Tag: congratulations

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Congratulations to Joon Kim on Receiving the Hon. George Bundy Smith Pioneer Award

On Thursday, May 23, 2019, Joon Kim, Partner at Cleary Gottlieb and AABANY member, was presented with the Hon. George Bundy Smith Pioneer Award at the New York State Bar Association’s “Smooth Moves: Career Strategies for Attorneys of Color” program at Lincoln Center. The Hon. George Bundy Smith Pioneer Award recognizes lawyers who demonstrate commitment to legal excellence, community service and mentoring. The program was sponsored by the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association.

Joon Kim has led a distinguished career over two decades at high levels of government and in private practice at Cleary Gottlieb, personally trying over a dozen federal jury trials and actively participating in dozens more. He is also a regular speaker and panelist at leading industry conferences on criminal and regulatory matters.

Please join AABANY in congratulating Joon Kim for this well-deserved award and honor.

Photo courtesy of Cleary Gottlieb. Used with permission.
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PRESS RELEASE: AABANY CONGRATULATES KATHY HIRATA CHIN ON BEING SELECTED TO RECEIVE THE INAUGURAL HONG YEN CHANG AWARD BY THE COLUMBIA LAW SCHOOL ASSOCIATION AND ASIAN COLUMBIA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AT THE NEW YORK COUNTY LAWYERS ASSOCIATION

NEW YORK – May 24, 2019 – The Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) is proud to announce that Kathy Hirata Chin, Partner at Crowell & Moring LLP and longstanding member of AABANY, will be honored at the New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA) at the Inaugural Hong Yen Chang Reception on Tuesday, May 28, 2019. The Columbia Law School Association and Asian Columbia Alumni Association are recognizing Ms. Chin with this honor, and the reception is co-sponsored by AABANY, the Asian Practice Committee of NYCLA, the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York, and the Network of Bar Leaders. Ms. Chin is a 1980 graduate of Columbia Law School.

In 1872, 13-year-old Hong Yen Chang came to the United States to be groomed as a diplomat. He earned degrees from Yale University and Columbia University’s law school and passed the bar exam. However, after passing the bar examination, he was first denied admission because of his lack of U.S. citizenship due to the Chinese Exclusion Act. A special act of the New York Legislature (N.Y. L.1887 c. 249) allowed his admission despite this bar and in 1888, Hong Yen Chang reportedly became the first Asian American attorney admitted to the bar in New York. Hong Yen Chang then moved to California and applied for admission to the bar there but was denied in 1890 due to his lack of citizenship. Not until 2015 was this exclusion remedied, when the California Supreme Court granted an application from members of the UC Davis Asian Pacific American Law Students Association for posthumous admission of Hong Yen Chang.

“Although the very first Asian American lawyer in New York State was admitted over 130 years ago, the legacy of exclusion, discrimination and bias continues to preserve a Bamboo Ceiling in 21st century America,” states AABANY President Brian Song. “We are grateful that Kathy Hirata Chin has been a vital champion, role model and trailblazer in the fight for diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and are proud to count her among our most prominent members. We congratulate her on being selected to receive the Hong Yen Chang Award.”

Kathy Hirata Chin is an accomplished litigator who has handled dozens of appellate cases, concentrating her practice in healthcare and real estate. After graduating magna cum laude from Princeton University and graduating from Columbia University School of Law, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and Editor-in-Chief of The Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, Ms. Chin joined Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, becoming one of the first minority and women Partners in 1990.

Nominated by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Ms. Chin served on the New York City Planning Commission from 1995-2001. Nominated by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Ms. Chin served on the New York City Commission to Combat Police Corruption in 2003. She has also served on Governor Mario M. Cuomo’s Judicial Screening Committee for the First Judicial Department from 1992-1994; the Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel for the Eastern District of New York from 1992-1999; the Gender Bias Committee of the Second Circuit Task Force on Gender, Race, and Ethnic Fairness; the New York County Lawyers’ Association’s Task Force to Increase Diversity in the Legal Profession; and Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye’s Commission to Promote Public Confidence in Judicial Elections from 2003-2006; and the New York County Lawyers’ Association Board of Directors.

In December 2012 and again in December 2014, she was nominated for appointment to the State Court of Appeals by the New York State Commission on Judicial Nomination. In April 2016, she was appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to the First Department Judicial Screening Committee. Since January 2016, Kathy has served as a member of the Second Circuit Judicial Council Committee on Civic Education & Public Engagement, focusing on historic reenactments as a teaching tool. With her husband, the Hon. Denny Chin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and teams of lawyers and judges from AABANY, she has developed and presented reenactments of famous cases such as Korematsu vs. U.S, to teach lawyers and the community about the significant contributions made by Asian Americans to the social, political and legal history of the United States.

Ms. Chin has played a critical role in initiating and sustaining change within many organizations, in the legal profession and the community. Please join AABANY in congratulating Ms. Chin on this well-deserved honor.

For more information, please contact Yang Chen, AABANY Executive Director, at (212) 332-2478, or direct any inquiries to [email protected].

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 a New York regional affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).

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Congratulations to Judge Pamela Chen

Congratulations to Judge Pamela Chen, U.S. District Court Judge at the Eastern District of New York, on being honored by the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association and the Asian American Judges Association of New York during an Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Celebration held at the Brooklyn Bar Association building at 123 Remsen Street in downtown Brooklyn on Monday, May 13. We were joined by many State and Federal Court judges who came out to celebrate with Judge Chen. We even had a lion dance, which may have been the first time this Chinese tradition was observed at the Brooklyn Bar Association.

In 2012, President Obama nominated Judge Chen to serve as a Federal District Court Judge in the Eastern District of New York. The United States Senate confirmed her nomination on March 4, 2013, and she became the first Chinese-American female Article III judge outside of California and the second-ever Chinese-American female federal judge in U.S. history, continuing to add to the rich legacy of the Second Circuit and New York State.

As AABANY Executive Director Yang Chen Stated: “During May, we celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and it is a most fitting tribute that we recognize and honor a distinguished jurist like Judge Chen, who has been a champion of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. Judge Chen has been an active AABANY member for many years, and we proudly followed Judge Chen’s path to the bench and her rise over the years, and congratulate her on this well-deserved honor.”

Please join AABANY in congratulating Judge Pamela Chen.

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Congratulations to Hon. Lillian Wan, Recipient of the Brooklyn Bar Association’s Diversity Award

On Wednesday May 8, the Brooklyn Bar Association held its annual meeting on Wednesday and honored nine members of the local legal community during a ceremony at the Brooklyn Bar Association building on Remsen Street. AABANY is proud to note that its member, Hon. Lillian Wan, received the Diversity Award. Read the full article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle here.

From Yang Chen, Executive Director:

“AABANY congratulates Justice Wan on being honored with the first-ever Diversity Award from the Brooklyn Bar Association,” states Executive Director Yang Chen. “We have followed Justice Wan’s path to the bench and her rise over the years, and we commend the Brooklyn Bar Association for recognizing her with this well-deserved honor, recognizing her role as a trailblazer in the Asian American community and as a champion of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and the community.”

Read the full AABANY press release here.

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AABANY Congratulates Hon. Dorothy Chin Brandt

Congratulations to the Honorable Dorothy Chin Brandt, former justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Queens County, who was honored at the Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration hosted by the Queens District Attorney’s Office of Immigrant Affairs on May 2, 2019.

Justice Chin Brandt made history as the first Asian American female judge and the first elected Asian American public official in New York. She began her legal career as an Assistant Dean of Graduate Legal Studies at Harvard Law School and then as an associate at Shearman & Sterling. She joined the firm Dilworth & Paxson in Washington, D.C. and worked in private practice until her election to Civil Court in 1987. After 30 years of public service on the bench, Justice Chin Brandt retired in 2016.

As AABANY President Brian Song stated: “AABANY congratulates Justice Chin Brandt on being honored at the Queens County DA’s Office’s Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration,” states AABANY President Brian Song. “During the month of May, when we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage, it is most fitting that we recognize and celebrate the achievements of trailblazers like Justice Chin Brandt who has paved the way for generations of lawyers and judges that have entered the profession and achieved success by following her example.”

Please join AABANY in congratulating Hon. Dorothy Chin Brandt.

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AABANY Congratulates Hon. Randall T. Eng

Congratulations to Hon. Randall T. Eng, retired Presiding Justice of the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, on receiving the Charles W. Froessel Award from Queens County Bar Association at its Annual Dinner held on May 2 at Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. This award celebrates Justice Eng’s achievements as a legal professional and honors his contributions to the Queens County Bar Association.

Justice Eng was born in Guangzhou, China, and was raised in New York City. He received a Juris Doctor degree from St. John’s University School of Law in 1972. Upon graduating from law school, Justice Eng served as an assistant district attorney in Queens. In 1983, Justice Eng was appointed to the Criminal Court of the City of New York by Mayor Edward I. Koch. In 1988, Justice Eng was appointed to serve as an Acting Justice of New York State Supreme Court. In 1990, Justice Eng was elected to stay in the position and was re-elected in 2004. Between 2007 and 2008, Justice Eng was appointed to serve a short term as Administrative Judge of the Criminal Term of Queens County Supreme Court, and he served in this role until he was elevated to the Appellate Division in 2008. In 2012, Governor Andrew Cuomo appointed Justice Eng to lead the Second Department as the presiding justice, where he oversaw one of the busiest judicial departments in the country. This appointment made Justice Eng the first Asian American to serve as a presiding justice in New York State. Justice Eng retired from the bench and joined Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C. as Of Counsel in January 2018.

Over his long and prolific legal career, Justice Eng has received numerous honors, including AABANY’s Norman Lau Kee Trailblazer Award in 2017, OCA-NY Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, and the Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award in 2016, the highest honor bestowed by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, of which AABANY is an affiliate.

As AABANY President Brian Song stated: “AABANY congratulates Justice Eng on receiving the Charles W. Froessel Award from the Queens County Bar Association,” states AABANY President Brian Song, “It is yet another well-deserved recognition of Justice Eng’s achievements as a prominent jurist who has led the way for generations of attorneys and judges to follow his example. During May, when we celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, it is a most fitting tribute that we recognize and honor the milestones and achievements of role models like Justice Randall Eng. None of us would be here today were it not for Justice Eng and other APA judges and lawyers who led the way.”

Please join AABANY in congratulating Hon. Randall T. Eng .

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PRESS RELEASE: AABANY CONGRATULATES ITS FORMER PRESIDENT GLENN LAU-KEE ON RECEIVING SOLO AND SMALL FIRM LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FROM AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION

NEW YORK – The Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) congratulates Glenn Lau-Kee, Partner at Lau-Kee Law Group PLLC and former AABANY President (1997-99), on receiving the American Bar Association Solo and Small Firm Lifetime Achievement Award. This award honors solo and small firm attorneys who are widely accepted by their peers as having significant lifetime distinction, exceptional achievement, and distinction in an exemplary way. Mr. Lau-Kee and his fellow awardees will be honored on Friday, May 3, 2019 at the ABA Solo and Small Firms Award Luncheon at the Marriott Marquis in New York City.

Mr. Lau-Kee began his legal career as an associate in the Hong Kong and New York offices of Coudert Brothers LLP where he worked on bank financing, leasing, and corporate acquisition transactions. In 1977, he became a partner at Kee and Lau-Kee PLLC where he has developed a thriving real estate and bank financing practice.  He was also a partner at Koo Larrabee Lau-Kee & Lane LLP for six years.

Aside from practicing real estate and business law, Mr. Lau-Kee has spent much of his legal career tirelessly serving the Asian American community of New York City. He helped found the Chinatown YMCA, as well as the US-Asia Institute. For his long-standing service to the YMCA, he received the Order of the Red Triangle, the highest honor bestowed by the organization. Along with his father, Norman Kee, Mr. Lau-Kee received the Hon. George Bundy Smith Pioneer Award in 2010, recognizing their outstanding record of public service and commitment to providing exceptional legal services to the Chinatown community in New York City. In 2017, Mr. Lau-Kee was honored as a Community Hero by the Museum of Chinese in America.

Mr. Lau-Kee made history as the first Asian American President of the New York State Bar Association (“NYSBA”) for the 2014-15 term. He continues his involvement with NYSBA as a member of the Business Law, Health Law and Real Property Law sections. Mr. Lau-Kee has also been an active member of New York County Lawyers Association (“NYCLA”) since 2000, serving on the Board of Directors until 2004 and serving on various task forces and committees until 2010. He also served on the Board of Directors for the NYCLA Foundation and the New York Bar Foundation, which function as the charitable and philanthropic arms of their respective organizations.

Mr. Lau-Kee has been an active leader in AABANY for over twenty years.  He served as President from 1997-1999 and on the Board of Directors from 1994-2000.  He has served on the Nominations Committee, contributing to the promotion of future leaders for AABANY.

Mr. Lau-Kee is a graduate of Yale College and Boston University School of Law.

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 a New York regional affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).

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Congratulations to Glenn Magpantay on Receiving the Brooklyn Law School Faculty Award for Excellence in Public Service

Glenn Magpantay received the Brooklyn Law School Faculty Award for Excellence in Public Service

On Tuesday, April 9, 2019, Glenn Magpantay, the Executive Director of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), was honored at Brooklyn Law School’s Public Service Awards Ceremony.

Glenn Manpantay (left) and AABANY GSPI Committee Co-Chair Kevin Hsi (right) at the Public Service Awards Ceremony

Glenn Manpantay, a former AABANY Board member and a current co-chair of the LGBT Committee, was presented with Brooklyn Law School’s Faculty Award for Excellence in Public Service, in recognition of his incredible devotion to educating and fighting for LGBT equality, racial justice and immigrant rights.

Please join AABANY in congratulating Glenn Manpantay for this well-deserved award and honor.

We thank Kevin Hsi for providing the photos for this blog post.

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Congratulations to Glenn Magpantay, Honoree at the Brooklyn Law School Public Service Awards Ceremony

On April 9, 2019, Brooklyn Law School Public Service Law Center will host the Public Service Awards Ceremony in Forchelli Conference Center, Feil Hall, where Glenn Magpantay will receive a Faculty Award for Excellence in Public Service in recognition for his outstanding contributions to public service.

Glenn Magpantay is the Executive Director of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA) and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School. He has been organizing in the LGBT community for over 30 years, and he is recognized as a vanguard of LGBT rights activism. In addition to being an activist, Magpantay is also a devoted educator. He teaches “Race & the Law” at Brooklyn Law School and “Asian American Civil Rights” at Hunter College/ CUNY.

We at AABANY have been fortunate to have Glenn Magpantay as a former Board member and current co-chair of the LGBT Committee. Please join AABANY in congratulating Glenn Magpantay on this well-deserved award and honor.

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Congratulations to Hon. Kiyo Matsumoto, Recipient of the Conner Inn Excellence Award

On January 16, 2019, Hon. Kiyo Matsumoto, District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, was honored at the Conner Inn Annual Dinner.

The mission of the Hon. William C. Conner Inn of Court is to promote excellence in professionalism, ethics, civility, and legal skills for judges, lawyers, academicians, and students of law and to advance the education of the members of the Inn, the members of the bench and bar, and the public in the fields of intellectual property law.

Judge Matsumoto, a long time member of AABANY, was presented with the Conner Inn Excellence Award, at the Union League Club of New York, for her commitment and dedication to the promotion of excellence in the legal profession.

Please join AABANY in congratulating Judge Matsumoto on this well-deserved award and honor.

Chief Judge Dora Irizarry, EDNY(l.), with Judge Kiyo Matsumoto upon her receipt of the Conner Inn Excellence Award. (Photo courtesy of the Hon. William C. Conner Inn of Court.)