Official blog of the Asian American Bar Association of New York
During the summer of 2014, many Perkins Coie offices will offer a 1L Diversity Fellowship to students who have completed one year of law school. These fellowships provide students with a paid summer associate position and a $7,500 academic scholarship that is paid at the completion of the summer program.
More information on participating offices, eligibility, and application deadlines can be found at this link: http://bit.ly/ID30xb.
Thank you to everyone who attended 25th Annual NAPABA Convention in Kansas City, MO. Without sponsors and members like you, we could not continue to serve as the national voice for the Asian Pacific American (APA) legal profession and to promote justice, equity, and opportunity for the APA community. We truly appreciate your commitment to NAPABA and to diversity in the legal profession.
Please take a few moments to read these convention updates:
Survey: Your feedback is very important to us. Click here to take our convention survey and you may be eligible to receive an iPad mini!
CLE Credits: Click here to confirm your bar number, jurisdiction, sessions attended, and to download your certificate(s) of attendance. Please note that approval is still pending in New Hampshire and Virginia. Kansas attorneys must submit an affidavit to the Kansas Continuing Legal Education Commission. The form is available on our online CLE site. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].
Attendee List: Click here for a list of the 2013 Convention attendees.
Photos: Conventions photos have been posted online on NAPABA’s Facebook Page.
I look forward to continuing our relationship as we plan our 26th Annual NAPABA Convention, which will be held on November 6-9, 2014, at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona. Stay tuned for information about how you can get involved in the 2014 Annual Convention.
I wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season and a very prosperous 2014!
Sincerely,
Tina Matsuoka
Executive Director
ATTORNEY MENTORS
Strengthen the Legal Diversity Pipeline
by Sponsoring a PALS Mentee
The PALS Mentoring Program
Matches diverse law students with practicing attorneys,
who serve as professional development resources,
and has done so for more than 25 years.
Attorney Mentors Make an Impact
● Join a community of diversity champion attorneys mentoring the next wave of leaders of color in the legal profession.
● Be rewarded with your gift of sharing your time and talents with unparalleled networking opportunities.
● Positively guide a mentee’s career path, course selection and the road to success!
Become a Mentor Today!
Commit 2-4 hours per month
to a designated PALS Mentee.
Signup today at: www.palsprogram.org/mentor
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
ACTION REQUIRED
Attorneys Who Have Previously Created a Profile on the PALS Website:
1. Email [email protected] to indicate that you would like to be considered for participation in the mentoring program as a “mentor”.
2. Utilize Email Subject: “PALS 2013 Mentor”
3. PALS will respond to your email within 7 business days, indicating a completed mentor profile status.
4. Please log-in Here to update your profile today!
Attorneys who have NOT Created an Attorney Profile on the PALS Website:
1. Visit www.palsprogram.org/mentor and fill in all requested information on the online form.
2. PALS will respond to your email within 7 business days, indicating a completed mentor profile status.
Current Mentors:
We thank you for your willingness to volunteer as a mentor in the past. If you would like an additional PALS Mentee, or if you have lost touch with your PALS Mentee and are interested in being assigned a new PALS Mentee, please update your profile and let us know via email at [email protected] .
PALS Mentoring Manual and sign a Participation Agreement with their mentor.
July 23, 2013
To access the report, please visit: http://aafederation.org/headlines.asp?hid=141
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24, 2013
HNBA Contact: Erika Lopez (202) 223-4777
NAPABA Contact: Emily Chatterjee (202) 775-9555
NBA Contact: Erika Owens (202) 842-3900
NNABA Contact: Mary Smith (405) 761-1723
Coalition of Bar Associations of Color
Reassured by Supreme Court’s Decision in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin
WASHINGTON – The Coalition of Bar Associations of Color (CBAC) – the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA), the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), the National Bar Association (NBA) and the National Native American Bar Association (NNABA) – is reassured by the Supreme Court’s decision today to reaffirm the principle that diversity in higher education is a compelling national interest. We remain cautiously optimistic about the Court’s decision to send the case back to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Supreme Court partially vacated a lower court ruling that had upheld the right of the University of Texas at Austin to partially consider race in its admissions’ policy. However, in deciding Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, it left intact the precedent it set in Grutter v. Bollinger, which allows schools to consider racial diversity as an admissions factor.
Last summer, CBAC filed an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court in the Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin case. The brief highlights the progress made in diversifying the legal profession since the Court’s ruling in Grutter v. Bollinger, while discussing the continued need for race-conscious admissions programs to further the diversification of the legal profession.
“We are encouraged that the United States Supreme Court’s ruling affirmed the Grutter v. Hollinger decision which allows racial and ethnic diversity to be considered as one of many factors in a carefully crafted admissions policy,” stated HNBA National President Peter M. Reyes, Jr. “These are important factors to consider when taking a holistic admissions approach, and the Court in a 7-1 strongly supports our position.”
“We are encouraged by the Court’s decision today in Fisher,” said Wendy C. Shiba, president of NAPABA. “A strong majority of the Court has stood in support of diversity as a compelling interest, and members of the Asian Pacific American community are heartened by this outcome. We see evidence of the importance of a diverse workforce every day in the legal profession, and are thankful that our nation’s commitment to the values of diversity and inclusion has been ratified today.”
“Today’s decision underscores diversity as a compelling interest for all institutions of education and higher learning,” stated John E. Page, President of the National Bar Association. “Even with strict scrutiny of the methods used to achieve such diversity, the US Supreme Court continues to agree that many factors, including race, can be a factor in an admissions program.”
“Diversity is important to educational opportunities for all and furthers classroom discussion and understanding,” said Mary Smith, President of the National Native Bar Association. “We are heartened that the Supreme Court has recognized the importance of diversity.”
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We are excited to announce that the Council of Urban Professionals is launching New York’s Next Diverse Leaders, an effort to identify and promote talented cross-sector leaders for consideration in the forthcoming New York City mayoral administration.
Coming on the heels of similar successful efforts by CUP to identify and place leaders of color and women in President Obama’s Administration in 2008 and 2012, and in Governor Cuomo’s Administration in 2010, we are excited to announce our initiative to ensure the next Mayor of New York City has a diverse slate of candidates to consider for top public sector roles.
To submit your resumé for a range of public sector roles, as well as New York City boards and commissions, please click here. To be considered, resumes must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 1, 2013.
Feel free to circulate this message and the instructions for resumé submittal to your networks. Once our new Mayor has been elected we will schedule an information session via conference call with a municipal administration official, who will explain their internal process further and answer any questions.
Best regards,
Chloe Drew
Executive Director, Council of Urban Professionals
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On June 7, AABANY took part in the 10th anniversary Caren Aronowitz Unity in Diversity celebration at the New York State Supreme Court Rotunda. This annual event is one of the highlights of the year at the courthouse, bringing together bar groups, community organizations and unions to celebrate diversity and promote greater understanding and tolerance within the courts and the wider community.
AABANY and participating organizations provided delicious food representing the diverse cultures of New York. AABANY’s table was filled with dim sum items from Nom Wah and was easily among the most popular tables at the event.
Thanks to our interns, Stephanie Yu and Max Zimmerman for staffing the table, along with interns from the chambers of Judge Doris Ling-Cohan.
The following opportunity may be of interest to Law Students
The City Bar Committee on Minorities in the Profession is now accepting applications for the 2013 Michael Oshima Diversity Essay Competition. Monetary awards will be made to 3 candidates on the basis of their essay and their having demonstrated significant personal achievements and strong community involvement. The first place winner will receive an award in the amount of $1,500, second place will be $1,000, and the third place winner will receive $500.
The deadline for the submission/receipt of all materials is
May 31, 2013. Prize winners will be notified in July 2013.
The Michael Oshima Diversity Essay Competition was established in honor of Michael Oshima, an individual who dedicated much of his legal career to ensuring that our profession remains diverse and open to all people no matter their race, ethnic or national origin, sex or sexual orientation. Michael contributed countless hours to the betterment of the legal profession and he served on a number of bar committees, including as Chair of the Committee on Minorities in the Profession of the New York City Bar Association. The Committee on Minorities in the Profession is sponsoring this scholarship to honor the life and memory of such a worthy man.
Before his untimely passing, Michael was Deputy General Counsel at Safe Horizon Inc., an organization that provides support, prevents violence, and promotes justice for victims of crime and abuse, their families and communities. Prior to joining Safe Horizons, he served for six years as the Administrative Partner for the New York office of Arnold & Porter LLP. At Arnold & Porter, Michael counseled corporate officers and foreign governments in Latin America and around the world in securities offerings, lending transactions, loan restructurings and corporate governance matters. Michael was also very active in pro bono work and, for example, helped a battered woman who was not a citizen of the U.S. obtain a self-petition to remain in this country under the Violence Against Women Act. In addition, Michael championed initiatives to increase diversity at Arnold & Porter. During his tenure as Administrative Partner, the New York office twice received (in 2003 and 2005) the Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s Thomas L. Sager Award, which recognizes law firms’ efforts to improve diversity.
Born on April 4, 1957, Michael was raised in Kona, Hawaii and was a graduate of Brown and Harvard universities. Michael received his J.D. in 1987 from New York University School of Law, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Annual Survey of American Law. Michael was also active as a Board member of the Asian American Arts Alliance, Inc. and the Japanese American National Museum. In his biography, Michael described himself as an experienced leader and attorney with strong interpersonal skills, a sense of humor and a grace under fire. He could not have said it any better. The legal community suffered a great loss when Michael passed away suddenly on July 11, 2008.
NYLJ: Asian Americans Find a Voice Within the Law
The indifference toward Asian American equality is a result of our having been classified under the rubric of the ‘model minority’ and thus viewed as achieving success by keeping our heads down and working hard. But Asian Americans have not achieved the success and equality that we are perceived to have reached, particularly in the legal profession.
Congrats to Mike Huang, AABANY President, whose Law Day article appears in the May 1st issue of the New York Law Journal.
