Thank You to Our 7/23 Queens and 7/30 Manhattan Pro Bono Clinic Volunteers!

Just in the month of July, we met with 50 clients!!! There were so many positive and a few negative feedbacks from the clients.

Based on the feedback, many clients were grateful for our services and noted that “this is a much needed service in the Asian community.” Many clients cannot afford to speak with an attorney, do not understand the legal system, and are limited English proficient. A few clients complained that the time was too short or that the attorney couldn’t answer their questions.

Many clients asked questions about immigration, housing, contracts and fraud, wills, trusts, and estates. We also met with pro se litigants who have questions about liens, wage garnishment, judgment proof, and the New York State Exempt Income Protection Act.

Thank you AABANY, our volunteers, the Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE), and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of New York (CCCNY). In fact, we were amazed to have dedicated law students joining us on July 30 even though they just finished their NYS Bar exam that week. 

So…if anyone’s interested in the next round of mini-bar exams, please come join us at our next Pro Bono Clinics! To volunteer or to learn more about the Pro Bono & Community Services Committee, please visit probono.aabany.org.

From Flushing, Queens (7/23): Thank you, volunteers, for helping us meet with 19 clients. These cases covered various areas including immigration, housing, contract, and fraud. Of the 19 clients, 5 spoke Spanish, 11 spoke mandarin, 2 spoke Cantonese, and 1 spoke English.

Volunteer AttorneysInterpreters & Observers
Beatrice LeongAlexandra Lao^
Eugene KimJoy Fan^
Evelyn Gong*Nicole Morikawa^
Hooney HeohReni Axelrod^
Jackson Chin*Sharmie Azurel^
Johnny ThachYvette Adiguzel^ (licensed out-of-state)
Kyoung JungWeiqiao Lin^
Shirley Luong 
Duane Morikawa 
Yaoyu Liu 
Yvette Wang 
Zhaohua (Josh) Huang 
John Hwang (licensed out-of-state) 
May Wong 
Theresa Yuan 
^ = non-attorney volunteers
* = remote

From Chinatown, Manhattan (7/30): Thank you, volunteers, for helping us meet with 31 clients. Majority of these cases were related to housing, contracts and fraud, and wills, trusts, and estates. Of the 31 clients, 16 spoke mandarin, 7 spoke Cantonese, 7 spoke English, and 1 n/a.

Volunteer AttorneysInterpreters & Observers
Ailsa ChauAlex Hwang^
Beatrice LeongAlexandra Lao^
Chao-Yung (Kloe) ChiuJoy Fan^
Eugene KimKirin Moy^
Eun Hye (Grace) LeeMeng Zhang^
Francis ChinNandar Win Kerr^
Jackson ChinReni Axelrod^
Kwok Kei NgTeresa Wai Yee Yeung^
Lindsay HaoYvette Adiguzel^ (licensed out-of-state)
Lulu Jing 
May Wong 
Meghan Liu 
Min Jung Esther Choi 
Theresa Yuan 

Please feel free to join us at our upcoming Pro Bono Clinics in August –

Manhattan – August 20 – Cutoff time to register by 12pm, 8/17 to recruit volunteers

Location – 33 Bowery, Community Room at Confucius Plaza, New York, NY 10002

Please sign up here – https://airtable.com/shr1fbjStq7JLSaWY

Brooklyn – August 27 – Cutoff time to register by 12pm, 08/24, to recruit volunteers

Location – United Chinese Association of Brooklyn (UCA), 1787 Stillwell Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11223

Please sign up here – https://airtable.com/shreNdk1DNGzCiHp2

Thank you to our July Pro Bono Clinic Volunteers!

July’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic, held on Wednesday, July 10 at 33 Bowery Street in Confucius Plaza, brought out 41 volunteers who volunteered their time to help 43 clients.

We are asking every member to actively support AABANY’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic by making donations that are vital to its continuing operation. In a few short years, with the tireless and generous assistance of our volunteers, we have helped hundreds of low-income clients with free legal advice and referrals to high-quality, culturally sensitive, and linguistically competent legal services. Together we have helped expand access to justice for underserved Asian American New Yorkers.

If you know family members, friends, or businesses, such as your firm, who would like to support the Clinic, please help us connect with them by contacting Karen Yau at [email protected].

Or please urge them to make a donation directly. They can visit the website of Asian American Law Fund of New York (AALFNY), AABANY’s 501(c)(3) affiliate: https://www.asianamericanlawfund.org/donate/

AALFNY is accepting charitable donations on the Clinic’s behalf and can issue any donor a tax receipt. Any contribution, large or small, would help. Please be sure to indicate in the memo field that the donation is intended for the Pro Bono Clinic.

Thank you to all of the July Pro Bono Clinic Volunteers!

Lawyers: 

Yvetta Scott

Breanna Andree-Couturier

Gaye L. Chun

Samantha Sumilang

Sae-Eun Ahn

May Kay Wong

Eun Hye (Grace) Lee

Beatrice Leong

Yan Sin

Bart Wu

Jean Soo Park

Satoshi Kurita

Gloria Tsui-Yip

Thomas Hou

Annie Tsao

Mirin E. Park

Shengyang (John) Wu

Christopher Chin

Kelly Diep

Chris M. Kwok

Francis Chin

Yifei He

Interpreters: 

Justina Chen

Henry Man

Ruth Poon

Shimeng (Fiona) Zhang

Weixi He

Yuchen (Fiona) Zheng

Min Chen

Vivian Chen

Sarah Lu

Special thanks to Coordinator Johnny Thach, Coordinator Jenny Lam, Technology Coordinator Roger Chen, Vice Chair Kwok Kei Ng, and Vice Chair Zhixian Liu for coordinating the clinic, and the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee Co-Chairs Pauline Yeung-Ha, Karen Kithan Yau, Asako Aiba, and Judy Lee for their leadership. AABANY’s Monthly Pro Bono Clinic occurs every second Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. The next clinic will take place on August 14, 2019. If you are interested in volunteering at future Pro Bono Clinics, please contact Asako Aiba at [email protected].

NYC Family Justice Center, Manhattan (MFJC): Core Trainings, July 2019

The NYC Family Justice Center, Manhattan is excited to announce their next round of CORE II trainings. The NYC MFJC CORE II training series is a learning opportunity for service providers, community leaders, and city agency staff who are working with populations directly or indirectly affected by intimate partner violence, sex trafficking, and/or elder abuse. 

All CORE trainings listed below are free and will take place at the Manhattan FJC, 80 Centre Street, 5th Floor Training Room, Manhattan, 10013. Please click here to register. 

Once a training disappears from the link above, it has reached it maximum number of participants that the NYC MFJC can accommodate in its training room. 

Contact Indhira Castro directly at [email protected] if you have any issues registering.

Criminal Justice Response to Intimate Partner Violence Survivors
Monday, July 8th 2019
10:00 – 12:30 PM
Facilitated by: New York County District Attorney’s Office and NYPD

Suicide Assessment
Monday July 15th , 2019
10:00-12:00 PM
Facilitated by: Health + Hospitals

Housing Options for Intimate Partner Violence Survivors
Tuesday July 16th 2019
11:00-1:00 PM
Facilitated by: New Destiny

Shelter Options for Intimate Partner Violence Survivors
Tuesday July 16th 2019
2:00-4:30 PM
Facilitated by: Safe Horizon

Introduction Family & Matrimonial Law
Wednesday July 24th 2019
10:00-1:00 PM
Facilitated by Legal Aid Society

Immigration Law for Intimate Partner Violence Survivors
Thursday July 25th 2019
10:00 – 1:00 PM
Facilitated by: NLAG &NMIC

Economic Empowerment
Tuesday July 30th 2019
2:00-4:30 PM
Facilitated by: Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence