law students – WE Blog @ AABANY

March 9, 2020

AABANY Presents “How to Network” Panel at Cardozo School of Law

On Wednesday, March 3rd, AABANY’s Student Outreach committee collaborated with Cardozo Law School’s Asian-Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA) to host a panel on “How to Network.” The panelists included Margaret Ling, Senior Counsel at Big Apple Abstract Corp., Tiffany Ma, Partner at Young & Ma LLP, and Jeff Ikejiri, Vice President of Legal and Business Services at UnitedLex. The moderator was Aakruti Vakharia, Associate at Garwin Gerstein & Fisher LLP and Co-Chair of the Student Outreach Committee.

Tiffany Ma spoke about her journey from a mid-tier law school to her lateral move to Morrison & Foerster, advising Cardozo law students to take advantage of their location in New York to build their networks and make themselves more competitive. She believes that “the best marketing is sincerity” and she shared her personal technique of establishing three points of commonality with new connections to help others remember her when she follows up with them afterwards.

Margaret Ling also shared a tip to have different business cards—company, personal, school, etc.—so that students can present the best side of themselves in different contexts. Margaret emphasized the importance of doing one’s homework and being aware of social cultural etiquette, always staying as humble as possible throughout the process.

Jeff Ikejiri advised students to think of networking as making friends. He told the story of how he got his current job through someone he met in line for refreshments during a break at a convention years ago. He encouraged students to be similarly outgoing and open to making new connections as well as being proactive in following up with potential connections.

Cardozo law students of all years came to hear insights and tips from the experienced practitioners. Those in attendance found the discussion thoughtful and engaging.

Thanks to Cardozo’s APALSA for co-hosting the event and providing food for the attendees. We hope to host many similar events in the future as AABANY continues to extend its outreach to students in law schools across New York.

To learn more about the Student Outreach Committee, go to https://www.aabany.org/page/121

March 2, 2020

AABANY Hosts Breakfast Meeting with Chief Judge Srinivasan for Law Students

On Thursday, February 27, AABANY hosted a breakfast event for law students with Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, U.S. Circuit Judge of the D.C. Court of Appeals, at The Smith in NoMad. Judge Srinivasan was in town for AABANY’s 2020 Annual Dinner where he was presented the Public Service Leadership Award, and the judge was gracious enough to take the time the next morning to advise students pursuing careers in law. Judge Srinivasan familiarized students with his many life experiences by speaking about his upbringing, education, and career. Everything from his judicial philosophy to his love of sports provided attendees with important nuggets of wisdom and essential insights.

Judge Srinivasan elaborated extensively on the three guiding principles that have shaped his life and his service: doing great work, being a good person, and assuming the best of those around you.

For his first tenet, Judge Srinivasan addressed the familial and social pressures that are widely prevalent in the Asian-American community, acknowledging the constant push to “climb the ladder” and focus heavily on quantifiable success. However, despite this pressure, he insists that the goal of students shouldn’t be to chase after the most lucrative opportunities to bolster a resume, but instead, students should strive to give their best and humble effort to everything that they do, no matter how small or invisible. Such persistence will pay off and be recognized in the long-run.

Regarding his second principle, the judge drew heavily from his own experiences with people in the legal field. He insisted that acting transparently in good-faith and modeling kind behavior will in turn make people feel heard which increases the likelihood of reaching mutually beneficial agreements. Judge Srinivasan remarked on how surprised he has been in the past by the benefits of simply listening to others. His way of approaching interacting with other people has influenced those around him, garnering the respect and trust of his peers.

Finally, Judge Srinivasan insists that, despite our initial inclination to expect the worst of others, there are pleasant surprises to expecting the best of others. Especially in such a partisan environment, he insists that it is important to treat traditional “adversaries” not as ill-intentioned individuals but as normal people with differences in how they approach universal problems. By viewing other people as different rather than evil, the judge believes that compromises can be reached more quickly and effectively.

After giving students background on his experiences and philosophy, Judge Srinivasan opened himself up for questions from the attendees. Many of the students focused particularly on how they can better represent their ethnic communities and perform optimally in the field.

Since some of the students present are leaders of affinity groups on their respective campuses, the judge applauded the efforts of the student leaders and addressed the importance of student advocacy groups. He referenced a common saying by his sister, “it’s hard to be what you can’t see,” to reveal how these minority cultural groups give face to their community and provide the next generation with role models to look up to. While he acknowledged this responsibility to represent is daunting and can feel lonely at times, Judge Srinivasan believes that student leaders should reframe their thinking to feel excited in the face of adversity.

Regarding how to achieve success in the field, the judge suggested looking for mentors who look out for your best interests, preparing for cases thoroughly, and embracing fluidity in argumentation. On a concluding note, Judge Srinivasan stressed the importance of establishing credibility in the forum by advocating zealously while still demonstrating objectivity.

AABANY thanks Judge Srinivasan for his valuable time and thoughtful advice! If you are curious about the judge’s work, please feel free to click the link below as the D.C. Court of Appeals is one of the only appeals courts that livestream oral arguments on its website. Details at https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/home.nsf/Content/Oral+Arguments

Thanks to AABANY Legal Intern David Jung for the write-up and photos.

January 21, 2020

AABANY Co-Sponsors: Career Development in Greater China for Law Students and Young Lawyers

On January 17, 2020, the Asia Practice Committee and Student Outreach Committee successfully co-hosted an event regarding career development in Greater China for law students and young lawyers, at Fordham Law School, 150 W 62nd Street. The panel speakers included Han Deng from Reed Smith, James Hang Jiang from Mayer Brown, Karen R. King from Paul Weiss, and Jian Wu, Co-Chair of the AABANY Asia Practice Committee. The panel shared their insights into legal career development in Greater China and the U.S. from a comparative perspective.

We thank Jian Wu for moderating and all the speakers for presenting this informative program. We thank all attendees for coming out for this program. We thank AABANY’s Asia Practice Committee and Student Outreach Committee for co-sponsoring this event. For more information about AABANY’s Asia Practice Committee, go to https://www.aabany.org/page/582. For more information about the Student Outreach Committee, go to https://www.aabany.org/page/121

October 28, 2019

AABANY Presents: Resume Review/Interview Skills Workshop at Fordham Law School

On October 24, AABANY’s Student Outreach Committee and Career Placement Committee co-sponsored a resume review/interview skills workshop at Fordham Law School. Students had the opportunity to have their resumes reviewed and practice interview questions with attorneys from a variety of different fields including, but not limited to, IP, Antitrust, Corporate, Litigation and Criminal Law. There were about 25 students and 10 reviewers in attendance. Attendees also enjoyed dinner from Panda Express.

A special thank you to Fordham APALSA, who helped organized the event, and to the reviewers who took time out of their busy schedules to review resumes and practice interview skills, including Aakruti Vakharia, Jonathan Li, Yang Chen, Christopher Bae, William Hao, Darley Maw, Jeffrey Mok, Kevin Yim, Jayashree Mitra, and Quentin Wong. Also, thank you to the students who attended and made the event a big success.

We look forward to seeing the attendees at future AABANY events. For information information about the Student Outreach Committee go to https://www.aabany.org/page/121. For more information about the Career Placement Committee, go to https://www.aabany.org/page/372.

May 13, 2019

NAPABA’s 2019 Survey of Asian Pacific American Attorney/Law Student Bar Association: Become Eligible for NAPABA’s Raffle and Win!

Last Day to Complete the Survey is May 13, 2019 | Take the Survey Now!

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is conducting a survey to assess Asian Pacific American attorney and law student engagement with bar associations and in particular affinity bar associations. The results of the survey will aid NAPABA in measuring our reach and effectiveness and assessing our priorities.

We need a few minutes of your time to complete a survey. Your feedback will help guide us as we strive to further NAPABA’s mission to:

Be the national voice for the Asian Pacific American legal profession;
Promote justice, equity, and opportunity for Asian Pacific Americans; and
Foster professional development, legal scholarship, advocacy, and community involvement.

The survey should take approximately 10-18 minutes to complete. Responses to the survey will be kept strictly confidential. The last day to complete this survey is May 13, 2019.

To show our appreciation to those that complete the survey, we will enter you into a drawing for one of the following prizes:

Complimentary registration for the NAPABA Convention in Austin, Texas from November 7-10, 2019;
Complimentary room upgrade to a Junior Suite at the Convention hotel, JW Marriott Austin; or
One of three $100 Amazon gift cards.

We would greatly appreciate your candid, thoughtful, and detailed responses.

Should you have any questions about the survey or need help completing it, please contact membership@napaba.org

COMPLETE SURVEY HERE

January 14, 2019

Constance Baker Motley National Student Writing Competition

The Constance Baker Motley Writing Competition honors the legacy of Constance Baker Motley, a civil rights leader, elected official, and the first African-American woman appointed to the federal bench. Papers will be judged on their effective use, analysis and/or expansion of legal scholarship. The judging committee includes federal judges and leading academics.

The student authors of the top three papers will receive special recognition at the ACS National Convention in the summer of 2019 and a cash prize for their work. The winner will be awarded $3,000 and each of the two runners-up will receive $1,000. The top paper may also receive an offer of publication in the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law.

2019 Judges: Hon. Ketanji Brown Jackson, Hon. Jacqueline Nguyen, Hon. Carlton W. Reeves, Victoria Rodriguez Roldan, Kermit Roosevelt, Brian Soucek, and Ciara Torres-Spelliscy

The competition is open to law students. Deadline Feb. 10. To learn more, click here.

October 22, 2018

Don H. Liu Scholars Program 2019

Applications may now be submitted for the 2019 Don H. Liu Scholars Program. The Program was founded in 2014 by two past presidents of the Asian American Bar Association of New York. The Program seeks to identify and cultivate future Asian American leaders in the legal community to address the single most important reality facing Asian American professionals today – the barrier to advancement.

This year, the Selection Committee will select up to 3 scholars. Each scholar will be awarded $15,000 and have access to prominent mentors, including Don H. Liu, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Target Corporation. Additionally, scholars will have assistance in securing summer internships. Details and more information about the Program can be found here: http://www.donhliuscholars.org/ and on the

Don H. Liu Scholars Program 2017 Annual Report.

To be eligible for the Program, the applicant must be of Asian descent and be enrolled full-time as a 1L (and be expected to graduate in 2021) in a law school in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania or the District of Columbia. Application materials are due on November 23, 2018. For more details on the application process and eligibility requirements, please follow the link in the title to see the application package.

AABANY encourages any interested parties who meet the above requirements to apply. If there are any questions, please feel to email Ligee Gu, lgu.donhliuscholars@gmail.com

October 22, 2018December 4, 2018

October 9, 2018

Volunteer for Thomas Tang Northeast Regional Moot Court Competition

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Law Foundation presents its 2018 Thomas Tang Northeast Regional Moot Court Competition, and is in need of volunteers. This competition provides a unique and memorable experience for student appellate advocates. The event allows law students to showcase their writing and oral advocacy skills, and also to compete for scholarships totaling $10,000. In summary, this year’s problem is on whether a state university has the right to impose disciplinary sanctions on a student for non-curricular expressive conduct, and if it may expel a law student for off-campus expressive activity. For more information on this year’s problem, click here.

The event will be held on Friday, October 19, 2018, from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. at the United States Court of International Trade, One Federal Plaza, New York, New York. NAPABA seeks volunteers for grading briefs and for day-of. Brief graders will review and score briefs submitted by the student teams before the competition, and the time commitment is flexible. Day-of volunteers are welcome to assist for either part of the event or the entire day, and will serve as bailiffs or judges for the oral argument rounds. For a complete schedule of the day’s events, click here. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Zoe Wong, the Northeast Regional Coordinator, at ThomasTangMootCourtNE@gmail.com. For more information, please visit NAPABA’s website here.