Tag: Affiliates

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NAPABA Welcomes the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers Western Chapter (FACL Western) and the Pasifika Attorneys Law Society (PALS)

For Immediate Release:Contact:
July 6, 2026press@napaba.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Continuing to expand its network and strengthen its representation across North America and the Pacific, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) welcomes the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers Western Chapter (FACL Western) as its newest affiliate and the Pasifika Attorneys Law Society (PALS) of Guam as its sixth national associate.

Founded in 2025, FACL Western is a nonprofit organization serving Asian Canadian legal professionals across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. As part of the broader Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers network, FACL Western advances advocacy, mentorship, professional development, and community engagement throughout Western Canada.

“FACL Western is thrilled to become an affiliate of NAPABA. For our members, this affiliation opens the door to a large community of mentors, peers, and leaders, along with the resources and opportunities that come with NAPABA’s network. What excites me most is collaborating with organizations facing similar challenges and learning from their experience while bringing our distinctly Canadian perspective to the table,” said Angad Bedi, President of FACL Western.

Established in 2025, PALS is a national organization dedicated to advancing the professional interests and representation of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander attorneys across the United States and its territories. The organization provides a dedicated professional home and network of peer support for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander legal professionals while promoting advocacy, collaboration, and partnerships with bar associations and community organizations nationwide.

“We share NAPABA’s belief that representation in the legal profession matters—not just symbolically, but structurally. This partnership gives our mission to elevate Pasifika voices a powerful platform, ensuring those once identified as statistically invisible will no longer be overlooked,” said Henry Aho & Puanani Norwood, Co-Founders of PALS.

“We are proud to welcome FACL Western and PALS into the NAPABA community,” said Joseph Yao, President of NAPABA. “FACL Western reflects the continued growth of NAPABA’s presence throughout Canada, strengthening our cross-border community of Asian legal professionals. At the same time, PALS represents an important step forward in deepening representation and engagement for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander attorneys within our national network. Together, these organizations broaden the perspectives, leadership, and advocacy that make our community stronger.”

PALS and FACL Western join a community of over 90 local, state, regional, and national bar associations in the United States and Canada. Individual members of national associates and affiliates are entitled to discounted NAPABA membership and the benefits that accompany it. For more information about how to become a NAPABA national associate or affiliate, please visit our webpage and learn more here about the benefits of becoming a NAPABA member.  

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AABANY and KALAGNY File Amici Brief Addressing Implicit Racial Bias in N.Y. Judicial System

An Allen & Overy cross-practice team acted as pro-bono counsel for the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) and Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York (KALAGNY) in filing an appellate brief amici curiae to the New York Appellate Division, Third Department. 

Following his mostly unsuccessful personal injury case brought against the State of New York (Byung Choon Joe v. New York), Plaintiff, Byung Choon Joe, appealed the trial judge’s decision to the Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department. A&O, on behalf of AABANY and KALAGNY, filed a brief amici curiae in support of Mr. Joe, urging the appellate court to consider whether the trial court’s decision was negatively influenced by implicit racial bias.

Terry Shen, President of AABANY, said, “As the largest affinity bar association in New York and the United States, AABANY is devoted to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. When we learned about the case of Byung Choon Joe, we were concerned about the trial court’s irrelevant reference to his Korean ethnicity in the context of a finding of a lack of trustworthiness, recalling age-old negative stereotypes of Asian Americans. We therefore joined with KALAGNY to file an amici brief to call attention to the fact that judges and the judicial system are not immune to implicit bias.”

The New York State Bar Association and several affiliates of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association also supported AABANY and KALAGNY’s brief including: the Asian American Bar Association of Chicago, the Asian American Bar Association of Houston, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania, the Connecticut Asian Pacific American Bar Association, the Jacksonville Asian American Bar Association, the Network of Bar Leaders (a coalition of more than fifty bar associations in the Greater New York area), the South Asian Bar Association of New York, and the Thai American Bar Association.

The A&O pro-bono team for this case was led by Sapna Palla (AABANY member and Immediate Past President) along with associates Rebecca Cecchini and Ben Minkoff.


To view the entire press release, please click here.

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