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Thanks to everyone who came out on February 26, 2014, to celebrate AABANY’s 25th anniversary with us at Cipriani Wall Street. More than 850 guests registered to attend, setting a new record. AABANY also reached its goal of exceeding 1,000 paid members. Mike Huang, in his Outgoing President’s speech, publicly announced the Don Liu Scholarship to award $15,000 to APA law students who apply and meet the requirements. Significant pledges have already been rolling in.
Congratulations to our 2014 honorees: AALDEF, recipient of the Public Advocacy Award; Randal Milch, GC of Verizon, recipient of the Corporate Counsel Leadership Award; and Vernon Jordan, recipient of the I4 (Icon, Ideals, Impact, Inspiration) Leadership Award. Congratulations also to Julie Kwon, our Mentor-Mentee Program Coordinator, for winning the AABANY MVP Award.
AABANY was joined by about 30 past honorees from past annual dinners. Each was brought up to the stage during the dinner for special recognition.
MSNBC reporter Richard Lui once again expertly took us through the proceedings as MC.
Guests continued to celebrate upstairs in the mezzanine during the after-party, with open bar and live DJ.
Happy 25th anniversary, AABANY, and we are looking forward to 2014 and the next quarter century!
AABANY Board: Call for Nominations – Deadline March 13, 2014
The amendment to AABANY’s By-Laws approved at our 2014 Annual Meeting increased the number of Directors by two thereby creating two new Director vacancies that the Board intends to fill at its March 18, 2014 Board Meeting. The Nominations Committee welcomes and will accept applications to fill these vacancies immediately, and will select a slate of candidates to be recommended for the Board’s consideration at its March 18, 2014 meeting.
If you wish to run for any of the above vacancies, you must be a current, paid member of AABANY. If you are unsure of your membership status, contact Irene Tan, Membership Secretary, at [email protected]. Please also submit (i) a statement of interest declaring your intent to run; and (ii) a current resume, biography or CV listing your experience and accomplishments and any honors received to date. As part of item (i) please indicate your experience with AABANY if you have been an active member, describing any activities that you have participated in or helped to organize. If you have not been an active member in AABANY, explain what capabilities, resources, talents, skills, expertise, experience or any other contributions you would be able to make as a Board member. Please also identify any activities indicating a dedication and commitment to issues of importance to the Asian Pacific American community.
For a description of the qualifications, duties and obligations of Directors please see Articles IV of AABANY’s By-laws which can be found at:
Deadlines for submissions: March 13, 2014
You can e-mail your submissions in Word or PDF to [email protected]. You can also fax them to (718) 228-7206 if you prefer to use fax. If you have any questions about any of the above, please contact Mike Huang, Chair of the Nominations Committee, at [email protected].
PRESS RELEASE: AABANY TO HONOR VERNON JORDAN WITH I4 LEADERSHIP AWARD
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Yang Chen, Executive Director
February 5, 2014 (718) 228-7206
AABANY TO HONOR VERNON JORDAN WITH “I4 LEADERSHIP AWARD”
AT 25TH ANNUAL DINNER TO BE HELD AT CIPRIANI WALL STREET
NEW YORK – On Wednesday, February 26, 2014, the Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) will hold its 25th Anniversary Annual Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street. Attendees of the 2014 AABANY Annual Dinner will include prominent federal and state judges, elected officials and dignitaries, attorneys from large and small law firms, corporate law departments, prosecutors’ offices and government agencies. AABANY’s 2013 Annual Dinner attracted more than 750 members of the legal and business communities from New York and beyond. This year AABANY is pleased to announce that the 2014 honorees will be:
- Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Senior Managing Director, Lazard Freres & Co., LLC
- Randal S. Milch, Executive Vice President, Public Policy, and General Counsel Verizon Communications Inc.
- AALDEF (Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund)
Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. will receive the AABANY I4 Leadership Award. The I4 Leadership award is presented to a leader who is an ICON, embodying the highest IDEALS and INSPIRING others while making a real and lasting IMPACT in the community and society. Mr. Jordan, a Senior Managing Director at Lazard, the financial advisory and asset management firm, also remains Senior Counsel at the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where he practices general, corporate, legislative and international law in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining Akin Gump in January 1982, Mr. Jordan served as president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League, Inc.; executive director of the United Negro College Fund, Inc.; director of the Voter Education Project of the Southern Regional Council; attorney-consultant at the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity; assistant to the executive director of the Southern Regional Council; Georgia field director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; and as an attorney in private practice in Arkansas and Georgia. Upon graduation from Howard University School of Law in 1960, he joined the firm of a civil rights activist in Atlanta and became involved in a case against the University of Georgia to challenge racist policies. In 1962, Mr. Jordan became a Georgia field director for the NAACP and his leadership was an instrumental part of the civil rights movement. In particular, Mr. Jordan, as director of the Voter Education Project, coordinated voter registration drives and counseled the electorate, helping to dramatically increase the number of African-American elected officials.
Mr. Jordan has served as a key strategist and advisor to multiple U.S. Presidents from Lyndon Johnson to Bill Clinton, as well as to many prominent civil rights leaders. His presidential appointments include: the President’s Advisory Committee for the Points of Light Initiative Foundation; the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on South Africa; the Advisory Council on Social Security; the Presidential Clemency Board; the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission; the National Advisory Committee on Selective Service; and the Council of the White House Conference “To Fulfill These Rights.” Jordan served as the chairman of the Clinton Presidential Transition Team in 1992.
”We are deeply honored and humbled that such a legendary defender of legal rights as Vernon Jordan will be helping AABANY commemorate our 25th anniversary at our Annual Dinner, along with Randal Milch, recipient of AABANY’s Corporate Counsel Leadership Award, and AALDEF, recipient of AABANY’s Public Advocacy Award,” said Mike Huang, AABANY President.
For more information about AABANY, or this event, please contact Yang Chen, AABANY Executive Director, at (718) 228-7206, or direct any media inquiries to [email protected].
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The Asian American Bar Association of New York was formed in 1989 as a not-for-profit corporation to represent the interests of New York Asian-American attorneys, judges, law professors, legal professionals, paralegals and law students. The mission of AABANY is to improve the study and practice of law, and the fair administration of justice for all by ensuring the meaningful participation of Asian Americans in the legal profession.
From the MCCA’s Diversity & the Bar: BU40
The National Asian Pacific Bar Association (NAPABA) celebrated its 25th Annual Convention in Kansas City, MO, last November. The four-day convention was themed Momentum to celebrate the continuing growth and progress in the Asian Pacific American (APA) legal community, and brought more than 1,200 attendees to the show-me state. Among awards given out at the annual convention is the highly coveted NAPABA Best Lawyers Under 40 (BU40) Award. MCCA’s bi-monthly publication, Diversity & the Bar, profiled these award recipients, including AABANY members and leaders, Mike Huang, Michael Park and Asim Rehman, in the January/February 2014 issue. Read more here.
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At the 2013 NAPABA Northeast Regional/AABANY Fall Conference hosted by Weil Gotshal, a plenary session was held during the luncheon to explore the recent United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin.
The luncheon was sponsored by Kobre & Kim. Welcome remarks were given by Mike Huang, President of AABANY, Fred Green, Management Committee Member, Mergers & Acquisitions Partner and Sponsor to the Asian Attorney Affinity Group at Weil, and Wendy Shiba, President of NAPABA. Board member and past AABANY President Robert Leung presented brief remarks about AABANY’s newest committee, the Career Placement Committee, and invited broad participation in it.
The Program Chair for the plenary session was Sarah Seo, Co-Chair of the Academic Committee. She introduced the Hon. Pamela K. Chen, United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, moderator of the panel.
Panelists included Khin Mai Aung, Director of the Educational Equity Program at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), who submitted an amicus brief in the Fisher case, and Hemmie Chang, Partner at Foley Hoag, who led her firm’s efforts in supporting AALDEF’s amicus filing in Fisher. Also on the panel were Michael Park, Partner at Dechert, and William Consovoy, Partner at Wiley Rein, who submitted briefs on Fisher’s side of the case before the Supreme Court.
The room was filled to capacity and many of the attendees had to go to the overflow room next door to watch the panel discussion on video.
The panel took several thoughtful and pointed questions from the audience during the Q&A portion.
Thanks to our Key Sponsor Hudson Court Reporting and Video for taking video and transcription of the plenary session.
NYLJ: Meet the Affinity Bar Group Presidents
NYLJ: Meet the Affinity Bar Group Presidents
The goals and bios for the new leaders of the Asian American Bar Association of New York; Hispanic National Bar Association, New York Region; LeGaL, LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York; Metropolitan Black Bar Association; Puerto Rican Bar Association; South Asian Bar Association of New York; and Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York.
Congratulations to Mike Huang, AABANY President, and all the Officers of AABANY for being mentioned in the New York Law Journal on May 24.
NYLJ: Asian Americans Find a Voice Within the Law
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.
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With over 750 in attendance, last week’s Annual Dinner, held again at Cipriani Wall Street, shattered previous records. We thank everyone who attended, especially all the sponsors who came out to celebrate with us and to support AABANY’s mission. Thanks also to all the volunteers who helped to keep everything running smoothly. We thank Richard Lui of MSNBC for doing a great job as MC of the event. Congratulations to President Mike Huang and the entire Dinner Planning Committee for a job well done. What a way to kick off the Year of the Snake. To read the press release go to http://blog.aabany.org/post/44552241384/aabanys-annual-dinner-attracts-more-than-750-guests
(Source: http://blog.aabany.org/)