On Saturday, August 24th, the Asian American Bar Association of New York’s Membership and Litigation Committees hosted a yoga class at One World Observatory located 102 floors up in the One World Trade Center.
Attendees donned athletic wear and took a 42-second elevator ride up to the 102 floor ready to stretch, twist and relax during a one-hour yoga class with the New Jersey and Brooklyn skyline visible from the room.
After the class ended attendees shared stories and networked over coffee and pastries while taking pictures of the different iconic buildings or neighborhoods they recognized.
Thanks to the Membership Committee and Litigation Committee for organizing this unique event. We thank everyone who attended and hope they found it to be a rejuvenating experience.
To find out more about the Membership Committee, please click here. To find out more about the Litigation Committee, please click here.
For Immediate Release: November 13, 2023 Contact: Priya Purandare, Executive Director
INDIANAPOLIS – Last week, during the first quarterly meeting of the 2023-2024 year, the NAPABA Board of Governors approved and welcomed the South Asian Bar Association of New Jersey (SABA-NJ) as an affiliate of NAPABA. Founded in 2004, SABA-NJ is a voluntary association of attorneys dedicated to addressing the needs, concerns, and interest of the South Asian community in New Jersey, one of the largest in the Nation.
“We are thrilled to begin our new Board year with welcoming SABA-NJ, an influential force within the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander community in New Jersey, as a part of the NAPABA family,” said Anna Mercado Clark, President of NAPABA. “SABA-NJ’s leadership in supporting the community at large, the legal profession, and advancing judicial candidates that reflect the rich diversity of New Jersey, is well known both within New Jersey and beyond. We look forward to our partnership and working together as a force multiplier for good.”
“It is truly an honor and privilege for the South Asian Bar Association of New Jersey to be accepted as an affiliate partner of the well-established and highly-revered NAPABA organization,” said Rippi Karda, President of SABA-NJ. “We look forward to contributing to NAPABA through SABA-NJ’s diverse and talented membership. Thank you to the NAPABA Board of Governors for their support and acceptance.”
SABA-NJ joins a community of nearly 90 local, state, regional, and national bar associations in the United States and Canada that are affiliates and national associates of NAPABA. The affiliates hold certain voting rights under the NAPABA Bylaws, and individual members of the affiliates are entitled to complimentary NAPABA membership and the benefits that accompany it. For more information about how to become a NAPABA affiliate, please visit our webpage here, and learn more here about the benefits of becoming a NAPABA member.
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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 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 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.
Contact: Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director for Policy
WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Adeel Mangi to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. If confirmed, Mangi would be the first American Muslim judge on any federal appellate court in the Nation.
“NAPABA congratulates Adeel Mangi on his nomination,” said Anna Mercado Clark, President of NAPABA. “A 2014 NAPABA Best Under 40 awardee, Mr. Mangi has been an active leader in the Asian American community, and his pro bono work supporting the American Muslim community is groundbreaking. He is exceptionally well qualified to serve on the court, and we urge the U.S. Senate to confirm him quickly.”
Adeel A. Mangi is a partner at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP. He began his legal career there as an associate in 2000, became counsel in 2009, and was elevated to partnership in 2010. Mr. Mangi received his LL.M. from Harvard Law School in 2000. He qualified as a Barrister and received his Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Skills from the City University London Inns of Court School of Law in 1999 and his First Class Degree in Law from the University of Oxford, Pembroke College, in 1998.
“President Biden has nominated 34 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders to an Article III court, and 26 judges from the AANHPI community have been confirmed. Today, AANHPIs represent 6.5% of the federal judiciary,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA. “As a point of comparison, President Trump confirmed 13, President Obama confirmed 22, and all presidents prior confirmed 19 AANHPI judges.”
NAPABA thanks President Biden for nominating Adeel Mangi and the New Jersey Senators for supporting his nomination.
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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 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 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.
Contact: Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director for Policy
WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden nominated Judge Edward S. Kiel to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Judge Kiel would be the first Korean American to serve in the district if confirmed.
“NAPABA congratulates Judge Edward S. Kiel on his nomination to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey,” said Sandra Leung, President of NAPABA. “A 2010 NAPABA Trailblazer awardee, Judge Kiel is an active member of the Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey and is well qualified to serve on the bench. We urge the Senate to confirm him quickly.”
Judge Edward S. Kiel has been a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of New Jersey since 2019. Previously, Judge Kiel was a partner at Cole Schotz, P.C., from 2001 to 2019. Before that, he was an associate at Cole Schotz from 1998 to 2001, at Beattie Padovano from 1994 to 1998, and at Jamieson Moore Peskin & Spicer from 1992 to 1994. Judge Kiel served as a law clerk for Presiding Criminal Judge Michael R. Imbriani of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Somerset County, from 1991 to 1992. He received his J.D. from Notre Dame Law School in 1991 and his B.A. and B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers University in 1988.
“We applaud President Biden for nominating his 32nd Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander to the Federal judiciary,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA. “We thank the New Jersey Senators for recommending and supporting his nomination.”
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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 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 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.
On Thursday, September 22, 2022, our sister bar APALA-NJ held their 23rd Annual Gala at the Liberty House in Jersey City, New Jersey.
In attendance were AABANY Board Members, Anna Mercado Clark, Chris Kwok, Beatrice Leong, David Sohn and Andy Yoo. Many AABANY members also attended to show support. Anna presented the Professional Achievement Award to Dean Rose Cuison Villazor. We congratulate the APALA NJ honorees and award recipients:
Keynote Speaker: CeFaan Kim, WABC-TV New York Reporter & ABC News Correspondent
Trailblazer Award Recipients: Hon. Zahid N. Quraishi, U.S.D.J. & Hon. Rukhsanah L. Singh, U.S.M.J.
Corporate Leadership Award Recipient: Grace Park, Vice President, Deputy General Counsel & Chief Litigation Counsel at PSEG
WASHINGTON – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) congratulates Regina M. Rodriguez and Zahid N. Quraishi on their historic confirmations by the U.S. Senate as United States District Court Judges.
Rodriguez will become the first Asian Pacific American (APA) judge to sit on the District Court for the District of Colorado, and the first to serve as an Article III judge within the 10th Circuit. Quraishi, already a federal magistrate judge, will become the first APA to serve as a district court judge in New Jersey and the first Muslim American Article III judge in the country.
“Regina Rodriguez and Zahid Quraishi represent the promise of justice, equity, and opportunity that is so critical for the success of our federal judiciary,” said A.B. Cruz III, President of NAPABA. “NAPABA applauds the Senate for the strong bipartisan confirmation of these two highly qualified and experienced nominees.”
Regina M. Rodriguez has a distinguished reputation as one of Colorado’s most accomplished attorneys with deep experience in both the public and private sectors and a demonstrated commitment to serving the public interest. Rodriguez served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado, rising to become Deputy Chief and later Chief of the Civil Division, where she oversaw all civil litigation for the District. She was the youngest person and the first of Japanese and Mexican descent to hold that role. She received her J.D. from the University of Colorado School of Law and her B.S. with honors from the University of Iowa. Rodriguez is endorsed by NAPABA’s affiliate, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Colorado.
Judge Quraishi has a distinguished legal career with extensive experience as a prosecutor, in the private sector, and serving his country in uniform. In 2019, Judge Quraishi was appointed as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of New Jersey. His previous government service includes over five years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey and as a decorated military prosecutor with the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Judge Quraishi is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. He received a J.D. from Rutgers Law School in Newark. Quraishi is endorsed by NAPABA’s affiliate, the Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey.
NAPABA thanks President Biden for nominating Rodriguez, Quraishi, and other highly qualified judicial candidates to the federal bench.
The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) in the largest Asian Pacific American membership organization representing the interests of approximately 60,000 legal professionals and nearly 90 national, state, and local Asian Pacific American bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American 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 color in the legal profession.
On March 21, 2021, incoming AABANY President Terry Shen spoke at a Summit Community Programs event in Summit, NJ regarding AABANY’s recent Asian hate crimes initiatives. Incoming AABANY Vice President of Programs and Operations Joe Eng also attended the event. At the gathering of over 400 people, Mr. Shen discussed the causes and impact of the surge in Asian hate crimes since March 2020 alongside Summit Mayor Nora Radest, Summit Chief of Police Andrew Bartolotti and six City Council Members. Mr. Shen also discussed the solutions being actively pursued by AABANY to address this national crisis. The flag of the United States was flown at half-staff over Summit Village Green during the event.
A racist cartoon originally depicted in the publication, the San Francisco Wasp, in 1881. The cartoon was a parody of the Statue of Liberty and represented a growing fear of Asian immigrants within the United States
On Friday, April 3rd, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) hosted a webinar titled “Pandemic and Acts of Hate Against Asian Americans: From Past to Present.” The webinar traced the historical roots of Asian American discrimination related to disease and public health issues and presented solutions for the present in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The webinar featured a panel which included Professor Jack Chin of UC Davis Law School, Matt Stevens of The New York Times’s Political News division, Harpreet Singh Mokha of the Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service, and Rahat N. Babar, Special Counsel, Office of the Governor of New Jersey. Chris M. Kwok, the NAPABA Dispute Resolution Committee Co-Chair and our very own AABANY Issues Committee Chair, helmed the panel as moderator.
Professor Chin began by outlining the extensive history of anti-Asian discrimination within the United States. He focused on how discriminatory legislation at the state level in California and at the national level through the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 frequently correlated Asian American immigrants with disease. In particular, Professor Chin noted how San Francisco became a focal point of race-based efforts to control the bubonic plague in the early 1900s. Multiple political attempts were made to isolate and discriminate against Asians in the city which were repeatedly rebuffed by legal challenges such as Wong Wai v. Williamson and Jew Ho v. Williamson. Professor Chin underscored the ugly but recurring theme pushed in American politics about the “foreignness of germs.”
Following the professor’s historical account, Matt Stevens, an Asian American political reporter for The New York Times, noted the efforts that legislators are making to combat these acts of discrimination. Moreover, he noted the pervasive feeling of fear that permeates the Asian American community.
Harpreet Singh Mokha, National Program Manager for Muslim, Arab, Sikh, South Asian, and Hindu (MASSAH) issues at the Community Relations Service of the DOJ, explained the role and function of CRS during this pandemic. Established under Title X of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, CRS, frequently called “America’s Peacemakers,” works directly with communities facing conflict on racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, religious, and disability issues. It has four primary functions: facilitating dialogue, mediating conflict, training community members, and providing consultation for methods of community assistance. Mr. Mokha noted that members of communities all across the country should be encouraged to make use of CRS’s resources and report hate crimes at their first occurrence.
To wrap up the panel, Rahat Babar, Special Counsel for Litigation with the Office of the New Jersey Governor, echoed Mr. Mokha’s point to report hate crimes without hesitation. He noted a 2020 in-state report which found a 65% increase in bias incidents between 2018 and 2019 with 46% of those engaging in such bias incidents being minors. Thanks to this report, Governor Phil Murphy was able to set up a task force to explore why minors were engaging in such behavior. Mr. Babar notes that without a robust data set of incident or hate crime reports, lawmakers and community leaders will not be able to identify root problems or pose solutions.
Overall, the panel outlined past and present cases of racial discrimination targeted towards the AAPI community. All panelists acknowledged the importance of speaking out during this time of uncertainty for the sake of protecting fellow community members both now and in the future.
This event reached the largest audience for a NAPABA webinar to date, with 160 registrants. The program stressed placing the events of today within historical understanding of America, engagement with our government institutions charged with enforcing our laws, and collaboration across civil society organizations. We at AABANY thank and acknowledge Chris Kwok for proposing this program to NAPABA and serving as moderator.
A racist cartoon published in San Francisco-based publication, The Wasp. The cartoon promoted then-common racist myths that Chinatown was riddled with disease.
A racist cartoon published in the illustrated San Francisco weekly “Thistleton’s Illustrated Jolly Giant” depicting San Francisco’s The Globe Hotel. The cartoon insinuates that the Globe Hotel secretly contained a “small pox hospital” and an “underground Chinese cemetery,” perpetuating racist stereotypes of the time.
WASHINGTON — The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) and the Asian Pacific America Lawyers Association of New Jersey (APALA-NJ) congratulate Gurbir S. Grewal on his nomination by New Jersey Governor-Elect Phil Murphy to serve as the attorney general of New Jersey. When confirmed, Grewal will be the first Asian Pacific American to serve as the attorney general of New Jersey and the first Sikh American to serve as a state’s attorney general in the nation.
“We congratulate Gurbir Grewal on his historic nomination to serve as attorney general of New Jersey,” said Pankit J. Doshi, president of NAPABA. “An accomplished lawyer and public servant, Mr. Grewal has demonstrated his commitment to the community and the skills needed to lead the state’s law enforcement agency. Following the recent xenophobic incidents in New Jersey, his appointment is a reminder that diversity is something we all value. As a member of the Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey, he serves as a role model to attorneys and law students around the nation.”
“This is truly a historic moment,” said Jack Chan, president-elect of APALA-NJ. “APALA-NJ congratulates Prosecutor Grewal on this well-deserved accomplishment, and we applaud Governor-Elect Murphy for making the nomination.”
Grewal currently serves as the Bergen County prosecutor, a position to which he was appointed by Gov. Chris Christie in 2016. From 2010 to 2016, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, including two years as the chief of the Economic Crimes Unit. Previously, he was an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of New York and in private practice at Howrey LLP.
Grewal is a member of APALA-NJ and a 2017 recipient of the APALA-NJ Trailblazer Award for his leadership in the legal community. Grewal graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1995. He obtained his law degree from the College of William & Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law in 1999.
For more information, the media may contact Brett Schuster, NAPABA communications manager, 202-775-9555, [email protected]; or Arupa Barua, APALA-NJ vice president of communications, at[email protected].
The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of almost 50,000 attorneys and over 80 national, state, and local Asian Pacific American 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.
The Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey (APALA-NJ) founded in 1985 and incorporated in 1993, is the largest specialty bar association that collectively represents the interests of Asian and Pacific American lawyers in the State of New Jersey. APALA-NJ educates its members and the community about issues of critical concern to Asian Americans, and it supports the entrance and advancement of Asian Americans into and within the legal profession.
WASHINGTON — The Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey, the New Jersey Muslim Lawyers Association, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and the National Asian Pacific American Law Student Association condemn the recent racist election mailer that was sent to homes in Edison, New Jersey, concerning the upcoming school board election. Our immigrant communities, such as the one in Edison, are cornerstones of New Jersey. Hateful attacks such as this have no place in civil political discourse. We strive to promote diversity in the state. Together, we must all stand up and refuse to allow this type of bigotry and ignorance to exist. We continue to stand ready to fight on behalf of our immigrant and diverse communities.
The anonymous mailer cowardly targeted candidates Jerry Shi, a Chinese American, and Falguni Patel, an Indian American and immigration attorney, who are running for the Edison School Board. In a highly diverse community such as Edison, this mailer is an attack on all our immigrant communities and we must ensure that such acts have no refuge.
For more information, the media may contact Brett Schuster, NAPABA communications manager, at 202-775-9555 or [email protected].
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 50,000 attorneys and over 75 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.
NAPABA continues to be a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network of committees and affiliates, 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 color in the legal profession.
