AABANY ED Speaks at “Bridge the Gap” CLE Orientation Program
On Wednesday, October 23, AABANY Executive Director Yang Chen was a panelist at a CLE Orientation Program presented by the First Department’s Committee on Character and Fitness for a group of about 240 new attorneys who were scheduled to be sworn in to the New York State bar on October 28. The program took place at NYCLA from 9 am to 11 am, and Mr. Chen provided an overview of ethical issues confronting the new practitioner. Mr. Chen spoke from his perspective as a practitioner for nearly 20 years working on complex commercial litigation and antitrust matters. Maria Matos, Executive Secretary of the Committee on Character and Fitness and former President of the Puerto Rican Bar Association, organized the event, which is held every few weeks throughout the year.
4th Annual NAPABA Pro Bono & Public Interest Summit
Dear NAPABA members,
The Pro Bono Community Service Committee is pleased to invite you to the Pro Bono & Public Interest Summit on Thursday November 7 from 9-2 pm to kick off the 25th Annual NAPABA Convention. CLE credit is available.
This year’s Summit will feature panels on Health Care Reform and Immigration Reform and its impact on Asian Pacific American (APA) communities. We are pleased to have Delegate Mark Keam from the Virginia House of Delegates as our lunch speaker. Delegate Keam is the first APA immigrant to serve the General Assembly in Virginia’s 400 year history. He has a long history of community service, including a variety of local, state, and national organizations.
Pro bono is important to all of us. Each affiliate and each lawyer should be helping our communities in these efforts. Bar leaders are especially encouraged to attend. Even if you are not in bar leadership, this session will give you valuable insight into current issues, the state of the law and provide you with tools and knowledge to handle pro bono cases in your state. Many of you will want to have a clinic or other pro bono project this year—the Summit will help you accomplish that goal.
Attendance is free and lunch is available at a nominal cost. All lunch fee proceeds will be donated to Legal Aid of Western Missouri. Click here for more information on the Summit.
6th Annual NAPABA International Law Symposium
NAPABA’s International Law Committee invites you to kick off the 25th Annual Convention early at the 6th Annual International Law Symposium on Thursday, November 7, from 11:30 am – 10:00 pm. CLE credit is available.
The Symposium will commence with a keynote luncheon, followed by three exciting panels on key international legal developments impacting both practitioners and in-house counsel, and concludes with a networking cocktail reception and dinner where you can meet colleagues from Asia, Latin America, and North America.
The Symposium and cocktail reception are included in your registration fee for the Annual Convention. The luncheon and dinner are separately ticketed events. More information about the symposium can be found by clicking here.
WNYC News – Immigration Courts Closed Due to the Shutdown
WNYC News – Immigration Courts Closed Due to the Shutdown
Nassira Hamdi was supposed to walk out of an immigration court in Federal Plaza this week with an approval for a green card. But that court, like 14 others across the U.S., is closed due to the shutdown.
Tsui Yee, Partner at Guerrero Yee and Co-Chair of the Immigration and Nationality Law Committee, was recently quoted in this WNYC news article on the impact of the government shutdown on pending immigration cases. Tsui was quoted as follows:
In New York State, over 50,000 cases are currently pending. The Department of Justice, which oversees immigration courts, is currently only continuing hearings for immigrants who are detained. Hamdi’s attorney, Tsui Yee said several of her other clients’ appointments have also been canceled.
“We have been waiting for this day for months, if not years,” she said. “Each of my clients’ cases took, I would say on average, three to four years to make its way through the entire court process. … So it’s just very frustrating.”
AABANY Labor & Employment Committee in Formation
On Wednesday, October 9, 2013, sixteen Asian Pacific American (APA) attorneys attended AABANY’s general interest meeting for Labor and Employment Law practitioners to discuss the formation of a new committee to promote the education of work place issues affecting employees and employers in the Asian American community. The group also discussed ways to promote the professional development of APA lawyers practicing Labor and Employment Law through networking events, continuing legal education (CLE) programs and community outreach initiatives. The group will be planning a career panel for attorneys and law students interested in labor and employment law and a program to address “hot topics” in labor and employment law affecting employees and employers in the Asian American community.
Attendees at the meeting included attorneys representing employees/unions, employers/management, and federal, state and local government agencies, including the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Labor Relations Board, and New York State Department of Labor.
AABANY thanks Dechert LLP for hosting and providing refreshments for the meeting and Littler Mendelson for providing dinner for the attendees. If you are interested in participating in the group’s next event or would like further information about how to get involved, please contact William Ng at wng@littler.com or Amy Luo at amy.luo@aabany.org.