Call for Senate Hearing on Hate Crimes

NAPABA Policy Director Emily Chatterjee passes along this request from Rajdeep Singh of the Sikh Coalition calling on the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold hearings on the proliferation of hate crimes and hate groups in this country:

Dear Colleagues:

Please find attached our group letter here, urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold hearings next month on hate crimes.  A grand total of 154 organizations endorsed the letter.  Thank you for your tireless efforts to spread the word about this letter through your networks!

During the next few days, as the Judiciary Committee reviews our letter, please consider taking the additional steps:

1. Contact the Senate Judiciary Committee directly and urge them to prioritize hearings.
2. Ask your members to contact the offices of Judiciary Committee members by phone and email.
3. Create awareness about this issue through community advisories, blog posts, Facebook, and Twitter.
4. Issue press releases to your media contacts to generate public awareness about this issue.
5. Write op/eds about the need for increased focus by policymakers on hate crimes in America

Let’s hope for the best.  Again, we are grateful for your support and look forward to working with you again soon.

Best regards,
Raj

– 
Rajdeep Singh
Director of Law and Policy
The Sikh Coalition
Phone: (202) 747-4944
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.sikhcoalition.org
Donate: www.sikhdonate.org

NAPABA Scholarship Opportunity: 2012 NAPABA Convention Scholarship Application

NAPABA strives to keep the Convention affordable for our members and offers one of the best values among legal education conferences. NAPABA also maintains a scholarship fund to help further defray costs for attendees through full or partial registration waivers, travel stipends, and lodging stipends.

Scholarship applications for the 2012 Convention are due July 31! Apply today if you need assistance with travel and registration costs. We look forward to seeing you in DC on November 15-18.

Please fill out the online form by clicking https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFoyZ0stXzRyRFlTY3daYmZtVE81N2c6MQ.

Dear Members and Friends:

Early Bird Registration Has Been Extended To Friday 5/18 For The Eastern Super Regional Conference!

On behalf of the Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey (“APALANJ”) and my fellow Conference Co-Chairs, Ed Kiel, Esq. and Florelee Wan, Esq., we cordially invited you to join us in “Changing the Game” at the 2012 NAPABA Eastern Super Regional Conference as hosted by APALANJ:

WHO: The Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey (“APALANJ”) is one of the member affiliates in the Northeast Region of NAPABA that also comprises of – MA, CT, NY, NJ, PA & Toronto, Canada. APALANJ is the host of this year’s 2012 NAPABA “Super Regional Conference.”

WHAT: Unlike the usual and annual “Northeast Regional Conference,” this year’s 2012 NAPABA Eastern Super Regional as hosted by APALANJ is the first “Super Regional” to be held on the East Coast that would bring the NAPABA Northeast Region and the NAPABA Southeast Region together at one time at one place. The Southeast Region includes the following members from FL, GA, MD, TN, VA, & DC.

It is anticipated that this historic two and a half day “Eastern Super Regional” conference will draw between 250 to 400 legal professionals to meet, network, and attend substantive legal programs designed and presented to accentuate and emphasize how Asian Pacific Americans attorneys are “Changing the Game” as attorneys and or judges.

The conference will conclude with a Saturday Evening Gala Dinner and Installation of the APALANJ Officers.

WHEN: Thursday, May 31st through the evening of Saturday, June 2, 2012.

WHERE: Trump Taj Mahal Resort & Conference Center, Atlantic City, NJ.

OFFICIAL CONFERENCE WEBSITE, INFO & REGISTRATION (Early Bird Rates to end 5-18-2012):

http://2012napabasuperregional.apalanjevents.com/

This is a tremendous opportunity to be seen, be counted upon, and be a part of history. We look forward to having you join us as a fellow “Game Changer” in Atlantic City!

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Very truly yours,

Moly K. Hung, Esq.
Co-Chair, 2012 NAPABA Eastern Super Regional Conference Committee & VP, APALANJ

NAPABA Press Release: Jacqueline Nguyen and John Lee Confirmed

NAPABA Press Release: Jacqueline Nguyen and John Lee Confirmed

Celebrate APA Heritage Month with AABANY

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and AABANY is celebrating in a variety of ways:

  • May 14 – Hon. Jeffrey K. Oing, Justice of the Supreme Court, State of New York (and long-time AABANY member), will be speaking at Kramer Levin’s APA Heritage Month Celebration, at Kramer Levin’s midtown Manhattan office.  RSVP required by May 10.
  • May 18-20 – NYSBA Commercial and Federal Litigation Section Spring Meeting, in association with the Young Lawyers Section, at Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York.  Past President and current Judiciary Committee Co-Chair James Chou will be speaking on Sunday morning on the panel entitled, “Your Path Through the Court and to the Bench: What You Need to Know to Get Through a Day in Court.”
  • May 22, Asian American Arts Alliance (a4), Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) and AABANY present: “Revisiting Vincent: The Legacy of the Vincent Chin Case 30 Years Later,” a re-enactment of the Vincent Chin trial, with introduction and talkback led by Hon. Denny Chin and Dean Frank Wu, at New York Law School, starting at 6:30 pm.  Tickets now available for purchase in advance.
  • May 24 – AABANY’s Litigation Committee hosts a Happy Hour at the Hill on 29th and Third Ave., starting at 6:30 pm.  Meet and mingle with members of the Litigation Committee.
  • May 24 – AALDEF’s Young Professionals Committee and Cadwalder Wickersham & Taft host a screening of the documentary “Sing Your Song,” about Harry Belafonte and his role in fighting for civil rights for all Americans.  AALDEF Staff Attorney Jerry Vattamala will take part in a Q&A after the screening and discuss the legacy of Harry Belafonte’s activism and its meaning for today’s generation.
  • May 30 – AABANY joins the Asian American Law Fund of New York (AALFNY) in hosting the Annual Summer Reception, open to the legal community and law students.  It will take place at Edwards Wildman Palmer starting at 6 pm, and there is no cost to attend but RSVP is required by May 25.
  • May 31 – June 2: NAPABA Eastern Super Regional Conference, hosted by APALA-NJ at Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City.  Many AABANY members and leaders will be there, speaking on panels and reconnecting with NAPABA friends.  Registration now open.

It’s another event-filled APA Heritage Month.  We hope to see you at one or more of the great programs listed above!

Miranda Du Confirmed as Federal District Court Judge for Nevada

On Wednesday March 28, NAPABA and The Asian American Justice Center reported:

Today, the Senate voted to confirm Miranda Mai Du to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. Judge Du is the first-ever Asian Pacific American to serve as an Article III judge in Nevada.

“We congratulate Judge Du on her confirmation, and thank Senator Reid for both suggesting her name to President Obama and scheduling her confirmation vote,” said Nimesh M. Patel, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). “Judge Du is a nominee with a wealth of experiences and qualifications. She also has an inspiring life story, and will add much needed diversity of perspective on the federal court in Nevada.”

Read the full press release here.

AABANY at NAPABA National Convention 2011

NAPABA’s 23rd Annual National Convention: Sustainability took place last week in Atlanta, Georgia, at the Omni CNN Center from November 17 through 20.  Among the more than 1100 attorneys from around the country was our contingent from New York.

AABANY was well-represented at the NAPABA National Convention. 

Judge Denny Chin, past AABANY President and currently the only active APA Federal appellate circuit judge, was the keynote speaker at Saturday night’s installation banquet.  Judge Chin shared his experiences as a district court judge, regaling the capacity crowd with fascinating, funny and sometimes touching stories from the wide variety of cases he presided over in his fifteen years on the bench as a United States District Court Judge.

Don Liu, General Counsel of Xerox and AABANY member, introduced Friday’s plenary luncheon speaker, Yale Law School Professor and best-selling author Amy Chua.  Don himself was honored with NAPABA’s prestigious Trailblazer Award on Friday evening.  In a moving and heartfelt acceptance speech, Don honored his recently-deceased father as a trailblazer in his own right.

At Saturday night’s installation banquet, NAPABA presented its Best Under 40 award recipients, and AABANY was represented by Director Bobby Liu, General Counsel at MD Sass, and Pauline Yeung-Ha, Co-Chair Solo and Small Firm Committee and name partner at Grimaldi & Yeung.  Also honored was My Chi To, Secretary of AALFNY (Asian American Law Fund of New York) and partner at Debevoise & Plimpton.

On Thursday, at the NAPABA Bar Leadership Institute, AABANY Executive Director Yang Chen was the luncheon speaker, talking about AABANY’s experience as the first affiliate with a full-time executive director.

On Friday, Judge Chin led the AABANY re-enactment team in a program entitled “Race, Color and Citizenship: Ozawa and Thind,” which re-created two Supreme Court cases from the 1920s in which the Court upheld the denial of naturalization to two Asian Americans on the basis of race and color.  The cast, led by Judge Chin and Kathy Hirata Chin, was comprised of AABANY members, including many AABANY Directors: Vincent Chang, Yang Chen, Francis Chin, Lauren Lee, Susan Moon, Esther Nguonly, Liza Sohn, Vinoo Varghese, Jessica Wong and Michael Yap.

Throughout the conference, many other AABANY members, including many past AABANY leaders, spoke on or moderated various panels, including: Sylvia Fung Chin, John Flock, Parkin Lee, and Hon. Doris Ling Cohan.

Congratulations also to Hofstra Law School which was recognized on November 18 as the NAPALSA (National Asian Pacific American Law Students Association) Affiliate of the Year.  NAPALSA held several programs and meetings during the NAPABA National Convention.

Thanks to everyone who took part in the NAPABA 2011 National Convention, and congratulations to all the honorees.  You do AABANY proud!