NAPABA Receives Grant from American Arbitration Association’s International Centre for Dispute Resolution Foundation to Combat Anti-Asian Bullying in Schools

In recognition of October as National Bullying Prevention month, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is proud to announce that the American Arbitration Association’s International Centre for Dispute Resolution (AAA-ICDR) Foundation has awarded it grant funding under its Rapid Response Fund which focuses on conflict-resolution initiatives helping Asian American/Pacific Islander communities combat the surge in anti-Asian hate across the United States. 

“NAPABA is grateful to the AAA-ICDR Foundation for its generous support on this critical project,” said A.B. Cruz III, president of NAPABA. “With thousands of cases of anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents—and seemingly no end in sight—we must do all we can to protect the most vulnerable victims of hate—children, and stand up for them harnessing the power of our nationwide network of affiliates as trained advocates.”  

The award, made through the NAPABA Law Foundation, will be used, in part, to develop a toolkit to combat COVID-19-driven anti-Asian bullying in schools as well as for other anti-bullying advocacy efforts. The toolkit will seek to equip and train NAPABA affiliates on legal and non-legal responses alike and provide best practices on how to interact with school officials. The toolkit is aimed at educating not only NAPABA lawyers on conducting best advocacy practices, but also to help families, students, educators, and communities understand the availability of remedies including appropriate alternative dispute resolution approaches to addressing anti-Asian bullying. For more on the AAA-ICDR Foundation and its Rapid Response efforts to combat the surge in anti-Asian hate, please visit here

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.

NAPABA Law Foundation Presents the Sharon and Ivan Fong Scholarship

Sharon and Ivan Fong recently began a scholarship fund for rising 2L law students who demonstrate outstanding professional promise, community service, and commitment to the APA community. 

Applicants will be evaluated for (a) academic excellence in their undergraduate school years and first year of law school, (b) leadership experience, (c) volunteerism or service in the public interest, (d) knowledge of social and cultural issues of any one or more AAPI communities or commitment to making a significant impact on issues affecting one or more AAPI communities, or both, and (e) commitment to “pay it forward.”

The NAPABA Law Foundation will award from the Sharon and Ivan Fong Scholarship Fund at least one $5,000 scholarship each year, half of which would be distributed to the recipient in his or her second year of law school and the remainder of which would be distributed to the recipient in his or her third year of law school.

Applicants must apply by June 30, 2020 at 5:00 PM ET. However, if applicants submit all but the reference letters by the deadline (and commit to getting the references in soon thereafter), applications will not be considered late. 

For more information, please visit the Scholarship page on the NAPABA Law Foundation website.

2018 NAPABA Law Foundation Summer Public Interest Internship Scholarship

2018 NAPABA Law Foundation Summer Public Interest Internship Scholarship

Bereavement Notice – Han C. Choi

With great sadness, AABANY announces the passing of Han C. Choi on March 26, 2018. Known by many around the country as a leader, mentor, trailblazer and friend, Han was active in NAPABA and was the Managing Partner of the Atlanta office of Ballard Spahr LLP.

AABANY, together with KALAGNY and CAPABA, held a fundraiser on March 22, the proceeds of which were donated to the Han C. Choi Scholarship Fund, administered by the NAPABA Law Foundation.

As announced on the Ballard Spahr website:

A memorial service for Mr. Choi will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 15, at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, 1328 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Georgia. Han’s family has requested that memorial donations in his name be made to the NAPABA Law Foundation’s Han C. Choi Scholarship Fund, https://www.napabalawfoundation.org/foundation-scholarships,  or the Decatur Education Foundation’s Han C. Choi Memorial Scholarship, https://decatureducationfoundation.org/han/.

For more about Han and his life’s work, see the “Remembering Han C. Choi” page on the Ballard Spahr website: http://www.ballardspahr.com/the_firm/inmemoriam-han-choi.aspx

Our thoughts and condolences go out to Han Choi’s family.

Support the Han C. Choi Scholarship Fund

AABANY is sad to receive the news that our friend Han Choi, a NAPABA trailblazer, mentor and leader, is battling cancer. In his honor, a scholarship fund has been created, to be administered by the NAPABA Law Foundation.

For more details on the fund and to lend your support, please click here.

Full-Time & Summer Opportunities Through NLF

NLF Partners and In-House Counsel Community Law Fellowship/NLF Community Law Fellowship (For more information and to apply, click HERE)

  • 2-Year Full-Time Fellowship
  • 3Ls, Judicial Clerks, Recent Law Grads
  • Deadline | Dec. 31, 2016

Established in 2004 through a generous gift from Paul W. Lee of Goodwin Procter LLP, the NAPABA Law Foundation Partners and In-House Counsel Community Law Fellowship works to address the need for attorneys working on behalf of the Asian Pacific American populations. Recognizing that many obstacles prevent committed attorneys from practicing public interest law, including the shortage of entry-level jobs, the Fellowship provides an opportunity for a new attorney to gain substantive experience at a nonprofit national or community-based organization during the two-year Fellowship period. Fellows are funded at $100,000 for the two-year Fellowship.

NAPABA Law Foundation Underserved Communities Fellowship (For more information and to apply, click HERE)

  • Summer/Flexible
  • 1Ls, 2Ls, 3Ls
  • Deadline | Feb. 15, 2017

Through a generous gift from Les R. Jin, NLF has established a $6,000 fellowship for one law student or recent law school graduate to gain meaningful legal experience at a public interest host organization on a project designed to advance opportunities for Asian Pacific Americans who are part of one or more under-served Asian Pacific American communities. The Fellowship is open to all currently enrolled U.S. law students in good standing to work at any qualified not-for-profit host organization in the U.S. If the Fellowship recipient is someone who is currently a first or second year law student, s/he shall perform the fellowship during the following summer. If the awardee is a third-year student, s/he shall finish the fellowship within seven months of his/her graduation.

Fred T. Korematsu Summer Fellowship (For more information and to apply, click HERE)

  • Summer
  • 1Ls, 2Ls
  • Deadline | Feb. 15, 2017

In partnership with the Fred T. Korematsu Institute, NLF will be accepting applications for the Fred T. Korematsu Summer Fellowship Program. The program will provide $6,000 for a meaningful summer internship at a public interest organization. The intern will work to further Fred T. Korematsu’s legacy as a civil rights pioneer. Initial funding was provided by Parkin Lee and The Rockefeller Group.

McGuireWoods/NLF Internship Program for Law Students (For more information and to apply, click HERE)
McGuireWoods/NLF Internship Program for Undergraduates (
For more information and to apply, click HERE)

  • Summer
  • 1Ls, 2Ls, Undergraduates
  • Deadline | March 15, 2017

The McGuireWoods/NLF Internship Program supports students interested in the legal profession and will help students develop a commitment to advocacy on behalf of the Asian Pacific American (APA) community. The Program seeks to achieve these goals by providing undergraduate and law school students with meaningful internship experiences at the Washington, DC offices of NAPABA and NLF.

Applications Coming Soon

  • Summer NLF Public Interest Internship Scholarship
  • Bryan Cave/NAPABA Law Foundation Community Service Scholarship for Summer Law Interns

Registration for the NAPABA Golf Tournament has been extended!

If you missed the registration deadline for the NAPABA Golf Tournament, now is your chance to register! The NAPABA Golf Tournament to Benefit the NAPABA Law Foundation will be held on Thursday, Nov. 3, at the beautiful Maderas Golf Club, ranked by Golf Digest as one of the top 100 public golf courses in America. The tournament will be played “shot gun” style in the scramble format with all foursomes teeing off at 8 a.m. Enter to win amazing prizes! The tournament will be immediately followed by an awards reception, scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

Registration will close on Oct. 21. For more information or to sponsor the tournament, click here.