On May 4, City & State published their 2026 Asian Trailblazers List. As stated in the article:
City & State’s annual Asian Trailblazers highlights many of the high-ranking Asian Americans who are on the rise in New York. The list, researched and written in partnership with journalist Natasha Ishak, features trusted advisers to politicians such as Gov. Kathy Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer. It includes behind-the-scenes political consultants and policy strategists shaping the direction of New York. And it spotlights advocates and activists who are improving daily life in Asian American communities – and for all New Yorkers.
City & State New York
AABANY is proud to congratulate five of its members who were named to this year’s list.
AABANY is proud to celebrate Kwok Kei Ng, who was recognized as a Community Leader at the 2025 Brooklyn Democratic Gala on October 30, 2025 for his outstanding dedication to public service and community engagement.
A cornerstone of AABANY’s Pro Bono & Community Service Committee since 2019, Kwok has been instrumental in the success of the Brooklyn Pro Bono Clinic. In his role as Co-Chair, he has cultivated strong, trusting relationships with local community-based organizations and mobilized volunteer attorneys to serve the community. Furthermore, his commitment to justice extends to his service on the board of the Asian American Law Fund of New York (AALFNY), where he supports scholarships and community-focused initiatives that help expand access to justice.
Kwok’s career is marked by a deep commitment to the justice system. Beginning as a court interpreter, he now serves as a court attorney and remains a strong advocate for language access within the courts. In addition, as the Deputy Vice President of the High School Division for the Sonia and Celina Sotomayor Judicial Internship Program, he has facilitated summer internships with federal and state judges for over a hundred high school students.
Please join AABANY in offering Kwok our heartfelt congratulations on this well-deserved honor. We always welcome more volunteer attorneys, law students, and interpreters to support our vital efforts. To learn more about the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee, please visit probono.aabany.org.
Washington, DC (August 6, 2025) — The NAPABA Law Foundation (NLF) announced today that three exceptional second-year law students have been awarded SAIL Scholarships for their outstanding professional promise and leadership potential:
Justin Chock, Yale Law School, is an editor of the Yale Law Journal and the Yale Journal on Regulation; co-chair of the Native American Association; and professional development co-chair of the Veterans Association. He received an M.Phil. in international relations from the University of Oxford, which he attended on a full scholarship, and a B.S. in political science with honors from the U.S. Naval Academy. Prior to law school, Justin served as a gunnery and ordnance officer on a U.S. Navy destroyer; chief military liaison with the U.S. Forces Japan Intelligence Directorate; and a master instructor in political science and cyber science at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Jason Huang, Arizona State University, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and Watts School of Public Policy, is a joint J.D./M.P.P. student and president of the St. Thomas More Society; vice president of the Federal Bar Association; 1L rep for the Disabled Law Students Association; and a member of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association. Jason has received numerous awards during law school, including the Thomas Tang Scholarship. Previously an emergency medical technician for Medstar Solutions and a combat engineer with the Army National Guard, Jason received his B.A. in liberal arts from Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, California.
Heajune (June) Lee, Harvard Law School, is executive vice president of the Harvard National Security & Law Association and public interest chair of the Korean Association. She has served as co-lead for the North Korea Cyber Working Group, program coordinator and research assistant with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton, and a cyber policy advisor with the U.S. Department of Defense. June received her B.A. in international relations, with a minor in computer science, from Stanford University, where she received the William J. Perry Prize for excellence in policy-relevant research.
“Jason, June, and Justin exemplify academic excellence, leadership in their schools, and a deep commitment to their communities,” said NLF President Bonnie Wolf. “NLF and SAIL are proud to support their journeys toward legal careers and public service, knowing they will continue to uplift and advocate for their communities along the way.”
“We are excited to welcome Justin, Jason, and June into the sixth cohort of SAIL Scholars,” said Ivan Fong, who, with his wife Sharon, endowed the NLF SAIL Scholarship program. “Each of them shows great promise as a leader who gives generously of their time and effort to the broader community. We could not be more delighted to help them as they complete their academic work and become part of the next generation of leaders in our profession.”
Two unique aspects of the SAIL Scholarship program are that, in addition to monetary support, SAIL Scholars will also receive mentoring and leadership development from each other and from a network of legal and community leaders. “A second feature of this scholarship program,” said Sharon Fong, “is that the recipients commit to ‘paying it forward’ — by supporting each other, future SAIL Scholars, and the communities in which they will live and work.”
The 2025 NLF SAIL Scholarship selection committee was comprised of Suzan Chau, Supervising Attorney for the Elder Justice & Civil Resource Center for the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania; the Honorable Theodore Chuang, U.S. District Judge for the District of Maryland; Esther Lim, Partner and Chief Community Officer at Finnegan; and Caroline Tsai, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Corporate Affairs Officer at FIS.
NLF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that carries out its work primarily by awarding scholarships and fellowships that promote the interests of the Asian Pacific American community. Since its founding, the Foundation has awarded more than $500,000 in scholarships and nearly $1 million in fellowships and internships.
On Wednesday, October 23, 2024, AABANY members attended the Chinese-American Planning Council’s (CPC) Harvest Moon Benefit in Brooklyn to celebrate longtime active AABANY member and co-founding member of AABANY’s Prosecutors Committee, Kin Ng, who was one of the Honorees this year.
Kin has been a prosecutor at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office for over thirty years. In 2021, he was appointed to serve as the Bureau Chief of Trial Bureau II, Blue Zone. From 2017 to 2020, he was promoted to Bureau Chief of Trial Bureau I – Red Zone, and became the first AAPI bureau chief of a major trial bureau in the history of the office. Prior to that, Kin served in various management capacities in different trial bureaus and the Immigration Fraud Unit. He also served as the Chief of Legal Training, conducting office-wide trainings for all Brooklyn ADAs and staff. Kin continues to mentor prosecutors of all offices and experiences through AABANY as well as National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). In addition, he is a founding member and co-chair of the National Asian Pacific Islander Prosecutors Association (NAPIPA) and a member of its National Executive Board and the President of its New York Chapter. Notably, Kin received the Norman Lau Kee Trailblazer Award at the 2018 AABANY Fall Conference, in recognition of his leadership in the Asian American legal community.
In his acceptance speech, Kin mentioned and thanked Homecrest and CPC for providing many programs to the community, such as senior services, multi-social services and a wide range of youth and workforce activities. These programs, especially summer and after-school educational activities, provide working families with child care services and a safe environment for their children to learn and grow.
On behalf of the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee, we also want to thank CPC for hosting our Pro Bono Clinics at their Brooklyn location and our community partners for supporting our efforts in providing free legal consultations to low- to middle- income individuals and families.
The next Pro Bono Clinic in Brooklyn is on November 9, 2024, from 12:30pm to 3:00pm, at CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232. Pre-registration can be made by phone (tel: (718) 492-0409). Walk-ins are welcome!
Last but not least, thank you AABANY, AALFNY, the Prosecutors Committee, and Pro Bono & Community Service Committee, and our pro bono clinic volunteers for supporting AAPI not-for-profit organizations and their great causes!!!
For more information about the Prosecutors Committee, go here. For more information about the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee go here. Join the Prosecutors Committee for their 16th Anniversary Reception on Nov. 13. More details here.
Justice Peter Tom paid tribute to Asian American trailblazer and community leader Norman Lau Kee in the December 13 edition of the New York Law Journal:
Recently a prominent Chinese American attorney in New York City quietly passed away at the age of 90, receiving little attention outside the Asian community. However, the passing of Norman Lau Kee represents a significant historic milestone and was a major news event in the city’s Chinese community.
Norman Lau Kee was one of the pioneers of the legal profession in Chinatown. He was a grandson of Chinese immigrants, a successful academic, a World War II veteran and most significantly, was part of a very small vanguard of Asian lawyers who first provided legal representation for Chinatown residents beginning in the 1950s. However, these accomplishments only tell part of the story of the lifelong achievements of Norman Lau Kee and his well-accomplished family.
Read the full article by clicking on the linked title above. (Subscription required.)
