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.
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.
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
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.
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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Thanks to GSPI Co-Chair Karen Yau for sharing news about NYC’s Municipal IDs!
Check out Karen’s latest update from the Government Service & Public Interest Committee:
Dear Colleagues,
Hope you are well!
There are many reasons to attend our Government Service and Public Interest Committee events. A chief one among them is that you will meet very interesting people and learn very interesting information.
As many of you know, NYC’s Municipal ID has been very popular and useful. But it has also been hard to get an appointment to secure it. See:http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/07/nyregion/more-popular-than-expected-new-yorks-id-program-has-officials-scrambling.html?_r=0
At last Friday’s panel discussion on the proposed changes to the
Specialized High School admissions process, in the after-event reception, I met a deputy director of the Municipal ID Program and learned that its capacity has recently increased greatly. Interested persons can get appointments almost immediately.
I have just tried it and secured appointments for me and my husband with no problem. I highly recommend that you check out the program. The ID comes with many privileges, including free membership to cultural institutions. http://www1.nyc.gov/site/idnyc/benefits/museums-and-cultural-institutions.page
Sincerely,
Karen
GSPI Committee Co-chair
If you’d like to become more active in AABANY’s Government Service & Public Interest Committee, feel free to contact Karen at [email protected] to join their mailing list, attend or volunteer at their events, and hear the latest. You can join their LinkedIn Group by clicking here. Our GSPI Committee is one of our most active, and there’s always room for more!
Responding to the Needs of Immigrants and Immigrant Families in New York: Implementation of Executive Action for the Unauthorized
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
9am to 5pm
Sheen Center
18 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10012
Over the last several years, communities throughout the nation have prioritized initiatives to regularize the lives of persons in need of protection, including individuals and families with members that lack immigration status. In the New York City metropolitan area, public and private entities have devoted extensive resources to mobilizing in response to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, to planning for the newly announced Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program, and to providing legal and resettlement services to children and families who have fled violence and privation in Central America and Mexico.
In recent months, New York collaborative initiatives have intensified in response to the massive Executive Action programs announced by President Obama on November 20, 2014, which will cover the unauthorized parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (DAPA). The President also announced the expansion of the DACA program and other important, but more modest initiatives. This work comes in the midst of New York City’s municipal identification card program, “IDNYC,” launched in January 2015, and on top of large-scale “steady state” work with immigrants by community-based organizations.
To examine the coordinated response of public and non-profit entities to the DAPA and DACA programs, the Archdiocese of New York, the Diocese of Brooklyn, the Diocese of Rockville Centre, and the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) are hosting an all-day event on March 25th at the Sheen Center, located in Manhattan’s NoHo neighborhood.
The event will include key-note presentations by faith leaders, as well as panel discussions with federal, state, and local officials, legal service agencies, community-based agencies, and national immigrant rights groups. Its panel discussions will:
- Examine federal, New York State and New York City policy, outreach, and initiatives on Executive Action.
- Explore legal services mobilization efforts by public and private entities and other collaborative programs in New York City, Long Island, and the Lower Hudson Valley, looking particularly at outreach, public education on benefit eligibility and the risk of fraud, and provision of legal screening, representation and advocacy.
- Address the role of non-legal, community-based institutions, particularly Catholic parishes, in ensuring the program’s success.
There will also be a short discussion on the work of national organizations in assisting local communities in implementing these programs and efforts to evaluate the programs’ success. After the formal event, there will be a reception and, for those interested, a roundtable discussion that will provide an opportunity to share and coordinate best practices and approaches to serving and empowering this population. The all-day event will seek to place this work in a broader policy, moral, and demographic context; improve the response to the needs of these populations in the New York metropolitan area; and identify lessons, successes and challenges in implementing these programs.
The event is free, but please register only if your attendance is definite. To register, visit http://goo.gl/forms/LDgubFchST or email your name, title, organization and email address to [email protected].
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Thank you to the New York Immigration Coalition for sharing news of this important event.
NYC’s Municipal ID Card Program Officially in Place
NYC’s Municipal ID Card Program Officially in Place
On Monday, January 12, New York City officially introduced the country’s largest municipal identification program, issuing ID cards to residents regardless of immigration status. This is a welcome measure for undocumented immigrants, who without government-issued ID cards, have found it difficult to obtain access to city services and institutions, or to carry out many routine activities such as opening a bank account, filling prescriptions, and renting an apartment. The ID card can also be used as a library card.
Enrollment is free in 2015, but fees may be charged in the future. In addition, information will not be shared with other government agencies or third parties (except for verifying applicant eligibility or in response to a subpoena or warrant), allaying many immigrants’ fears that obtaining an ID card may alert the immigration service of their undocumented status.
Known as “IDNYC,” the identification card is available to all NYC residents at least 14 years of age and who can prove identity and residency. Individuals can apply at several enrollment center locations throughout the five boroughs.
Aside from the many benefits described above, the card will provide free membership to zoos and museums.
We applaud Mayor de Blasio and the City Council for undertaking this initiative. For more information on how to apply for an IDNYC, please see the application page here and documentation requirement page here.
Best regards,
Rio, Tsui and All of Us at Guerrero Yee LLP
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The latest IDNYC update comes to us from our Immigration and Nationality Law Committee Chairs Rio Guerrero and Tsui Yee. To visit Rio and Tsui’s law firm site, dealing with immigration matters in all 50 states and in countries all over the world, click on the link above. Thank you, Rio and Tsui!