Tag: NAPABA

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NAPABA Western Regional Conference 2015: April 16-18, Honolulu, HI

The ABA Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division (GPSolo) and NAPABA Hawaii are proud to be jointly hosting the 2015 GPSolo Spring Meeting and NAPABA Western Regional Conference on April 16 to 18, 2015 at the Westin Moana Surfrider in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Travel Discount

NAPABA has partnered with Hawaiian Airlines to provide attendees with a 5% discount on web fares. To receive your web fare discount, click here and use the code “NAPABA”. The booking period is now through April 15, 2015, for travel from April 1-30, 2015.

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How to Support the Families of Officers Liu and Ramos

NAPABA has received inquiries about donating funds to support the family of slain NYPD Detective Wenjian Liu, who has been reported to be the first Chinese-American NYPD officer killed in the line of duty.  Detective Liu and his partner, Detective Rafael Ramos, were shot to death on December 20, 2014, while sitting in their squad car in Brooklyn.  

After reaching out to APA-serving organizations, NAPABA recommends the following funds to its members:

The NYPD Asian Jade Society has established a fund to support Detective Liu’s family.  Detective Liu was a member of this organization for Asian Americans members of the NYPD.  Donations can be made by checks payable to “PO Wen Jian Liu Family c/o NYPD Asian Jade Society” and mailed to NYPD Asian Jade Society, P.O. Box 969, Peck Slip Station, New York, NY 10272. 

The New York Daily News has established the Ramos-Liu Fund.  All funds will be directed to the slain officers’ families.  More information is available here:  http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/donations-ramos-liu-fund-climbed-384-349-article-1.2065893.

The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation has established a fund to pay the mortgages of the Ramos and Liu families’ homes.  More information is available here:  http://tunnel2towers.org/.

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2015 Summer NLF Public Interest Internship Awarded to Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County

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The NAPABA Law Foundation (NLF) is pleased to announce the 2015 Summer NLF Public Interest Internship grant has been awarded to Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County (NLSLA).  The NLF Public Interest Intern will work to identify emerging issues in healthcare and workers’ rights in the San Gabriel Valley’s APA community. This project will be a subset of NLSLA’s currently ongoing Legal Needs Study to determine specific legal needs in its service areas. The NLF Public Interest Internship will provide $6,000 in total to NLSLA to fund the NLF Public Interest Internship.

Specifically, the NLF Public Interest Intern will: 

  • Provide direct legal assistance to APA individuals through the Health Consumer Center and Workers’ Rights Clinic
  • Conduct outreach with APA-serving organizations, businesses, and ethnic media outlets to increase visibility of the Health Consumer Center hotline and Workers’ Rights Clinic
  • Survey existing APA services in the San Gabriel Valley and the private bar relating to healthcare access and workers’ rights; in doing so, identify at least three partners in priority cities and interview these partners for referral potential
  • Develop a pitch for NLSLA’s projects to share with elected officials and stakeholders in the San Gabriel Valley with an interest in helping expand legal services
  • Research demographic data of San Gabriel Valley populations from U.S. Census and other population surveys
  • Create two consumer education pieces on a health and workers’ right issue

This project furthers the mission of the NAPABA Law Foundation by placing a law student in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley to educate and serve the APA community. By immersing the legal intern in direct legal services, impact advocacy projects, and interactions with community leaders, attorneys will mentor the intern in the nuts and bolts of community lawyering and foster the intern’s interest in pursuing public interest work.

We thank all of the applicants for their excellent proposals and we encourage organisations to apply for the NAPABA Law Foundation Community Law Fellowship – a two-year fully funded fellowship (applications due on December 31, 2014).

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NAPABA Community Law Fellowship: Applications Due Dec. 31

The NAPABA Law Foundation Community Law Fellowship Program was launched in 2004 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 NLF Community Law 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.

More information can be found here. Applications due December 31, 2014

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NAPABA-Prudential 1L Summer Internship Program: Applications Due Jan. 9

NAPABA is pleased to partner with Prudential Financial, Inc. to provide a meaningful summer internship opportunity for a highly-motivated first-year law student. Through this partnership, NAPABA will select one student to join the 2015 Prudential summer law intern class for a 10-week internship at Prudential’s New Jersey/New York offices.

More information can be found here. Applications due January 9, 2015.

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NAPABA APPLAUDS ADMINISTRATIVE RELIEF ON IMMIGRATION AND CALLS FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 21, 2014

Contact: Emily Chatterjee
(202) 775-9555

WASHINGTON – The National Asian Pacific American Bar (NAPABA) welcomes President Barack Obama’s decision to take executive action and provide immigration relief—an important step towards fixing our broken immigration system. A key part of the President’s executive action is providing temporary relief from deportation to an estimated 4.9 million undocumented immigrants, of which an estimated 1.3 million are Asian Pacific American immigrants.

“NAPABA has long supported the need for commonsense immigration reform and applauds the President’s efforts to take action and provide relief,” said George C. Chen, president of NAPABA. “We recognize that President Obama’s actions are only temporary and continue to stress the need for legislative action and call on Congress to pass legislation to fully address the problems within the immigration system.”

Of the 1.3 million undocumented Asian Pacific Americans, an estimated 400,000 will benefit from this temporary relief. However, Asian Pacific American immigrants who have been waiting for decades to reunite with family members due to the visa backlogs in the family immigration system will not obtain any relief. It is estimated that 1.8 million people from Asian countries are waiting for a family-sponsored visa to join loved ones in the United States.

Supporting the need for comprehensive immigration reform has long been a priority for NAPABA. For many years, the NAPABA Board of Governors has passed policy resolutions on immigration, and immigration reform has been a focus of advocacy efforts for NAPABA members on the Hill and across the country within NAPABA’s state and local affiliates. A few weeks ago, NAPABA was proud to present Jose Antonio Vargas, an Asian Pacific American undocumented immigrant and Pulitzer-prize winning activist, as the keynote speaker of the 2014 NAPABA Convention in Arizona. In light of the administrative relief announced last night, Mr. Vargas may, after more than 20 years, finally be able to return home to the Philippines to see his mother.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American (APA) attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of over 40,000 attorneys and approximately 70 national, state, and local bar associations. Its members include solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal services and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government. NAPABA engages in legislative and policy advocacy, promotes APA political leadership and political appointments, and builds coalitions within the legal profession and the community at large. NAPABA also serves as a resource for government agencies, members of Congress, and public service organizations about APAs in the legal profession, civil rights, and diversity in the courts.

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Summer 2015 NAPABA Law Foundation Public Interest Internship Grant, Deadline Dec. 10

Goal: The NLF Public Interest Internship will provide support for one law student to experience a meaningful 2015 summer internship at a public interest organization that provides either direct legal services, impact litigation, or advocacy on behalf of the Asian Pacific American (APA) community.

Overview:

  • Public interest organizations will provide NLF with a legal intern summer project proposal. 
  • NLF will select a host organization from these submissions. Host organization awardee is permitted and encouraged to advertise the internship opportunity in its recruitment.
  • In March, the selected host organization will provide a list of summer legal interns (hired or tentative) for consideration of the award, along with their resumes and any additional supplemental materials for consideration.
  • NLF will conduct telephonic interviews with the submitted summer legal intern(s). NLF at its option may select to narrow the pool of eligible summer legal interns to interview. The recipient of the award will be decided by the interviews, resume, supporting materials, and input from the host organization.
  • A grant of $6,000 will be provided to the host organization. 100% of this grant must be used for the legal intern’s salary. The host organization is responsible for any administrative fees, payroll processing fees, federal withholding, taxes, etc.
  • The selected intern shall work at the host organization for a minimum of 40 hours a week for 10 weeks during the summer.

Parameters:

  • The NLF Public Interest Internship will provide $6,000 in total for the summer for the finalist.
  • The funding for the internship will be paid directly to the host organization only

Criteria for Host Organization(s):

  • The host organization must be a non-profit organization which serves the APA community.
  • The summer project must provide legal services, impact litigation, or advocacy that affects the APA community.
  • Host organization must have at least one lawyer on staff to supervise the legal intern.
  • The goals and perceived benefits of the proposed project’s goals as well as the applicant’s competency, character, and commitment to the APA community will be considered.
  • Internship must further the missions of the NLF.

Time Frame:

December 10, 2014: Deadline for host organization submit application

December 17, 2014: Host organization awarded grant

March 1, 2015: Host organization submits intern(s) for consideration

March 16 – 31, 2015: Host organization intern(s) interviewed

April 1, 2015: Finalist chosen

Summer 2015 (10 weeks): Internship begins at host organization

Past Recipients

  • Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach (formerly Nihonmachi Legal Outreach)
  • Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
  • Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Asian Law Caucus
  • Greater Boston Legal Services – Asian Outreach Unit
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Congratulations to the Newly-Elected Officers of the NAPABA Board of Governors

AABANY congratulates the newly-elected officers of the NAPABA Board of Governors for the 2014-2015 board year. They were sworn into office at the Installation Banquet held on November 8, 2014, during the 26th Annual NAPABA Convention in Scottsdale, AZ.

The following individuals were elected by the NAPABA membership:

  • President Elect: Jin Y. Hwang
  • Vice President for Finance and Development: Alexander M. Lee
  • Vice President for Membership: Brad Yamauchi
  • Vice President for Programs and Operations: Lloyd Costales
  • Vice President for Communications: Cyndie M. Chang
  • Treasurer: Pankit J. Doshi
  • Secretary: Tacie H. Yoon

In addition to these newly-elected officers, George C. Chen will serve as President and William J. Simonitsch will serve as Immediate Past President. Joining the officers on the NAPABA Board of Governors will be ten regional governors and four at-large board members.

AABANY extends its best wishes to all of the candidates and the many members who participated in the elections.

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NAPABA NAMES HAMRE, SCHUMANN, MUELLER & LARSON AND PERKINS COIE AS ITS 2014 LAW FIRM DIVERSITY AWARD RECIPIENTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 28, 2014

Contact: Azizah Ahmad
(202) 775-9555

WASHINGTON – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) has named Hamre, Schumann, Mueller & Larson, P.C. and Perkins Coie LLP as the 2014 Law Firm Diversity Award recipients. NAPABA created the Law Firm Diversity Award to recognize law firms that actively, affirmatively, consistently, and enthusiastically recruit, retain, and promote Asian Pacific American lawyers to equity partnership and firm leadership. The awards will be presented at the NAPABA Anniversary Gala and Installation Banquet on November 8, 2014, at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Hamre, Schumann, Mueller & Larson, P.C. (HSML) is a full service intellectual property law firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. HSML prides itself on its diverse staff, with 80 percent of its associates and one of its five principals being of Asian descent. HSML attorneys Alex Kim and Bryan Wong are both past-presidents of the Minnesota Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

Perkins Coie LLP has more than 950 lawyers in offices in the U.S. and Asia. Perkins Coie has been honored by several organizations for its commitment to diversity and inclusion, including the American Bar Association, Asian American Bar Association of New York, and Women in Law Empowerment Forum. Perkins Coie senior counsel Paul O. Hiorse is a NAPABA past-president and partner Audra Mori currently serves as the NAPABA Central California Regional Governor.

NAPABA is proud to name Hamre, Schumann, Mueller & Larson, P.C. and Perkins Coie LLP as the 2014 Law Firm Diversity Award recipients and applauds their continued commitment to diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American (APA) attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of over 40,000 attorneys and approximately 70 national, state, and local bar associations. Its members include solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal services and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government. NAPABA engages in legislative and policy advocacy, promotes APA political leadership and political appointments, and builds coalitions within the legal profession and the community at large. NAPABA also serves as a resource for government agencies, members of Congress, and public service organizations about APAs in the legal profession, civil rights, and diversity in the courts.

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