Student Outreach Committee (SOC) Reaches Out to the Community with its Fall 2023 Postering Campaign

On Saturday, November 4, 2023, the Asian American Bar Association of New York’s (AABANY) Student Outreach Committee (SOC) held its Fall 2023 Postering Campaign in Manhattan’s Chinatown. The event was co-sponsored by Mayer Brown LLP and AABANY’s Pro Bono and Community Service Committee.

Volunteers and law students from the Greater New York area donated their valuable time on a Saturday morning to distribute flyers and promote AABANY’s pro bono legal resources to local businesses and residents in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Our volunteers covered areas from East Broadway to Kenmare Street. Some volunteers reported that small business owners and residents were ecstatic to learn about our Pro Bono Clinics and are “grateful such a service exists for the Asian American community.”

After the postering campaign, our Executive Director, Yang Chen, invited the volunteers and law students to a complimentary group lunch at Deluxe Green Bo, a small Shanghainese restaurant in the heart of Chinatown. Our volunteers and law students enjoyed some tasty soup dumplings, seafood casseroles, pan-fried noodles, and yellow fish with dry seaweed.

AABANY would like to thank Mayer Brown for their support with the printed flyers and supplies. 

We also express our sincere gratitude to the volunteers and law students below for their time, leadership, and overall commitment to giving back to the community.

Volunteers

Charlene Hong 
Emily Kong, Esq. (Mayer Brown)
Justin Lee
Vivian Lee
William Lee, Esq. (Mayer Brown)
Jameson Xu
Sharon Yang
Kelly Yao

Law Student Volunteers

Brooklyn Law

Kyle Hogan
Michael Qian

Cardozo Law

Gabrielle Capulong
Kimberly Cheung
Justina Chen
Isaac Kim
Edwin Liu
Angela Zhao

Columbia Law

Woohyeong Cho
Melodie Han

Cornell Law

Sage Park

Fordham Law

Amanda Dai
Yuanyuan Li
Stephen Park

NYU Law

Dai An Jiang
Zachery Lee
Gina Tan
Chris Wong
Haixin Xie
Jinge (Evelyne) Yang
Hanyi Yu

Pace Law

Alexandra Lao

Touro Law

Damian Jhagroo

AABANY Student Outreach Committee and Tax Law Committee Present – What Do Tax Lawyers Do?

Top Row (left to right): Sarah Choi, Shu-Ping Shen, Ms. Urvi Doshi Sood
Bottom Row (left to right): Najah J. Shariff, Karen Kim

On April 26, 2023, AABANY’s Student Outreach and Tax Law Committee hosted a virtual panel: “What Do Tax Lawyers Do?” This event ran from 6:30-7:30pm EST on Zoom with remarks from Shu-Ping Shen (Tax Committee Co-Chair). The panel was moderated by Alex Lao (Pace Law) and Sharon Yang (Student Outreach Committee Co-Chair, Fordham Law), and featured the following panelists:

  • Karen Kim (Partner – Mayer Brown LLP)
  • Najah J. Shariff (Assistant U.S. Attorney, Tax Division – U.S. Attorney’s Office)
  • Ms. Urvi Doshi Sood (Vice President of Taxes and General Tax Counsel – Lockheed Martin Corporation)
  • Sarah Choi (Associate General Counsel – NY Life Insurance Company)

Panelists shared what drew them into their respective fields, interview tips and advice to be resourceful, self-starting junior associates. The main takeaways include: tax law touches a wide range of fields, panelists highly encourage gaining some understanding of tax law or accounting and be proactive as a junior associate by asking questions and picking up additional assignments. The event concluded with a Q&A and light mingling among panelists and students.

Students interested in gaining experience in tax law should check out the externship program at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Students should apply to the Tax Division. Assignments may include legal research, writing pleadings, trial preparation, observing trials and other court proceedings. Interested students can learn more about the program here.

AABANY thanks the Student Outreach Committee, Tax Law Committee and SOC Co-Chair William Lee (Associate, Mayer Brown LLP) for organizing the event.

Special thank you to our sponsors, Mayer Brown LLP and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

To learn more about the Tax Committee, click here. To learn more about the SOC, click here. To learn more about upcoming AABANY events, click here.

AABANY’s Government Service & Public Interest Committee and the Student Outreach Committee Present a Meet-and-Greet with Government Service and Public Interest Attorneys

Again showing AABANY’s commitment to raising up the next generation of Asian American lawyers, the Government Service and Public Interest (GSPI) committee teamed up with the Student Outreach Committee (SOC) and Mayer Brown LLP to host the first ever “AABANY Students Meet Government and Public Interest Lawyers” event. The program was held on the evening of February 23 and was very successful, featuring a room packed with students and mentors, and two professional panels, followed by a networking reception.

The panels showcased how Asian Americans have succeeded as lawyers in government service and in the public interest. The panels featured:

  • Rahul Agarwal, Deputy Chief Counsel from the Office of Chief Counsel to the Mayor and City Hall; 
  • Sofia Khan, Director of the Family Law Unit from Legal Services NYC (LSNYC); 
  • Belinda Luu, Staff Attorney from Mobilization for Justice’s (MFJ) Special Litigation Project; 
  • Frank Ng, Deputy General Counsel from the New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH); 
  • Kwok Ng, Associate Court Attorney from New York City Civil Court; 
  • Nakeeb Siddique, Director of Housing from the Legal Aid Society’s Brooklyn Neighborhood Office; 
  • Marti Weithman, Assistant Commissioner from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (DHPD); and 
  • Annie Wang, Director of Immigrant Justice Project from the Asian American Legal Defense and Education (AALDEF).  

The panels showed students what it is like to work in a variety of fields in government and public interest and what it takes for students to get a foot in the door.

The panel discussions were followed by a networking reception with more government service and public interest lawyers. In attendance were, Ernie Collete from MFJ, Kevin Hsi from DHPD (also GSPI Committee’s Co-Chair), Jonathan Rosen from New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), May Wong (Pro Bono & Community Service Committee Co-Chair) from DC 37 Legal Services. Also, in attendance were AABANY’s Executive Director Yang Chen, Vice President of Programs and Operations Beatrice Leong, and Treasurer and Co-Chair of the GSPI Committee Evelyn Gong.

Thank you to AABANY student leaders Stephanie Sun (Fordham Law) and Alex Lao (Pace Law), SOC Vice Chair Justin Lee (NYU Law), SOC Co-Chair William Lee (Associate, Mayer Brown LLP) and GSPI Committee Co-Chair Rina Gurung (Associate Court Attorney, Housing Court) for leading the charge.

Special thank you to Mayer Brown LLP for sponsoring and hosting this event.

To learn more about the GSPI Committee, click here. To learn more about the SOC, click here.