Thank you AABANY, Pro Bono and Community Service (PBCS) Committee, VNS Chinatown Community Center, and our dedicated volunteers for volunteering on February 18, 2023 at the Manhattan Pro Bono Clinic! We met 24 clients and discussed issues relating to housing, divorces, and guardianships.
Clients’ surveys included the following feedback:
“These services are much in need for the non-English speaking community.”
“Very happy thx services I got.”
“The lawyers were very nice and professional! Thank you!”
Please consider joining us at our upcoming clinics:
On January 7, 2023, the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY), Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE), and dedicated volunteers staffed the Pro Bono Clinic at AAFE’s Flushing Community Center in Queens, New York.
The clinic met with 14 clients who had questions about tort, contracts, and housing laws.
Clients who filled out the clinic’s satisfaction surveys remarked:
“Hope there are more of these activities. Helps the community greatly.”
“Extremely grateful! Thank you guys very much.”
“Come frequently.”
Volunteering attorneys have asked clinic staffers about how to learn more about areas of law in which they do not practice. The best way to learn about new, developing areas of the law is from other attorneys. AABANY’s Pro Bono clinics are a great chance to connect with other attorneys.
For law students and law school graduates seeking to complete the 50 pro bono hours requirement, remember to reach out to clinic staffers to learn about the requirement fulfillment process and other ongoing projects at probono@aabany.org.
Thank you Eugene Kim, co-chair of the Pro Bono and Community Service (PBCS) Committee, for bringing the wealthy cupcakes (fat go) to share with the volunteers!
Please check AABANY’s Calendar for a listing of events and the upcoming Pro Bono Clinics:
On December 3, 2022, AABANY’s Pro Bono & Community Service (PBCS) Committee partnered with the VNS Health staff to hold a pro bono clinic in VNS Health’s Manhattan community center from 12:00 PM to 3:30 PM.
Overall, we met with 11 clients who had questions about topics such as immigration, housing, and divorce. With help from our many clinic attorneys and volunteers, AABANY’s PBCS attorneys were able to connect clients with AABANY’s Legal Referral and Information Service, a program that connects prospective clients from the Asian American and Pacific Islander community with qualified lawyers who are both linguistically and culturally competent.
AABANY’s PBCS intern Connor Li spoke about his experiences at Saturday’s clinic with great reverence for the work PBCS is able to do through these clinics. He said, “It’s always a pleasure to help out at the clinic. Whether it’s meeting members of the community or listening to experienced legal professionals, I always feel like I’m learning something at every point. And with the help of the amazing VNS staff, clients with urgent needs for legal advice regarding housing, immigration, and familial issues were checked in and assigned to attorneys with great expediency. We were even able to provide Cantonese and Mandarin interpreters at nearly every client meeting, though we could definitely have used the assistance of more Cantonese interpreters. I would definitely encourage more AABANY members or willing individuals from the general public who know Cantonese to come to these clinics. Your help would be appreciated!”
As with every clinic, free lunch was provided for all attorney and non-attorney volunteers by PBCS. We thank all 11 of our volunteers for coming to provide their invaluable assistance! As always, if you have any questions about upcoming clinics, please contact us at probono@aabany.org. Thanks again for attending, and happy holidays!
Volunteer Attorneys
Interpreters & Observers
Beatrice Leong
Alexander Hwang
Francis Chin
Connor Li
Grace Pyun
Xiaoli Qin
Jackson Chin
Yuichi Hayashi
Jayashree Mitra
Yuting Xie
May Wong
Please make plans to join us as a volunteer at the next Manhattan Pro Bono Clinic on January 14, or please help us spread the word. More details here.
On November 19, AABANY’s Pro Bono & Community Services Committee and Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) joined forces to hold a pro bono legal clinic at AAFE’s One Flushing Community Center in Queens.
This Saturday’s clinic used a multitude of digital and analog resources to provide top-notch services. We creatively used a hybrid Zoom call setup to bring in immigration attorneys (Jackson Chin and Judy Lee) and maintain a non-stop stream of consultations. One group of attorneys helped a client find actionable steps forward from his complex legal status, providing him with additional resources and referrals. AAFE generously made its printer and xerox machines available, which were critical in handling the larger-than-usual volume of Spanish-speaking clients we saw on Saturday. We were able to print out Spanish-language brochures about asylum, immigration eligibility for public benefits in New York State, and pro bono referrals.
AABANY Legal Intern Daniel Kang reflected on the work he witnessed at the Clinic: “Every attorney who volunteered their time on Saturday was deeply and professionally invested in the problems facing clients. I had the opportunity to shadow and complete intake forms for consultations held by Jackson Chin and Judy Lee. It was incredible seeing Jackson and Judy drill to the legal substance of each client’s case by asking the right questions and bringing their own legal expertise to the fore. I was also heartened by the presence of Spanish-speaking volunteer interpreters who successfully broke through the language barrier between volunteer attorneys and locally based clients.”
Not many of the attorneys who attended Saturday’s clinic practice immigration law or speak Spanish. Immigration law is a complicated practice area which changes with each Presidential administration. A 30-minute legal consultation may not help those in dire need of immigration legal services, but clinics like AABANY’s may be a client’s best hope. Immigrant clients come to AABANY consultations in their attempts at acquiring information about the legal process, updates in immigration policy, how to survive in New York, and legal referrals. As usual, AABANY welcomes any and all practicing attorneys across the city to sign up for future clinics—as well as non-attorney volunteers who can speak Spanish or Chinese. Free lunch is provided to all volunteers at our clinics.
AABANY thanks everyone again for coming to volunteer at Saturday’s clinic! Please join us at our upcoming clinics:
On October 21, 2022, Adhikaar, a community organization for New York’s Nepali-speaking community, hosted its sold-out Fall Utsav at the Queens Museum. Rina Gurung, Board Chair of Adhikaar (and one of the co-chairs of AABANY’s Government Services and Public Interest (GSPI) Committee), opened the ceremony by thanking the Adhikaar Board and its staff for spearheading a wonderful organization that empowers the Nepali-speaking community by addressing social rights, workers’ rights, and women’s rights. Gurung also gave a shout-out to her work colleagues and AABANY.
Kevin Hsi, co-chair of GSPI, and May Wong, co-chair of the Pro Bono & Community Service (PBCS) Committee, were also in attendance at Fall Utsav to support Rina and Adhikaar. AABANY’s GSPI and PBCS Committees wish the best to Pabitra Khati Benjamin, Executive Director of Adhikaar, who steps down from her leadership role at the end of October.
Moving forward, PBCS hopes to bridge a partnership with Adhikaar to secure Nepali-speaking clients for PBCS upcoming legal clinics! For more information about AABANY’s PBCS, please contact probono@aabany.org.
In other news, AABANY’s ties with other Asian American community organizations are as strong as ever. AABANY member and Prosecutors Committee co-founder Kin Ng attended the United Chinese Association of Brooklyn’s (UCA) 20th Anniversary Gala to accept the Community Leader of the Year Award. PBCS partners with UCA to host its pro bono clinics. Register for the December 10th Brooklyn PBCS pro bono clinic here. Read more about AABANY members celebrating with Kin at the UCA Gala here.
Next event coming up that supports AAPI Community-Based Organizations: 11/17 – MinKwon hosting its Virtual Anniversary Gala with NAKASEC
Just in the month of July, we met with 50 clients!!! There were so many positive and a few negative feedbacks from the clients.
Based on the feedback, many clients were grateful for our services and noted that “this is a much needed service in the Asian community.” Many clients cannot afford to speak with an attorney, do not understand the legal system, and are limited English proficient. A few clients complained that the time was too short or that the attorney couldn’t answer their questions.
Many clients asked questions about immigration, housing, contracts and fraud, wills, trusts, and estates. We also met with pro se litigants who have questions about liens, wage garnishment, judgment proof, and the New York State Exempt Income Protection Act.
Thank you AABANY, our volunteers, the Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE), and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of New York (CCCNY). In fact, we were amazed to have dedicated law students joining us on July 30 even though they just finished their NYS Bar exam that week.
So…if anyone’s interested in the next round of mini-bar exams, please come join us at our next Pro Bono Clinics! To volunteer or to learn more about the Pro Bono & Community Services Committee, please visit probono.aabany.org.
From Flushing, Queens (7/23): Thank you, volunteers, for helping us meet with 19 clients. These cases covered various areas including immigration, housing, contract, and fraud. Of the 19 clients, 5 spoke Spanish, 11 spoke mandarin, 2 spoke Cantonese, and 1 spoke English.
Volunteer Attorneys
Interpreters & Observers
Beatrice Leong
Alexandra Lao^
Eugene Kim
Joy Fan^
Evelyn Gong*
Nicole Morikawa^
Hooney Heoh
Reni Axelrod^
Jackson Chin*
Sharmie Azurel^
Johnny Thach
Yvette Adiguzel^ (licensed out-of-state)
Kyoung Jung
Weiqiao Lin^
Shirley Luong
Duane Morikawa
Yaoyu Liu
Yvette Wang
Zhaohua (Josh) Huang
John Hwang (licensed out-of-state)
May Wong
Theresa Yuan
^ = non-attorney volunteers
* = remote
From Chinatown, Manhattan (7/30): Thank you, volunteers, for helping us meet with 31 clients. Majority of these cases were related to housing, contracts and fraud, and wills, trusts, and estates. Of the 31 clients, 16 spoke mandarin, 7 spoke Cantonese, 7 spoke English, and 1 n/a.
Volunteer Attorneys
Interpreters & Observers
Ailsa Chau
Alex Hwang^
Beatrice Leong
Alexandra Lao^
Chao-Yung (Kloe) Chiu
Joy Fan^
Eugene Kim
Kirin Moy^
Eun Hye (Grace) Lee
Meng Zhang^
Francis Chin
Nandar Win Kerr^
Jackson Chin
Reni Axelrod^
Kwok Kei Ng
Teresa Wai Yee Yeung^
Lindsay Hao
Yvette Adiguzel^ (licensed out-of-state)
Lulu Jing
May Wong
Meghan Liu
Min Jung Esther Choi
Theresa Yuan
Please feel free to join us at our upcoming Pro Bono Clinics in August –
Manhattan – August 20 – Cutoff time to register by 12pm, 8/17 to recruit volunteers
Location – 33 Bowery, Community Room at Confucius Plaza, New York, NY 10002
On Saturday, June 25, 2022, AABANY’s Pro Bono & Community Service (PBCS) Committee in collaboration with Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) organized a Pro Bono Clinic in Flushing, Queens. Thank you to all our volunteers for participating!
AABANY
AAFE
Beatrice Leong
Gabriel Hisugan (AAFE)
Bei Yang
Keshari Tuisyan (AAFE intern)^
Evelyn Gong*
Lilian Cheung (AAFE intern)^
Kyoung Jung
Maria del Carmen Cruz (AAFE)^
May Wong
Yichun Liu (AAFE intern)
Shengyang Wu
Zulma Vazquez (AAFE) (Spanish)^
Xue Huang
Yaoyu Liu
John Hwang
Lyubing Teng^
Meg Annamaneni^
Meng Zhang
Nicole Morikawa^
Sharmie Azurel^
Yvette Adiguzel^
^ = non-attorney volunteer
At the clinic, we met a total of 13 clients: 8 Spanish-speaking, 2 Mandarin-speaking, and 3 English speaking folks who had questions related to immigration (6 cases); housing (4 cases – 1 case with criminal context involved); unemployment insurance benefits (1 case); matrimonial (1 case); and wills/trusts/estates (1 case).
Our volunteers were able to learn from each other and employ useful resources online to help clients look for information. This includes researching how to apply for IDNYC, a municipal identification card for all New Yorkers regardless of their immigration status, compiling information tool kits for a client’s ongoing immigration case, or referring them to other legal service providers. Volunteering attorneys and law students worked closely with AAFE’s interpreters to assist our Spanish-speaking clients.
Volunteer Yvette Adiguzel stated, “Some clients had issues relating to a case that had already been initiated in court. When advising a client involved with a case, a useful resource to obtain New York case-related information online is eCourts NY. Anyone can use the e-courts information service for free and can search with information such as the party name, case number, type of court. eCourts NY can also be used to look up future date appearances regarding criminal and family cases, and can provide information relating to the active and disposed cases in civil courts and the Supreme Court. A tracking service called eTrack is an option available free of charge on the eCourts NY website so that you can monitor and set reminders relating to cases in civil local, supreme and family courts as well as criminal cases.” Many of the clients were grateful to the attorneys and volunteers, like Yvette, who were able to provide their expertise and provide informed legal advice.
Thank you again to all our volunteers!
If you would like to volunteer, our next clinic dates:
7/23/2022, 12:30pm – 3:30pm. Deadline to register 7/20/2022, 12pm.
We hope to see you at our next clinic on July 23! Please sign up! To learn more about the Pro Bono Committee and what they do visit probono.aabany.org
PBCS was extremely active in April! We ran the pro bono clinic in Manhattan for the first time this year on April 9, 2022. We couldn’t have run our clinics without the dedicated help from AABANY, the Pro Bono & Community Service (PBCS) Committee, Chinese Chamber of Commerce of New York (CCCNY), and volunteers. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to all volunteers for participating!
Thank you to all the following volunteers:
Francis Chin
Aaron Fong^
Jackson Chin
Teresa Wai Yee Yeung^
Karen Kithan Yau
Yvette Adiguzel^
Kelly Tang (CCCNY)^
Kwok Kei Ng
Min Jung Esther Choi
May Wong
^ = non-attorney volunteer
On April 9, we met with 17 clients – 3 spoke English and 14 spoke a second language (i.e., Mandarin or Cantonese). Many clients had mostly housing-related questions, as housing has always been a popular issue given the lack of resources and information available.
In fact, many legal services have stopped taking cases due to the shortage of staffing and heavy workloads. Unfortunately, due to space issues, we too will be suspending our Manhattan clinics until further notice.
However, we are continuing the Queens Pro Bono Clinics. In fact, on April 23, we had 14 AABANY volunteers present at our pro bono clinic! These volunteers assisted 13 clients who had questions related to immigration, torts, wills, trusts and estates, and referrals.
On March 26, 2022, the Pro Bono and Community Service (PBCS) Committee held its Pro Bono Clinic in Flushing, Queens at the offices of the Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE). We couldn’t have run our clinics without the dedicated help from AABANY, the PBCS Committee, AAFE, and volunteers. We are extremely grateful for our volunteers who traveled all the way from Manhattan and Brooklyn during the torrential rain and MTA’s weekend schedule to meet with clients who needed legal assistance.
Thank you to all the following volunteers:
Ashley Shan
Ashley Han^
Beatrice Leong
Meng Zhang
*Karen Lin (on-call)*
Phillip Pang*^
Eugene Kim
Xinyi Shen*^
Johnny Thach
Andrew Chang*^
May Wong
Vivian Lee*^
Ruihan (Yvette) Wang
Jennifer Park (not admitted)
Shengyang Wu
Zulma Vazquez (AAFE)^
Evelyn Gong*
Chen Yo (AAFE)^
Judy (Ming Chu) Lee*
Yini Fang (AAFE)^
Thomas Riley
Maria del Carmen Cruz (AAFE)^
Tong Wu
Gabriel Hisugan (AAFE)^
Wen-Hsien (Wendy) Cheng
^ = non-attorney volunteers
* = remote
On March 26, we met with 14 clients – 3 spoke English and 11 spoke a second language (ie: Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, or Korean). While a majority of the cases related to housing, we had a few cases involving torts, trusts and estates, family law, and immigration law.
One noteworthy case highlighted the point that not all matters need to be resolved through the courts. One of our volunteers was able to direct an individual who had a problem with a store purchase to seek recourse through filing complaints with NYC Department of Consumer Affairs, Better Business Bureau, or maybe even the media:
AABANY’s Pro Bono and Community Service (PBCS) Committee would like to thank all in-person and remote volunteers at the Flushing Clinic on February 26, 2022. PBCS is especially grateful to the Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) for hosting this clinic at their Community Center, for providing the coffee and snacks to keep participants alert and energized, and for the staff to interpret for the Spanish-speaking clients.
The clinic began at 11:00 AM with attorneys quickly being split up into three rooms to prep for the arrival of clients, with other volunteers preparing documents that needed to be handed out and information that needed to be collected. The clinic assisted 17 clients facing a variety of issues from tenant disputes, domestic violence, marriage and divorce, and loans and contracts.
With the help of AAFE and AABANY translators, clients with limited English proficiency were able to find the aid they needed from volunteer attorneys who were able to understand the nuances and emotions of their situations. For example, one client who only spoke Mandarin, had a temporary order of protection made against her by a family member, but the order was limited. Under the order, the client was permitted to return to the apartment, but the family member refused to let her back in. Many factors go into the enforcement of orders of protection, and it would be difficult in the limited time available for consultations at the clinic to fully analyze a given situation. However, the two volunteer attorneys assigned to help this client assisted her to the extent they could, pointing her towards other resources, and alerting her about specific laws that could apply to her situation.
This clinic could not have been possible without the gracious help of many AABANY members and committees. A special thank you to May Wong, a current Vice-Chair of PBCS, for organizing these Pro Bono Clinics, Eugene Kim, another Vice-Chair of PBCS, for serving as an attorney volunteer, and Committee Chair Judy Lee, for helping to prep the paperwork, attending the Prep Meeting the night before (2/25), and appearing virtually to advise clients. Additionally, thank you to Beatrice Leong, AABANY’s Membership Director and long time Pro Bono Clinic participant, for guiding newer volunteers, consoling a domestic violence victim, and assisting as a volunteer; Meng Zhang, for helping to translate and helping with the organization of the clinic; Evelyn Gong, Co-Chair of the Government Service and Public Interest (GSPI) Committee, for serving as an attorney volunteer, and Kevin Hsi, also a Co-Chair of GSPI, for serving as a volunteer.
PBCS greatly appreciates the law students from Columbia University who were able to attend and observe the clinics as part of their Caravan, a program in which law students spend their spring break working on pro bono projects.
