALCA Summer College Internship Program

The KALCA Summer College Internship Program, now entering its 14th year, is a unique opportunity for college students and recent graduates of Asian descent with demonstrated leadership potential to gain practical, hands-on exposure to government, politics and non-profit advocacy. Interns will earn a stipend of $3,000 by participating and successfully completing the program. Applications are due by March 21, 2014.
 
Interns are placed in leading government offices, nonprofit organizations, and political campaigns in New York City. In addition to full-time assignments, interns take individualized leadership development courses, meet government and civic leaders, explore community and cultural issues, and seek career advice from professionals in a wide range of public service vocations. Mentorship activities and cultural outings round out the program. 
 
The program will run from the beginning of June, 2014 to the beginning of August, 2014. To be eligible, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident and a rising sophomore, junior or senior at an accredited university or will have received their Bachelors in Spring 2014. Finalists must be able to attend in-person interviews in New York City.
 
Please visit www.kalca.org to access the program overview and the application checklist. For further information, please contact Jeong Bae, Executive Director, at [email protected] or 212.633.2000.
 
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About Korean American League for Civic Action
Korean American League for Civic Action is dedicated to promoting the civic participation of Korean Americans and Asian Pacific Americans. KALCA furthers its mission by investing in leaders with talent and passion to serve the public; educating community members about their rights, duties and responsibilities as American citizens; and providing information about current events of interest to the community.

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The 2013 NAPABA Northeast Regional/AABANY Fall Conference hosted by Weil Gotshal featured a packed afternoon with several CLEs to keep attendees busy. Session 3 commenced at 2:30 pm and CLE topics included: “How do GCs Manage Crisis and Government Investigations,” “E-discovery and the New Ethical Rules for Non-Litigators,” “The Right to Vote: Asian Americans and the Struggle Over who Can Vote and How,” and much more, including the afternoon portion of the all-day Trial Advocacy Program (TAP).

“How do GCs Manage Crisis and Government Investigations” was one of our most popular CLE programs. The panel was moderated by Don Liu, Corporate Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at Xerox. Panelists included Stuart Alderoty, Senior Executive Vice President and General Counsel at HSBC, Bruce Bettigole, Partner at Sutherland, Katy Choo, Chief Investigative & Anti-Corruption Counsel at General Electric, and Sandra Leung, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Session 4 started at 4PM with well-attended CLEs: “The Partner Track: Fiction v. Reality,” “Common Sense Immigration Reform,” and “General Counsel Roundtable.”

Outside of the CLE programs, Robert Leung, Michael Park, and Gurinder Singh, of the newly formed AABANY Career Placement Committee, held one-on-one meetings throughout the day, in the morning and afternoon, with many individuals interested in the participating in the committee and the AABANY Career Exchange.

Many thanks to all of our speakers and moderators for contributing their time in preparing for and serving on their panels. AABANY would like to thank all staff, volunteers and attendees for participating in the conference.

National Bar Association Accepting Applications for 2013 Advocacy Competition-Deadline February 28!

The National Bar Association (NBA) is accepting applications for its 2013 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drum Major for Justice Advocacy Competition. More than $25,000 in scholarships will be awarded to high school juniors and seniors who place in the regional and national competitions. To compete, eligible students must submit an essay by February 28, 2013. For the fourth consecutive year, MetLife is proud to be the Platinum sponsor of the program.

High school juniors and seniors from across the country are invited to submit an essay for the 2013 competition. In no more than 1,000 words, students should address the following issue: Consider how Trayvon Martin was killed walking to his home on February 26, 2012 by George Zimmerman, a Florida neighborhood watchman in a gated community. Some have justified Zimmerman’s actions based on Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law. If Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive, would he advocate repealing this law and other similar laws? Please discuss why or why not.   

For more information, please visit www.nationalbar.org/mlkcompetition.

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund Spring 2013 Internships

Passing along an announcement about internship opportunities from our friends at AALDEF

For Undergraduate, Graduate, and Law Students

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), founded in 1974, is the first organization on the East Coast to protect and promote the legal rights of Asian Americans through litigation, legal advocacy, and community education.  For more information about AALDEF, please visit our website at www.aaldef.org.

Spring internships are available for the following program areas (open to all unless otherwise noted):

AALDEF Fundraising Events, provide administrative support in preparation for AALDEF’s annual gala.  Computer experience with databases, graphics and web programs are helpful. **Undergraduate students ONLY.  Workstudy grants accepted.**

Anti-Trafficking Initiative: Legal research and writing, organizing/outreach, and legal advocacy for trafficked clients pursuant to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and other related legislation.  Fluency in Indonesian, Hindi, or Bangla highly preferred.  **Law students ONLY. 

Economic Justice for Workers: Provide legal advocacy, direct representation, and community education on behalf of Asian immigrant workers experiencing wage-and-hour, retaliation, and workplace safety violations in the restaurant, beauty/nail salon, and domestic worker industries, among others.  Undergraduate interns will perform research and community outreach.  Fluency in a second language is highly preferred.

Educational Equity and Youth Rights: legal services, policy work, community education, research and litigation concerning educational equity, juvenile justice, language access, student free-speech and police surveillance, and anti-Asian harassment.

Housing & Environmental Justice Project: community outreach/education, research, and litigation on gentrification and other land use issues affecting low-income and Asian immigrant communities.

Immigrant Access to Justice: litigation, legal services, and organizing/outreach with communities impacted by 9-11 immigration and law enforcement policies.  An additional emphasis on Asian communities’ access to representation and education about immigration policies and practices that may impact them including unconstitutional DHS stops, new deferred action policies for youth, and secured communities.

Voting Rights: legal research and fact development under the Voting Rights Act and Equal Protection Clause challenging anti-Asian voter discrimination, advocacy on bilingual ballots, and the redrawing of local, state and federal district lines; produce reports and organize public forums; assist in organizing legal trainings.

Description of Internships.
Interns are supervised by attorneys and/or AALDEF staff in specific program areas.  These internships are not paid positions, but academic credit can be arranged.  Interns work anywhere between 8 to 25 hours per week.   Internships usually commence with the start of classes (end of January) through late April/early May.

To Apply:
Any bilingual ability should be stated in the resume.  Bilingual ability is helpful but not required.  Applications should also state the number of hours the intern is able to work per week and which program area(s) you are interested in.  Email applications are accepted.  Deadline December 3, 2012, applications received after deadline will be considered on a rolling basis.  Send a resume and cover letter (law students should include a writing sample) to:

AALDEF Spring Intern Search
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)
99 Hudson Street, 12th floor, New York, New York 10013-2815
Fax: 212-966-4303 or Email: [email protected]

For more information, contact Jennifer Weng at 212-966-5932, ext. 212 or [email protected].