Tag: New York City

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AABANY Provides Anti-Sexual Harassment Training to Community Organizations

The Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) was invited by the Asian American Federation and some of its member agencies – not-for-profit organizations that have substantial Chinese-speaking staff – to help with training their limited-English-proficient staff in their native languages on the prevention of sexual harassment in order to meet the new requirements under the New York State and New York City Human Rights Law.

On behalf of AABANY,  Karen Kithan Yau, a co-chair of the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee and Eric Su, a co-chair of the Labor and Employment Law Committee, both of whom are long-time employment lawyers, representing workers and employers respectively, gave three trainings, one in Cantonese Chinese, one in Mandarin Chinese, and one in English. The trainings took place in late September and early October. The training participants included kitchen and housekeeping staff, part-time teachers, museum staff, policy advocates, and an executive director. The discussion was rich, lively, and illuminating.

Every New York State employer is now required to provide sexual harassment training o their employees annually. That means that, as of October 9, 2019, every employer should have provided their first such training. Moreover, the New York State and City laws now protect virtually all employees, including contractors, subcontractors, vendors, consultants or others providing services from sexual harassment in the workplace. Thus the need to provide linguistically and culturally competent instruction is acute. The New York City Human Rights Commission has provided impressive training materials, including online trainings in 11 languages. However, there remain employees who will need training in their native languages. Experienced employment attorneys or skilled trainers of human resources areas who are linguistically and culturally competent will continue to be needed.

Learn more about AABANY’s Pro Bono and Community Service Committee here. Learn more about AABANY’s Labor and Employment Law Committee here. Thanks to Karen and Eric for providing these trainings to organizations serving the Asian American community.

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Sonia & Celina Sotomayor Judicial Internship Program, High School Division

The High School Division of the Sonia & Celina Sotomayor Judicial Internship Program encourages diverse and underrepresented high school students from communities among the five New York City boroughs to explore careers in the law.

In the Summer of 2019, approximately thirty high school students will participate in judicial internships in state and federal courts, educational and professional development workshops, and mentorship opportunities. The students will intern with a state or federal judge located within one of the five New York City boroughs from Monday through Thursday for four weeks. The hours will likely be 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., subject to the individual judge’s discretion. On Fridays, the student interns will meet for educational and professional development workshops at the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, New York, NY from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Students are expected to honor these time commitments to participate in the program.

QUALIFICATIONS/REQUIREMENTS

  1. Current 11th grade student (Rising 12th grade student in the Summer of 2019)
  2. Reside in and attend school in the Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, or Staten Island
  3. Minimum GPA of 82%
  4. Application Materials: Online Google Form, Transcript, Resume, Essay, and Teacher Recommendation
  5. Available to attend the SCS JIP Orientation in person on Saturday, May 18, 2019

IMPORTANT DEADLINES

  • November 30, 2018 – High School Intern Application Opens
  • March 8, 2019 – High School Intern Application Final Deadline
  • April 1 – 11, 2019 – High School Intern Interviews
  • May 18, 2019 – 2019 SCS JIP Program Orientation
  • July 8, 2019 – August 2, 2019 – High School Program

You may also refer to http://scsjip.org/hs_program.html for a downloadable version of the 2019 Application.

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Congratulations to Hon. Randall Eng, Recipient of the OCA-NY Lifetime Achievement Award

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The Hon. Randall Eng (Ret.), New York state’s first Asian American Presiding Justice, was honored with the OCA-NY Lifetime Achievement Award on Friday, September 28, at OCA-NY’s 42nd Annual Community Service & Leadership Awards Gala. Justice Eng has dedicated himself to public service for over three decades in a variety of positions. He served as the first Asian American Assistant District Attorney in his hometown of Queens County (1973-1980), the Deputy Inspector General of New York City (1980-1981), and also the Inspector General of New York City (1981-1983). In 2016, Judge Eng was awarded NAPABA’s highest honor, the Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award, and in 2017, he received AABANY’s Norman Lau Kee Trailblazer Award. The OCA-NY Lifetime Achievement Award is yet another well-earned recognition of both his contributions to New York State and the Asian American attorney community. Please join AABANY in congratulating Justice Eng on this well-deserved award and honor.

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“If They Come for Me In the Morning”: Forums on State-Sponsored Xenophobia

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AABANY is excited to tell you about “If They Come for Me In the Morning,” a series of town hall forums regarding today’s state-sponsored xenophobia. Featured speakers include Japanese American incarceration camp survivors, Native American artists and activists, African American historians, Holocaust survivors, and people threatened with deportation. They will discuss how government-led bigotry and violence against families have reverberated throughout history, to guide our collective movement towards a better future.

The series began last week on September 27th, with a forum on the Japanese American Incarceration coming up on October 10th. For more information, click here. Thank you to George Hirose at JACL-NY for sharing this event with AABANY

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Congratulations to Judy Kim

Please join AABANY in congratulating newly elected Civil Court Judge Judy Kim. See below for a statement from KALAGNY.

KALAGNY Congratulates Judy Kim on Becoming the First Korean American Elected to a Judicial Position in the State of New York

We are pleased to announce that our member Judy Kim has been elected to serve on the New York Civil Court (4th Municipal Court District).  Ms. Kim is the first Korean American elected to a judicial position in the State of New York.  Currently, Ms. Kim is an associate counsel in the Legal Division at the New York Liquidation Bureau (Liquidation Bureau). The Liquidation Bureau is a quasi-state agency that assists the Superintendent of Financial Services of the State of New York in his capacity as receiver of insolvent insurance companies. Ms. Kim also worked at Snitow Kanfer Holtzer & Millus, LLP as an attorney focusing on commercial litigation, employment discrimination litigation, and matrimonial litigation matters. Before that, Ms. Kim worked at Kennedy Lillis Schmidt & English, a boutique maritime law firm. Ms. Kim received her J.D. from Tulane Law School, and her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.  

Ms. Kim holds or has held various other non-profit board positions.  Currently, she is a board member of the Korean American League for Civic Action (KALCA), and the Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert (JALBCA).  She has been a board member of or held various leadership roles within a number of other organizations, including the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York, the Asian American Bar Association of New York, the New York City Bar Association, and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).  Many congratulations.

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Upcoming MFJC Core Trainings, June 13-29

The Manhattan Family Justice Center is happy to announce our next round of core trainings. Our training program provides professional development for service providers, community leaders, and city agencies on relevant topics regarding intimate partner violence, sex trafficking, and elder abuse.

Please share widely.  All trainings are free and located at the MFJC: 80 Centre Street, 5th Floor Training Room.

REGISTER NOW!

Domestic Violence Dialogue
Facilitated by FJC Admin Staff

  • Monday, 6/13 2-5 pm

Risk Assessment & Safety Planning
Facilitated by STEPS to End Family Violence

  • Tuesday, 6/14 2-5 pm

Cultural Conversations
Facilitated by NYC Anti-Violence Project & OCDV Staff

  • Wednesday, 6/15 2-5 pm

Housing & Shelter
Facilitated by Sanctuary for Families, New Destiny Housing

  • Friday, 6/17 10 am – 1 pm

Trafficking & Commercial Sexual Exploitation  
Facilitated by Center for Court Innovation & NY Asian Women’s Center

  • Monday, 6/20 10 am – 1 pm

Criminal Justice Responses to DV
Facilitated by Manhattan DA’s Office & NYPD

  • Monday, 6/20 2-4 pm

Immigration Law
Facilitated by NY Legal Assistance Group & Sanctuary for Families

  • Tuesday, 6/21 2-5 pm

Family & Matrimonial Law
Facilitated by NYLAG

  • Wednesday, 6/22 2-5 pm

Elder Abuse
Facilitated by Weinberg Center

  • Tuesday, 6/28 10 am – 12 pm

Economic Empowerment
Facilitated by Sanctuary for Families & the Financial Clinic

  • Wednesday, 6/29 10 am – 1 pm

Immigrant Eligibility for Public Benefits
Facilitated by Sanctuary for Families & OCDV Staff

  • Wednesday, 6/29 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm
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Afghan Lovers Begin an Asylum Odyssey in New York

Afghan Lovers Begin an Asylum Odyssey in New York

Check out the moving story of Afghan lovers Zakia and Mohammad Ali, whose parents oppose their union because they are from different sects. Seeking asylum in New York, they are hoping to establish new lives for themselves beyond the potato fields of their home in Bamian Province. 

Our Immigration & Nationality Law Committee Co-Chair Poonam Gupta has a hand in their journey:

This time around, the process for an American visa has been going more smoothly. Their case, granted under Humanitarian Parole, a limited visa program for those with a “compelling emergency,” was facilitated by a lawyer, Poonam Gupta of White & Case LLP, who was hired by the aid group Women for Afghan Women.

Click on the link in the title to read more of their love story.

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Asian American Bar Association of New York Commends the Appointment of Donald Leo as New York City Criminal Court Judge

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 14, 2016   

Contact: Yang Chen, Executive Director
(718) 228-7206

NEW YORK – January 14, 2016 – The Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) commends New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s appointment of Donald Leo as New York City Criminal Court Judge. Judge Leo joined the bench after thirteen years of service as an Assistant District Attorney in New York County and seven years as Deputy Bureau Chief of the Sex Offender Management Bureau for the New York State Attorney General’s Office. His appointment was effective December 29, 2015.

A lifelong New Yorker and first generation son of Chinese immigrants, Judge Leo is fluent in Cantonese and witnessed firsthand the Chinatown community’s aversion to cooperating with law enforcement and their distrust of the legal system. He has spent many of his years as a public servant fostering public trust and bridging the two worlds of New York’s Chinatown and New York’s criminal justice system by bringing justice to those who often feel that there is none. Judge Leo is a graduate of New York University and received his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School. He is also a founding member of AABANY’s Prosecutors Committee, started in 2008.

“AABANY is proud to see another one of its prominent members ascend to the bench,” says Yang Chen, Executive Director of AABANY. “Judge Leo is highly qualified to serve on the Criminal Court, and his own life experiences speak to the need for increased diversity on the bench. The more the bench reflects the diversity of the residents in our diverse communities across the city, the more they can develop a sense of trust that the courts are truly representative of them and are there to serve them. We thank Mayor de Blasio and his Advisory Committee on the Judiciary for making this appointment possible, and for continuing to promote diversity on the bench as an integral part of the administration of justice for all New Yorkers.”

For more information, please contact Yang Chen, AABANY Executive Director, at (718) 228-7206, or direct any inquiries to [email protected].

The Asian American Bar Association of New York is a professional membership organization of attorneys concerned with issues affecting the Asian Pacific American community.  Incorporated in 1989, AABANY seeks not only to encourage the professional growth of its members but also to advocate for the Asian Pacific American community as a whole.  AABANY is the New York regional affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).

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