LGBTQ Committee Hosts Pride Reception and Exclusive First Screening of Short Film TAL 탈

On Tuesday, June 4, 2024, AABANY’s LGBTQ Committee, thanks to the generous sponsorship of Goodwin Procter LLP, hosted a Pride Reception where guests were given a unique opportunity to be the first official viewers of the upcoming short film TAL 탈. The Committee gave the audience a chance to view a work from a group of minds diverse in both origin and ideas, in the continued effort of enhancing visibility and representation for Asian and LGBTQ groups.

The film’s writer and lead actor Wesley Han and director Charlie Gillette, as well as a small group that worked on the piece––some actors, cameramen, and producers––presented their vision: TAL 탈 is a short horror film full of emotion and thrills, that grapples with ideas of filial piety and shame. They sought to shed overworked themes and motifs that often permeate the media that represents Asian-American culture, while incorporating Han’s own anecdotal experiences for inspiration. The result is a fright-fest where Gabriel, an ex-actor and young associate at a top litigation firm in New York City, is hunted by a literal inner demon.

After a script-reading of the film, the panel took questions from the audience. In their answers they expressed their hopes that the film would resonate with the quintessential modern Asian experience, and also shared the process of assembling the film. Han expressed that the film had a youthful energy and would hopefully be impactful for a broad audience, but especially with Asian-American second and third-generation immigrants. Gillette discussed how the film was born of friendship and the SAG-AFTRA strike––the core team had known each other from previous works and had not been working at the time of the first screenplay’s inception.

After the panel, everyone was served complementary beverages and delicious desserts from LGBTQ-Asian-owned bakery ANDO. Guests and panelists alike mingled, met new people, made new connections, and exchanged advice and experience with friends and colleagues new and old. All of this was made possible thanks to the support of Goodwin Procter LLP, our hosts for this event and program.

For everyone that attended the event we extend our profound thanks for your support. To learn more about the AABANY LGBTQ Commitee please click here. To learn more and support the upcoming short film TAL please click here. And to learn more about Goodwin Procter, please click here.

AABANY LGBTQ Committee Hosts the Program: “Protecting DEI at Big Law since SCOTUS: A Queer Asian Perspective”

On March 25, 2024, the AABANY LGBT Committee organized a program with the generous support and sponsorship of Goodwin Procter LLP titled: Protecting DEI at Big Law since SCOTUS: A Queer Asian Perspective. The program featured two prominent speakers: Kavita Ramakrishnan, Senior Director at Diversity Lab and Dennis Quinio, Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer of the Americas at Allen & Overy. The program consisted of robust conversations about the meaning of diversity, and the personal experiences of attorneys who struggle with the complications of identity.

AABANY thanks the LGBT Committee for presenting this topical program and the speakers for sharing their insights. Thanks to Goodwin for hosting the event. To learn more about the LGBT Committee go here.

NAPABA Establishes New NLF Community Law Fellowship Focused on Anti-Hate Advocacy

$130,000 Investment will build the pipeline of future leaders in our community.

For Immediate Release: June 27, 2022
Contact: Mary Tablante, Associate Strategic Communications & Marketing Director

WASHINGTON – NAPABA and the NAPABA Law Foundation are proud to announce the expansion of the NLF Community Law Fellowship program to include a new two-year fully funded fellowship placement at NAPABA. The Community Law Fellow will work to serve the AA & NHPI community and build NAPABA’s capacity to support the membership’s commitment to public service and advocacy.

“We are excited to offer this opportunity to build the pipeline of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander attorneys with expertise and skill to create change in our communities through advocacy and policy,” said NAPABA Acting President A.B. Cruz III. “This fellowship is another example of the ways that NAPABA and NLF, along with our members and supporters, can create an active legal community that is willing, ready, and able to serve.”

Established by a generous gift from Paul W. Lee of Goodwin Procter LLP the NAPABA Law Foundation Partners and In-House Counsel Community Law Fellowship was launched in 2004 to address the need for attorneys working on behalf of the AA & NHPI populations. NAPABA’s support of the program will establish the 12th Fellowship.

“The Community Law Fellowship is one of the premier ways that the NAPABA legal community can make an investment in the future of public service,” said Juliet K. Choi, Chair of the NLF Fellowship and Scholarship Selection Committee and first NLF Community Law Fellow (2004). “We are proud that we can we leverage the power of NAPABA and NLF to serve the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander community.”

The NLF Community Law Fellow placement at NAPABA is a two-year fellowship program designed for a recent law school graduate who is interested in pursuing a career in public interest law and policy. The Fellow will directly support NAPABA’s advocacy and policy program with a focus on supporting and leading initiatives within our anti-hate project. The Fellow will also support other NAPABA community engagement programs, educational programs, and legislative advocacy.

We encourage all interested applicants to apply and for others to share this with any prospective candidates.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), represents the interests of over 60,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting APA communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.