Tag: president

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AABANY Descends on Seattle for the NAPABA Convention

From Nov. 7 through 9, NAPABA held its National Convention in Seattle at the Hyatt Regency, for three days of programming, meetings, plenary sessions and the 36th Anniversary Gala capping things off on Saturday night.

AABANY members and friends once again came out in large numbers, with nearly 150 people signed up for AABANY’s WhatsApp group. The group’s members updated each other on programs they planned to attend, made lunch and dinner plans, and connected with each other about various receptions, parties and events around Seattle.

The AABANY Trial Reenactment Team presented its latest production, “AAPIs and Education: Tape v. Hurley and Gong Lum v. Rice” on Friday afternoon, Nov. 8, to a capacity audience. The program told the stories of Mamie Tape and Martha Lum and their efforts to fight discrimination in public education, through narration, reenactment of court proceedings and historic photographs. This was the sixteenth in a series of historic reenactments presented by the Asian American Bar Association of New York. For more information about AABANY’s trial reenactments, visit reenactments.aabany.org. 

We congratulate all the awardees and honorees recognized at the Convention, with special shout-outs to the following AABANY member honorees:

We also congratulate Sapna Palla, past AABANY President, and Anushree Bagrodia, current Co-Chair of AABANY’s In-House Counsel Committee, for joining the NAPABA Board as At-Large Members!

Thanks to all the outgoing NAPABA Board members for their service, and congratulations to AABANY member and past Board officer, Anna Mercado Clark, on her highly successful year as President.

We congratulate Muhammad Faridi, AABANY Member and President of the New York City Bar Association, on receiving the Pro Bono Service Award.

Thanks and congratulations to the many AABANY members who organized a panel or spoke at one. We know that it is not easy to get a program selected for the NAPABA Convention and that much hard work goes into putting on a quality program for the many attendees who come from across the continent to learn from you all. Please send us your photos and, if possible, a short recap about your program. You can send it to [email protected].

Many bonds were made and strengthened among AABANY attendees over the course of the Convention, and many new connections were made with the approximately 3400 registered attendees from across North America. Judging by many social media posts from those who attended, a great time was had by all. We hope everyone got back to New York City safe and sound, and we are looking forward to another inspiring NAPABA Convention when it moves to Denver, Colorado, Nov. 6-9, 2025.

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NAPABA Congratulates President-Elect Trump and Vice President-Elect Vance

WASHINGTON – As reported by the Associated Press, Donald J. Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, have earned a sufficient number of electoral votes to be the next President and Vice President of the United States. NAPABA congratulates them and is committed to working with the new administration and Congress to advance the interests of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community.

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization representing the interests of well over 80,000 AANHPI legal professionals. Our community is diverse, spanning across cultures, language, and political ideologies. NAPABA has worked diligently with presidents, administrations, and congressional members of both parties to advance the interests of our community.

As an organization of legal professionals, we bear a special responsibility to uphold the rule of law. NAPABA will continue to advance justice, with the AANHPI community at the forefront along with all communities of color, our values, and our policy positions. We must partner together, despite our political differences, for our country to achieve progress.

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NAPABA Applauds Eleventh Circuit Ruling Halting Enforcement of Florida’s Discriminatory Alien Land Law

For Immediate Release: 
Date: February 2, 2024 		Contact: Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director for Policy 

WASHINGTON – In the ongoing litigation against Florida’s discriminatory alien land law (“SB 264”), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit granted a preliminary injunction yesterday in favor of two of the plaintiffs and halted enforcement of the law against them. In temporarily blocking SB 264, the court held that the plaintiffs demonstrated a substantial likelihood that the statute is preempted by federal law and that they have shown an imminent risk that the law would cause them irreparable harm. The plaintiffs, lawfully present Chinese immigrants, first brought the suit because they were stymied in their efforts to purchase homes when the law went into effect.

“We are grateful that the court recognized the real harm that discriminatory statutes such as SB 264 are imposing on the Asian American community,” said Anna Mercado Clark, President of NAPABA. “As litigation continues, NAPABA will continue to oppose alien land laws, whether in the halls of Congress, in statehouses, or in court, until these discriminatory policies return to the dustbin of history, where they belong.”

In a robust concurrence, Judge Nancy Abudu acknowledged that “SB 264 was enacted for the specific purpose of targeting people of Chinese descent.” Judge Abudu concluded that the plaintiffs have shown a substantial likelihood that statute also violated the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. In doing so, Judge Abudu excoriated the District Court’s fraught reliance on the widely discredited century-old Terrace v. Thompson, 263 U.S. 197 (1923), case, determining that it “may have had support in 1923, but it is now 2024” and such laws are now subject to strict scrutiny.

NAPABA, together with its four Florida affiliates, joined an amicus brief before the Eleventh Circuit in the case, continuing our long history for over a decade of leading efforts to overcome the state’s legacy of anti-Asian alien land laws. This includes when Florida became the last state in the United States over five years ago to abolish such discriminatory language from its constitution, only to enact SB 264 last year. Throughout the country, NAPABA and its affiliates continue to fight these discriminatory measures through legislative advocacy and educating lawmakers and the wider public on the painful history and legal implications of wrongfully restricting the property rights of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.

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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.

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Congratulations to AABANY President William Ng on Being Named to the City & State 2023 Law Power 100 List

On March 20, City & State published their 2023 list of the Law Power 100 in New York. As stated in the article: 

City & State’s Law Power 100 recognizes the most influential legal professionals in the world of New York politics and government. The list features high-profile elected officials, powerful prosecutors, high-ranking appointees, partners at prominent firms, defense attorneys, public defenders, legal scholars and others in the profession who advise or oversee governmental bodies, advocate for policy changes or argue cases before our highest courts. 

AABANY is pleased to announce that President William Ng has been named one of City & State’s Law Power 100 at 96 on the list. (At the time of publication, William Ng was AABANY President. His term ended on March 31, and he currently sits on the Board as Immediate Past President.)

Please join AABANY in congratulating William Ng along with attorneys from the following affinity bar associations that were featured in the 2023 Law Power 100 List (numbers in parentheses indicate ranking):

·      Carl Forbes Jr., President, Metropolitan Black Bar Association (93)

·      Deborah Rosenthal, President, Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (95)

·      Anthony Perrotto, Board President, LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York (97)

·      Megha Jain, President, South Asian Bar Association of New York (99)

·      Lejla Hadzic, President, Muslim Bar Association of New York (100)

We also congratulate the attorneys from the following AABANY sponsors (2022-23) for being featured on the 2023 Law Power 100 List (numbers in parentheses indicate ranking): 

·      Barry Berke, Jeffrey Braun & Gary Naftalis, Partner; Counsel; Partner, Kramer Levin– Platinum Sponsor (13)

·      Jonathan Lippman, Of Counsel, Latham & Watkins– Silver Sponsor (17)

·      Brad Karp & Jeh Johnson, Chair; Partner, Paul Weiss– Platinum Sponsor (29)

·       Neil Barr, Chair and Managing Partner, Davis Polk– Platinum Sponsor (34)

·      Jon Mechanic, Melanie Meyers & David Karnovsky, Partners, Fried Frank– Silver Sponsor (35)

·      Boyd Johnson & Preet Bharara, Partner-in-Charge, New York Office; Partner, WilmerHale– Silver Sponsor (37)

·      Neil Rock, Partner, Skadden– Silver Sponsor (39)

·      Faiza Saeed, Presiding Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore– Gold Sponsor (42)

·      Michael Cardozo & Paul Salvatore, Retired Partner; Partner, Proskauer Rose– Silver Sponsor (44)

·      David Boies, Chair and Managing Partner, Boies Schiller Flexner– Bronze Sponsor (49)

·      Kevin M. Hogan, Managing Partner, Phillips Lytle LLP– Silver Sponsor (67)

·      Glen G. McGorty, New York Managing Partner, Crowell & Moring LLP– Silver Sponsor (81)

Congratulations to our sister affinity bar associations and our 2022-23 sponsors and to everyone who made the 2023 Law Power List 100. For the full list, click here.  

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AABANY Member Profile: Vincent T. Chang Becomes First AAPI President of NYCLA

Vincent T. Chang, active member of AABANY since 2000 and former AABANY President in 2007, was inducted as the first Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) President of the New York County Lawyers’ Association (NYCLA) on May 28, 2021. In his new role, Vince is prepared to lead NYCLA in supporting diverse communities, reaching out to more young attorneys and law students, and closing the justice gap to serve those in the community who are most in need.

Since high school, Vince gravitated towards pursuing a career in the legal profession. Involved in both his high school and college debate teams, Vince found overlapping aspects between debate and law. In presenting an argument, he noticed both involve research, assembly of evidence, and oral presentation. After graduating cum laude from Harvard Law School, he clerked for the Honorable Robert Krupansky of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit before joining Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP in 1989. Being familiar with litigation from his experience in debate and serving as a judicial clerk in a Federal appellate court, Vince chose to practice in litigation. Currently, Vince is a Litigation Partner at Wollmuth Maher & Deutsch LLP in New York specializing in complex commercial litigation matters in the financial industry, including investment banking, hedge funds, and mortgage backed securities.

Outside of his work at the law firm, Vince is an active member of numerous bar associations and organizations, and has served and continues to serve in various leadership positions. To name a few, Vince previously served on the New York State Bar Association Committee of Bar Leaders, on the Board of Directors at Legal Services NYC, and is currently the Vice President of the Asian American Law Fund of New York. Although he might be affectionately called a “Bar Junkie,” Vince did not participate in bar association work until later on in his career.

The first bar association Vince joined was AABANY, and he appreciated both the social and intellectual aspects of the association. He enjoyed the opportunity to learn about different areas of law while also being able to network and meet prominent lawyers. One of his fondest memories of serving as President of AABANY in 2007 was hosting the Annual Dinner because it was a rare event for 500 to 600 AAPI lawyers, including General Counsels and Judges, to all gather in the same room in New York City. This was especially significant because at the time there were at most 400 members in AABANY compared to the 1,500 members AABANY has now.

At AABANY, Vince also played a prominent role in organizing the AABANY Trial Reenactments. With a goal to educate lawyers and the public about the notable trials and cases in U.S. history involving AAPIs, Vince assisted Judge Denny Chin and Kathy Hirata Chin to develop scripts for the productions. Since 2007, Vince has starred as a cast member in numerous reenactments at the annual NAPABA conventions and at other events. He most recently played Fred Korematsu in the “Fred Korematsu and His Fight For Justice” reenactment in November 2019 at the NAPABA convention.

Today, Vince is the first AAPI President of NYCLA, which was the first bar association to admit women and lawyers of color into its membership. He views his role as both an honor and a serious responsibility—an honor because past presidents include esteemed individuals and a responsibility because of his duty to represent AAPIs and serve as a role model. At a time when diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the forefront of many bar associations’ and law firms’ missions, NYCLA plans to be more interactive with young lawyers, especially diverse attorneys, by reaching out to law schools, affinity bar groups, and law firms. Vince also plans for NYCLA to remain relevant on public policy issues and respond to them in a timely manner. He hopes that “taking positions that affect diverse communities will make them notice and realize NYCLA is on their side.”

A common theme of Vince’s work is the pursuit of justice to not only improve the legal profession, but to also improve the quality of legal representation for individuals in the community. He has served on the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary to review federal judicial nominees; sat on a NYCLA panel at a public hearing to address the impact of budget cuts on the Judiciary; served on the Disciplinary Committee for the First Department to prosecute disciplinary complaints against lawyers in Manhattan; and worked on other initiatives to minimize the justice gap. Vince plans to continue working on this at NYCLA as “access to justice is a hallmark of what bar associations and NYCLA are aiming for.” One program NYCLA has planned is to support attorneys who represent indigent persons through the Assigned Counsel Plan (18b). Under the proposed program, by increasing the rate at which assigned counsel are paid, there will hopefully be an increase of lawyers interested in doing 18b work, which will further decrease the access-to-justice gap. NYCLA also hopes to revive their Special Masters Program to provide an opportunity for young attorneys to gain experience working with the court system, and to close the gap between court workload and staff gap. At NYCLA’s AAPI Heritage Month Celebration on June 2nd, Vince vowed to continue to uphold NYCLA’s focus on sustaining the rule of law including the importance of practicing diversity, equity and inclusion in furtherance of fairness and justice for all.

Please join AABANY in congratulating Vince on becoming the first AAPI President of NYCLA and for doing all the work he does to support communities. We wish Vince great success in his vital new role as NYCLA President! To learn more about NYCLA, visit its website at https://www.nycla.org/. AABANY members who join NYCLA for the first time are eligible to receive 50% off their annual dues the first year and 25% off the second year. For more details, click here.

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In the News: Judge James Cho and President Terry Shen in NYLJ

AABANY President Terry Shen was quoted in a New York Law Journal article published on April 6, 2021 titled “Former Federal Prosecutor Named US Magistrate Judge in Brooklyn.” The article highlights AABANY Past President James Cho, who was sworn in on Monday, April 5 as the Eastern District of New York’s newest magistrate judge and the district’s first Korean American judge. 

In the article, Terry Shen was quoted praising the appointment as “another important step” toward more diversity on the bench. Speaking more about Judge Cho, Terry said: “In his time as president of AABANY, Judge Cho displayed a combination of insightful leadership, work ethic, and commitment to public service that will undoubtedly equip him to be an exceptional federal judge. We congratulate Mr. Cho on this outstanding achievement.” 

To read the full article on Law.com, please click here (subscription may be required).

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AABANY Hosts First Membership Mixer via Zoom on April 1

On April 1, 2020, AABANY held its first Monthly Membership Mixer virtually on Zoom. Over 25 people joined Brian Song, who became the Immediate Past President, and Sapna Palla, who officially became the President of AABANY on the same day.

Brian remarked how it had been a tremendous honor for him to serve as President of AABANY for the past year. He was amazed at how the year went by so quickly and thanked everyone for their support and dedication in making 2019 a successful year for AABANY.

Sapna next spoke about how pleased she was to be taking on the Presidency and how AABANY’s theme of “Stronger Together: Unity in Diversity” is extremely fitting in the current situation. Sapna noted that AABANY is an exceptional community, and by sticking together, we will definitely get through this tough situation. She also encouraged people to reach out to each other professionally and socially via online platforms like Zoom until things return to normal.

Chris Kwok informed attendees about an upcoming webinar he is working on with NAPABA taking place on April 3. The webinar will discuss the rise in racist attacks against Asian Americans fueled by misinformation surrounding the spread of COVID-19 and what we can do to counter them.

Yang Chen and Chris Kwok also discussed the stimulus bill that recently passed to provide economic support to millions of Americans and businesses that are suffering as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. AABANY is working on distilling the bill down to clarify who it covers and the type of relief they are eligible for under the new bill.

Lastly, the virtual floor was opened up to all attendees for a free discussion. Members discussed the current situation and what AABANY can do to engage its members and serve the overall Asian American community in this new normal.

Overall, our first meeting on Zoom was very lively and went smoothly. In the coming weeks, AABANY is planning on hosting more and more programs online, including CLEs and informative webinars. Stay tuned!

Thanks to everyone that attended the mixer.

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Here is the intro video for Glenn Lau-Kee when he was honored back in April during the Museum of Chinese in America’s Celebration of Community Heroes. The video mentions Glenn’s leadership as AABANY President (1997-98) and as the first Asian American President of the New York State Bar Association (2014-15). AABANY Executive Director Yang Chen appears in the video, along with other community leaders, to salute Glenn and his contributions to not just the Asian American community but the larger community as well. Thank you, Glenn, for all that you do. You are truly an inspiration to us all and a genuine Community Hero. Congratulations, again!

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
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Rise in hate crimes, divisive rhetoric prompts bar groups to act

Rise in hate crimes, divisive rhetoric prompts bar groups to act

NAPABA President Cyndie Chang is quoted in this ABA article about NAPABA and other bar groups combatting the current rise in hate of crimes across the nation.

“To provide our membership and the greater Asian-American community with resources to help victims of racism and hate crimes, our organization [NAPABA] has created a toolkit of hate-crime resources for attorneys and bar associations developed over a period of months,” [Chang] says.

The toolkit contains a comprehensive definition of hate crimes, information on how to report one, sources of pro bono legal services and community education, statements from other bar associations, and additional resources.

For the complete article, follow the link in the title.

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Meet the Affinity Bar Group Presidents

Meet the Affinity Bar Group Presidents

AABANY President Susan Shin was featured in The New York Law Journal:

Susan Shin, 43, is a partner at Arnold & Porter practicing complex business litigation. She is a 2001 graduate of Columbia Law School. Prior to joining Arnold & Porter she clerked for Eastern District Judge Raymond J. Dearie.

Shin’s term began on April 1.

Additional officers are president-elect Dwight Yoo; immediate past president William Wang; vice president of programs and operations Marianne Chow; vice president of finance and development William Ng; treasurer Amy Ngai; and secretary Ligee Gu.

During her term, Shin plans to work with other officers, the board of the association and committee chairs to invigorate and actively engage the association’s roughly 1,100 members to take part in the association’s theme for 2016: “Speak up, Rise up, and Lift up,” which calls on members to work together, help each other advance and succeed, be vocal in affecting positive change at firms, companies and organizations at which we work and devote time to mentor and train young Asian American lawyers.

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