We extend our sincere gratitude to AAFE, AABANY, AALFNY, PBCS, and all the dedicated volunteers who contributed to the success of our Pro Bono Legal Clinic in Manhattan on October 15th, 2025.
During the clinic, our volunteers provided free legal services and information to 16 clients, addressing a range of matters including housing, immigration, family and matrimonial, estate and property. Our volunteer attorneys and interpreters thoughtfully addressed client concerns, offered clarity through their answers, and facilitated connections to appropriate legal resources via AABANY’s Legal Referral and Information Service (LRIS).
We are committed to offering services in both Mandarin and Cantonese to ensure continued support for individuals facing linguistic or cultural barriers when seeking guidance on substantive and procedural legal matters.
We thank all the volunteers at the October 15th Manhattan Pro Bono Clinic for their time, professionalism, and dedication:
Volunteer Attorneys:
Yen Yi Anderson
Jack (Zixu) Hsia
Justin Lee
Beatrice Leong
Arthur Lin
Jieman Tan
Anthony Wong
Gary Yeung
Interpreters/shadowers:
Kaleah Haddock
Emily Kam
Nikita Kohli
Qi (Ellie) Wang
Ruixuan Yi
Shang Zhai
Wendy Zeng
We invite you to continue supporting our community by joining us at our upcoming pro bono clinics:
November 8th [Brooklyn link here], from 12:30 – 3:30pm, CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232
November 19th [Manhattan link here] from 6:30-8:30pm, AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk Street, NY, NY 10002. This clinic is preceded by an Immigration Basics Training at 6pm.
December 3rd [Queens link here], from 6:30 – 8:30pm, One Flushing Community Center, 133-29 41st Ave, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355. This clinic is preceded by an Immigration Basics Training at 6pm.
We look forward to your participation in our future clinics! To learn more about how you can get involved with AABANY’s Pro Bono Clinics, visit probono.aabany.org.
We thank our volunteers and partners for their invaluable contributions to the Queens Pro Bono Legal Clinic on October 1st, 2025. We extend our sincere gratitude to the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), the Asian American for Equity (AAFE), AALFNY, AABANY, all of our dedicated volunteers and the MOIA immigration resource workshop participants.
We especially thank Commissioner Manuel Castro, Lily Liang, Community Liaison, and Shaina Torres, Director of Communications and Strategic Initiatives from the NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) for their insightful community education training and for sharing MOIA resources with us to help create a better and safer New York City for everyone.
Thanks to our volunteers’ dedication, we were able to assist 15 clients with a wide range of legal concerns, including housing, immigration, matrimonial and family law, employment, and criminal cases.
Our volunteer attorneys and interpreters demonstrated exceptional patience and commitment in addressing client questions, offering guidance, and connecting them with further legal support through AABANY’s Legal Referral and Information Service (LRIS). We are proud to offer our services in both Mandarin and Cantonese, allowing us to continue our mission of providing crucial support to individuals facing linguistic or cultural barriers in accessing quality legal care.
Too often, those who face language barriers find themselves overwhelmed and powerless in the face of a complex legal system. Without access to interpretation or culturally informed advocacy, they may not fully understand their rights or the options available to them. Seeing the fear and uncertainty in their eyes is a stark reminder of the urgent need for accessible legal aid.
For many of the AABANY volunteers, this mission is deeply personal. As children or descendants of immigrants, our attorneys and interpreters understand firsthand the struggles that accompany language barriers, cultural misunderstandings, and systemic inequities. Helping these clients is, in many ways, like helping our own parents, neighbors, and communities – a way to honor those who paved the way before us and ensure that others today do not face the same struggles alone.
AABANY remains steadfast in its commitment to give back to AAPI communities, advancing access to justice and empowerment to those who have been marginalized by the barriers of language, culture, or circumstance.
Here are some of the clients’ comments from this evening’s pro bono clinic:
“I felt truly listened to; the attorneys explained everything clearly and patiently.”
“Very wonderful legal service.”
“Made me feel less alone in my situation.”
We thank the following volunteer attorneys:
Wendy (Wen-Hsien) Cheng
Richard In
Johnny Thach
Yilan Wang
Anthony Wong
May Wong
Helen Wu
Gary Yeung
Our sincere appreciation also goes to our dedicated interpreters and shadowers:
Nandar Win Kerr
Ruixuan Yi
Wendy Zeng
Shang Zhai
Jessie Zhou
We invite you to continue supporting our community by joining us at our upcoming pro bono clinics:
November 8th [Brooklyn link here], from 12:30 – 3:30pm, CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232
November 19th [Manhattan link here] from 6:30-8:30pm, AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk Street, NY, NY 10002
December 3rd [Queens link here], from 6:30 – 8:30pm, One Flushing Community Center, 133-29 41st Ave, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355
Future Community Education Speaker and Topic Announcement
In collaboration with the Issue Committee, Vishal Chander, one of PBCS Committee’s incredible volunteers and Issues Committee Co-Chair, will provide 30-minutes Basic Immigration training Part 1 on November 19th at Manhattan Clinic and Part 2 on December 3rd at Queens Clinic from 6 – 6:30pm.
This training series will prepare lawyers and law students the fundamentals of advising pro bono clients who are or have family in removal (deportation) proceedings. CLE credits will be given to attorneys who attend both trainings.
We look forward to your participation in our future clinics!
We extend our sincere gratitude to AABANY, AALFNY, PBCS, CPC, RaisingHealth and all the dedicated volunteers who contributed to the success of our pro bono legal clinic and our community outreach activity at RaisingHealth’s Health Empowerment Celebration in Brooklyn on September 20th, 2025.
Kwok Kei Ng (Co-Chair), May Wong (former Co-Chair) and Nandar Win Kerr (Treasurer and Impact Consultant) of the Pro Bono and Community Service (PBCS) Committee hosted a community outreach table at the RaisingHealth’s Health Empowerment Celebration event. We effectively referred guests with legal questions to the pro bono legal clinic in real-time and distributed “Know-Your-Rights” brochures on immigration law in Chinese and Spanish, upcoming pro bono clinic flyers, and information about AABANY’s legal referral and information service. Our participation highlights our commitment to community lawyering and addressing current immigration rights issues, including constitutional rights and fraudulent schemes targeting vulnerable immigrants. By utilizing our legal knowledge, language skills, and resources, we aim to build relationships with local communities and advocate for policy and social changes.
During the clinic, our small but mighty team of volunteers provided invaluable assistance to 28 clients, addressing a range of legal matters including housing, immigration, civil litigation, personal injury and employment. Our volunteer attorneys and interpreters thoughtfully addressed client concerns, offered clarity through their answers, and facilitated connections to appropriate legal resources via AABANY’s Legal Referral and Information Service (LRIS).
We are committed to offering services in both Mandarin and Cantonese to ensure continued support for individuals facing linguistic or cultural barriers when seeking guidance on substantive and procedural legal matters.
We especially want to thank all the volunteers at the September 20th Brooklyn Pro Bono Clinic for their time, professionalism, and invaluable contributions. Your dedication, including staying later than necessary to ensure no guest was turned away, is truly admirable.
Volunteer attorneys:
Ben Choi
Arthur Lin
Kwok Kei Ng
May Wong
Jameson Xu
Karen Yau
Interpreters/shadowers: Elaine Ou Yang
Qi (Ellie) Wang
Francisco Yau-Smith
Wendy Zeng
We invite you to continue supporting our community by joining us at our upcoming Pro Bono Clinics:
October 1st [Queens link here], from 6:30 – 8:30pm, One Flushing Community Center, 133-29 41st Ave, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355 (We have guest speakers from NYC MOIA regarding immigration resources. Please join us!)
October 15th [Manhattan link here] from 6:30-8:30pm, AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk Street, NY, NY 10002
November 8th [Brooklyn link here], from 12:30 – 3:30pm, CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232
Thanks once again to all our volunteers for attending the Pro Bono Clinic. We look forward to your participation in our future clinics!
To learn more about the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee, visit probono.aabany.org.
We extend our sincere gratitude to AABANY, AALFNY, PBCS, AAFE, and all the dedicated volunteers who contributed to the success of our pro bono legal clinic in Manhattan on August 20, 2025.
During the clinic, our volunteers provided invaluable assistance to 13 clients, addressing a range of legal matters including housing, immigration, civil litigation, personal injury and employment. Our volunteer attorneys and interpreters thoughtfully addressed client concerns, offered clarity through their answers, and facilitated connections to appropriate legal resources via AABANY’s Legal Referral and Information Service (LRIS).
We are committed to offering services in both Mandarin and Cantonese to ensure continued support for individuals facing linguistic or cultural barriers when seeking guidance on substantive and procedural legal matters.
Thanks again to all the volunteers at the August 20th Manhattan Pro Bono Clinic for their time, professionalism, and contribution:
Volunteer attorneys:
Vishal Chander
Marcus Cheung
Francis Chin
Justin Lee
Beatrice Leong
Lily Li
Andrew Sun
Peter Wei
Cecilia Yang
Gary Yeung
Interpreters/shadowers:
Sam Hou
Emily Kam
Xiaofei (Lucy) Liu
Dazhen Lu
Albert Tong
Shang Zhai
We invite you to continue supporting our community by joining us at our upcoming Pro Bono Clinics:
September 17th [Manhattan link here] from 6:30-8:30pm, AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk Street, NY, NY 10002
September 20th [Brooklyn link here], from 12:30 – 3:30pm, CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232
October 1st [Queens link here], from 6:30 – 8:30pm, One Flushing Community Center, 133-29 41st Ave, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355
Thanks once again to all our volunteers for attending the Pro Bono Clinic. We look forward to your participation in our future clinics!
To learn more about the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee, visit probono.aabany.org.
We extend our sincere gratitude to AABANY, the Asian American Law Fund of New York (AALFNY), AABANY’s Pro Bono & Community Service (PBCS) Committee, Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE), and our dedicated volunteers for contributing to the success of our pro bono legal clinic in Queens on August 6th, 2025.
The clinic began with an orientation by Gary Yeung, Co-Chair of the PBCS committee, where volunteers were instructed on how to fill out intake forms and interact professionally with the clients.
At the clinic, our volunteers offered essential support to clients facing challenges in housing, worker’s compensation, finance, and immigration. Seasoned volunteer attorneys, along with student observers and interpreters, helped alleviate client stress by providing legal insights, language assistance, and access to a broad range of legal resources including referrals to AABANY’s Legal Referral and Information Service (LRIS).
College and law students gained legal knowledge and experience through shadowing, notetaking, and asking intake questions. Many clients had limited proficiency in English, and volunteers who spoke Mandarin and Cantonese aided both attorneys and clients by acting as interpreters.
Clients most frequently encountered housing-related issues and immigration issues. These included problems such as co‑op boards neglecting to hold their required annual shareholder meetings and landlords breaching leases. Clients also brought concerns about their loved ones’ immigration status, for example, asking if they would be let back into the country if they were to travel outside the United States. Volunteers helped clients understand their circumstances and outlined general next steps should they choose to pursue further legal action.
Many volunteers stayed afterwards to connect. Law students were able to converse with experienced lawyers about the types of problems encountered during the client consultations and asked them further questions about their various legal fields. Afterwards, some remaining volunteers went to grab dessert at Yuan Yang, located on Prince Street nearby.
We thank again all the volunteers at the August 6th Queens Pro Bono Clinic for their time, professionalism, and contribution:
Lawyers
Wendy Cheng
Richard In
Lord Chester So
Wendell Y. Tong
May Wong
Meng Zhang
Shadowers
Katelyn Hai
Cindy Huang
Nikita Kohli
Haau-Yi Li
Zhibiao Peng
Albert Tong
Shang Zhai
Haoyue Wang
We invite you to continue supporting our community by joining us at our upcoming Pro Bono Clinics:
August 20th [Manhattan link here] from 6:30-8:30pm, AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk Street, NY, NY 10002
September 17th [Manhattan link here] from 6:30-8:30pm, AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk Street, NY, NY 10002
September 20th [Brooklyn link here], from 12:30 – 3:30pm, CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232
Thanks once again to all our volunteers for attending the Pro Bono Clinic.
We look forward to your participation in our future clinics!
To learn more about the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee, visit probono.aabany.org.
On Saturday, January 11th, AABANY members had the opportunity to volunteer at AABANY’s Brooklyn Pro Bono Legal Clinic, hosted by the Chinese-American Planning Council. The Clinic was organized by AABANY’s Pro Bono and Community Service (PBCS) Committee, staffed by a dedicated team of attorney and non-attorney volunteers, offering free thirty-minute legal consultations for community members facing serious legal challenges. This was the first Clinic of the year, and volunteers met with 14 clients, who asked questions about divorce, immigration, and housing.
The Clinic facilitated a supportive and inclusive space for all in attendance. Attorneys were paired one-on-one with clients to carefully address their legal concerns, while interpreters ensured smooth communication for non-English speakers. Shadowers had the opportunity to sit in on attorney-client conversations, taking notes and learning from these real-world interactions. Through this collaborative effort, the Clinic demonstrated its ongoing commitment to fostering community involvement and empowering individuals.
With the current change of presidential administration, many immigrants are uncertain what will come next. As concerned public interest organizations, we want to protect and prepare our vulnerable clients the best we can. We greatly appreciate that immigration attorneys and legal services are taking their time to keep us updated with the law and providing accessible resources for our clients to know their rights. Please check out the Immigration Coalition’s website at https://www.nyic.org/ and Asian American Legal Defense Education Fund’s website at https://www.aaldef.org/ to learn more!
Thank you to our volunteer attorneys at the January 11 Brooklyn Pro Bono Clinic:
Volunteer Attorneys
Beatrice Leong
Gary Yeung
Kwok Kei Ng
May Wong
Victoria Cheng
Interpreters & Shadowers
Junjie Wang
Nandar Win Kerr
Xiaocen Zhang
Shuyao (Sherry) Wang
If you’re interested in volunteering at future AABANY Pro Bono Clinics, please consider joining us at the following upcoming events:
February 5, 2024 [register here], from 6:00 – 8:30pm, One Flushing Community Center,133-29 41st Ave, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355
February 19, 2025 [register here], from 6:00 – 8:30pm, AAFE Community Center,111 Norfolk Street, NY, NY 10002
We hope to see you there and wish you a happy Lunar New Year!
To learn more about the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee, visit probono.aabany.org.
On Friday, December 6, 2024, AABANY hosted its Annual Holiday Party at Sugar Mouse, a social club located in the East Village. Registration reached capacity within just a few weeks of opening, a clear indication of AABANY members’ excitement for this event. In total, the party had over 70 attendees, arriving as early as 6:30pm and staying well into the night.
Participants enjoyed an open bar as well as a variety of food, including burgers, pizza, and mozzarella sticks. Members networked with one another, discussing their backgrounds, careers, and professional experiences, reconnecting with old friends while also introducing themselves to new faces. Those not eating or networking enjoyed the venue’s pool, ping pong, and foosball tables.
Thank you to Steno for sponsoring and supporting this event.
During the night Beatrice Leong, Co-Chair of AABANY’s Pro Bono and Community Service Committee, thanked everyone for attending and asked them to donate to AABANY’s Pro Bono Clinic by pledging a desired amount via text or by scanning a QR code projected on the venue’s walls. AABANY’s Pro Bono Clinic has won a number of awards over the years, and meets once a month in Manhattan and on a bi-monthly basis in Queens and Brooklyn. Even though volunteers donate their time, running these clinic’s costs money and donations to support this initiatives are always welcome. If you are interested in donating to the Pro Bono Clinic you can still do so by clicking here.
We appreciate everyone who attended and made it such a lively and exciting experience. To view all the photos from this event, please click here.
We wish everyone a happy holiday season and hope to see you at upcoming events in the New Year!
On December 4th, volunteers had the opportunity to participate in AABANY’s Pro Bono Legal Clinic in Queens, hosted by the Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE). The clinic was organized by AABANY’s Pro Bono and Community Service (PBCS) Committee, with a dedicated team of attorney and non-attorney volunteers providing free thirty-minute legal consultations to members of the community facing various legal challenges.
The volunteers met with 11 clients, answering questions related to housing, torts, and contracts. One key issue that came up frequently was unreasonable rent increases. As New York continues to grow more expensive, attorneys volunteering at our clinics would be well-served with some basic knowledge to protect tenants’ rights.
Under the Good Cause Eviction law, tenants in covered housing are protected against unreasonable rent increases that exceed the local rent standard. The local rent standard is determined annually based on the inflation rate in the area, plus 5%, with a maximum cap of 10%. As of May 1, 2024, the local rent standard for the New York City area is 8.82%, which means any rent increase over this percentage may be considered unreasonable by the court, provided it occurred after April 20, 2024. See here: https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/good-cause-eviction.page.
Landlords may provide justification for higher rent increases, such as significant repairs or increased property taxes, but the final decision rests with the court. Pro Bono Clinic attorneys encourage all tenants to open their mail and file an answer in court to protect their rights.
Clients expressed gratitude for the assistance, including the following comments:
“Extremely grateful. Appreciative of your supported services. Helped me decide on many of my bigger problems.”
“Attorney Yeung’s attitude was superb – he provided translation and advice.”
Thank you again to our volunteers:
Volunteer Attorneys
Beatrice Leong
Gary Yeung
Johnny Thach
Kevin Hsi
Lina Lee
Jack Chen
May Wong
Richard In
Interpreters & Shadowers
Eugene Seong
Xiaocen Zhang
Xuxia Zhao
Please come back and join us at our upcoming clinics:
December 18, 2024, from 6:30 – 8:30pm, AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk Street, NY, NY 10002, sign up here (please register by 12pm, 12/16/2024)
January 11, 2025, from 12:00 – 2:30pm, CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232, sign up here (please register by 12pm, 01/08/2025)
January 15, 2025, from 6:30 – 8:00pm, AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk Street, NY, NY 10002, sign up here (please register by 12pm, 01/13/2025)
Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!
DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this blog post should be deemed to be legal advice. Do not take any action or refrain from any action in reliance on anything contained in this blog post.
On Saturday, November 9th, AABANY members had the opportunity to volunteer at AABANY’s Brooklyn Pro Bono Legal Clinic, hosted by the Chinese-American Planning Council. The Clinic was organized by AABANY’s Pro Bono and Community Service (PBCS) Committee, staffed by a dedicated team of attorney and non-attorney volunteers, offering free thirty-minute legal consultations for community members facing pressing legal challenges. The volunteers met with 17 clients, who had questions about torts, family, matrimonial, and immigration issues.
As usual, the Clinic facilitated a positive and supportive environment; each client was paired with an attorney, who thoughtfully listened to and addressed their legal concerns. Shadowers observed the attorneys in action, taking notes and learning from these real-world interactions. Language interpreters were also available, ensuring that there were no language barriers between clients and attorneys. This collaboration reflected the Clinic’s commitment to community engagement and empowerment.
Thank you again to our volunteer attorneys:
Volunteer Attorneys
Anna Chen
Jieman Tan
Gary Yeung
May Wong
Interpreters & Shadowers
Jaymark Hawlader
Junjie Wang
Nandar Win Kerr
Wendy Zeng
If you’re interested in making a difference in the community through future Pro Bono Clinics, we invite you to join us at the following upcoming events:
Wednesday, December 4, 2024 [register here], from 6:00 – 8:30pm, One Flushing Community Center, 133-29 41st Ave, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355
Saturday, January 11, 2025 [register here], from 12:00 – 2:30pm, Tentative Location – CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232
We hope to see you there!
To learn more about the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee, visit probono.aabany.org.
We would like to thank the Chinatown Manpower Project (CMP) for the opportunity to present again at their business workshop on October 26, 2024, which focused on forming business entities and partnership agreements. We extend our significant gratitude to May Wong, Co-Chair of the Professional Development Committee and former Co-Chair of the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee, for her insightful and engaging discussion on these topics and for providing valuable referrals for entrepreneurs aspiring to establish a business in New York City.
Many immigrants arrive in the United States seeking better economic prospects and face barriers to traditional employment, such as language differences and lack of local networks. CMP (https://www.cmpny.org/) offers employment support to people from all walks of life, including immigrants and second-generation immigrants. CMP also hosts comprehensive entrepreneurial workshops and seminars, provides one-on-one consulting services to small business clients, and refers clients to partnering resource organizations for government assistance, legal consultation, financial literacy, and micro-lending.
AABANY collaborates with CMP to create this legal workshop to help small business owners and the next entrepreneurs. AABANY also helps advise small business owners and young entrepreneurs at our upcoming legal clinics. We invite you to join AABANY’s upcoming Pro Bono Clinics taking place on:
November 20th, 2024 at 6:00pm – Manhattan Pro Bono Clinic at AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk St, New York, NY 10002. Sign up here to volunteer – https://forms.gle/SD2VMY8X6yE4vsxW9
December 4th, 2024 at 6:00pm – Queens Pro Bono Clinic at AAFE, One Flushing Community Center, 133-29 41st Ave, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355. Sign up here to volunteer- https://forms.gle/3LeM9KtqMn8CcNUc6
To learn more about AABANY’s Pro Bono & Community Service Committee and their activities, go to probono.aabany.org.
