PBCS volunteers, comprising volunteer attorneys and law students, met with 18 clients and provided guidance on a range of legal issues, including housing, immigration, real property, trusts and estates, labor and employment, family law, tax, public benefits, and civil litigation. Clients who needed further assistance were directed to AABANY’s Legal Referral and Information Service (LRIS), a resource that connects clients with qualified attorneys to represent them.
We had a large turnout at this clinic, including many new and old clients and volunteer attorneys. With the help of our attorneys and translators, we efficiently provided assistance for clients with multi-year old disputes, predetermined court dates, and emerging cases. One client expressed that they were “very impressed“ with the professionalism of the services provided.
While providing legal aid, our volunteer attorneys, shadowers, and interpreters gained a deeper understanding of the clients’ personal struggles and life stories, connecting them with deeply moving narratives that will permanently inspire and guide them throughout their future careers.
We thank the following volunteers for attending the Manhattan Pro Bono Clinic:
Attorneys
Francis Chin
Jack Hsia
Beatrice Leong
Arthur Lin
Kwok Kei Ng
Jasmine Tan
Hin Ton Wong
Gary Yeung
Interpreters/shadowers
Helen Ding
Cheri Chaibut
Kaitlyn Cheng
Qiao Kang
Nandar Win Kerr
Momo Sano
Allison Yu
Wendy Zeng
Zhiyi Zhang
Assisting amidst the rainstorm and showing up to serve those in need despite unbearable heat and unhealthy air quality, their dedication to our community was on full display.
We appreciate their dedicated service, serving as an inspiration to the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee.
We invite you to continue supporting our community by joining us at our upcoming Pro Bono Clinics:
– August 5th [Queens linkhere], from 6:30 – 8:30pm, AAFE One Flushing Community Center, 133-29 41st Ave, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355
– August 19th [Manhattan link here] from 6:30-8:30pm, AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk Street, NY, NY 10002
– September 12th [Brooklyn link here] from 12:30-2:30pm, CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11232
To learn more about the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee, visit probono.aabany.org.
We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming clinic sessions.
During Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month this May, Kwok Kei Ng, Co-Chair of AABANY’s Pro Bono and Community Service Committee, was honored with two awards for his contributions to the AANHPI community. Kwok received the Hon. Randall T. Eng Award at the Fourth Annual Hon. Randall T. Eng Award Program as well as the Power in Unity: Strengthening Communities Together Award at the Second Judicial District Equal Justice Committee’s celebration of AAPI Heritage Month: “Power in Unity: Strengthening Communities Together.”
Emblematic of these two awards, Kwok has built his career and service around strengthening the AANHPI identity and community. After growing up in Hong Kong, Kwok moved to America for schooling. He first joined AABANY almost 10 years ago in 2017 as a law student. Now, Kwok is an accomplished Associate Court Attorney at the New York County Criminal Courts. He continues to be a leader in the AABANY community, overseeing the Brooklyn branch of AABANY’s Pro Bono Clinic, an award-winning legal clinic that has served predominantly monolingual Asian communities in New York for over a decade.
Access to justice, particularly through language, has always been a pressing concern for Kwok. He initially entered the court system as a Brooklyn Family Court Interpreter for Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese speakers, and so his AANHPI identity has long-shaped his career. The experience of interpreting, Kwok says, “is the foundation of everything for me …. Standing in the courtroom, translating for parents who couldn’t understand what was being said about their children, I felt the full weight of what was at stake—especially now that I’m a parent myself.”
Kwok further noted, “My AAPI identity essentially defined my role because I was the one bridging the gap between the court users who had a language barrier and everyone else in the room.”
Meaningful representation has to occur at multiple levels, according to Kwok. “We talk about the underrepresentation of AAPI judges and the idea that the court should reflect the community it serves,” he stated, “but that should extend to court officers, court clerks, and court attorneys too.” Reflecting on his own identity, he added, “For a time, I was the only AAPI court attorney in Brooklyn. I’m glad it’s not the case now.”
Not straying far from these roots, Kwok has sought to expand access to legal services, as well as representation within legal careers, throughout his professional life. His passion for language access in the courts, stemming from his experiences as a court interpreter, led to his appointment to the Advisory Committee on Language Access for the New York State Unified Court System by Chief Administrative Judge Hon. Lawrence Marks.
Kwok considers AABANY his “home bar association,” but he is also a member of the Brooklyn Bar Association, where he serves as the Vice-Chair of the Diversity Committee. He is also a Board Member of the Asian American Law Fund of New York (AALFNY). Additionally, Kwok serves as Deputy Vice President of the High School Division of the Sonia and Celina Sotomayor Judicial Internship Program (SCSJIP). The program, which he himself participated in as a law student, places students in judicial internships. Kwok found SCSJIP through his involvement in AABANY, while still in law school. At a time when the legal field “felt especially opaque” and a path felt difficult to find “for someone like me,” it’s another experience that has shaped him: “That internship set the path and defined my career.”
My work with the Sotomayor program is simply my way of giving back,” Kwok declared. “When I help place a high school student in a judicial internship, I know it can genuinely change a trajectory, because it changed mine.”
Through AABANY’s Pro Bono Clinics, Kwok has helped strengthen New York City’s communities, making sure that people with limited English proficiency and without financial access to a lawyer can meet with a volunteer attorney or law student. He reminisces on how AABANY—and his involvement with AABANY—has grown over the past decade: “From the beginning, I was most active with the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee, volunteering at the clinic to help with interpretation. At the time [almost 10 years ago], there was only one clinic, at AAFE on 111 Division Street,” Kwok recalled. “Over the years, we’ve moved, grown, and expanded to locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens—Confucius Plaza, CCBA, CCCNY, Homecrest, CPC, UCA Brooklyn, and AAFE Queens—collaborating with community-based organizations, hosting know-your-rights workshops, and serving thousands of New Yorkers.”
His work is never done, however: “Looking ahead, I hope we keep serving AAPI community members who face language barriers and can’t afford legal help—and that we also expand to other communities facing the same challenges.” Kwok added that he’s currently working on expanding outreach in Brooklyn to other groups, such as Latino communities.
Summing up his many contributions to the legal community and AANHPI community, Kwok offered a guiding principle he follows: “I genuinely believe that the most meaningful change happens when people get to know each other, learn from each other, and work together across cultural boundaries. We need to know each other better, but it’s just as important to make ourselves known to each other.”
As parting words, Kwok also offered some advice to law students or young lawyers: “Go out and meet people – but don’t do it just to network. Find the space where people are doing the work, and then stay in it. Don’t just try to be seen, try to be useful.”
Kwok drew from his own experience, where his primary goal was not to build up the connections themselves, but rather improve the community as a whole through working together. “The relationships that have meant the most to me didn’t come from working a room at a cocktail reception,” Kwok recalled. “They came from working alongside people on something that mattered. When you show up consistently, carry your share, and are genuinely trying to serve, people notice. More importantly, you become someone who is actually useful to your community.”
“Don’t let the parts of your identity that feel complicated become things you hide,” Kwok added. “For example, the fact that I came here as an immigrant with no roadmap, or that I started out as a court interpreter—that didn’t make me less qualified than anyone else in the room. In my case, it made me more capable of understanding the people who walk into the courtrooms every day.”
AABANY congratulates Kwok and is privileged to have a compassionate and driven community-builder like him in the AABANY community. For more information on AABANY’s Pro Bono Clinics and how to get involved, click here. The next few upcoming clinics are:
August 5th [Queens link here], from 6:30 – 8:30pm, AAFE One Flushing Community Center, 133-29 41st Ave, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355
August 19th [Manhattan link here] from 6:30-8:30pm, AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk Street, NY, NY 10002
September 12th [Brooklyn link here– from 12:30 – 2:30pm, CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232
Thank you to Vincent Carvalho for the above photos from the Fourth Annual Hon. Randall T. Eng Award Program.
PBCS volunteers, comprising volunteer attorneys and law students, met with 23 clients and provided guidance on a range of legal issues, including housing, immigration, real property, trusts and estates law, labor and employment, family law, and civil litigation.
Positive feedback from some of the clients who came included: “I received helpful information today.” and “It was respectful & calm. I learned a lot as well.”
We thank the following volunteers for attending the Brooklyn Pro Bono Clinic:
Attorneys: Vishal Chander Michael Chu Helen Ding Alice Liang Arthur Lin Willow (Yichun) Liu Kwok Kei Ng May Wong Jameson Xu Karen Kithan Yau Gary Yeung
Interpreters/Shadowers Gigi Chen Sam Chen Anna Chung Philip Han Nandar Win Kerr Hannah J. Lee Cynthia Li Luana Li Jingjing Wang Wendy Zeng Zhiyi Zhang Betty Xinyue Zhu
Thank you once again to all our volunteers for their commitment to Pro Bono service and for making a meaningful difference in our community.
We invite you to continue supporting our community by joining us at our upcoming Pro Bono Clinics:
– August 5th [Queens linkhere], from 6:30 – 8:30pm, AAFE One Flushing Community Center, 133-29 41st Ave, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355
– August 19th [Manhattan link here] from 6:30-8:30pm, AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk Street, NY, NY 10002
– September 12th [Brooklyn link here], from 12:30 – 3:30pm, CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232
To learn more about the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee, visit probono.aabany.org.
We look forward to your participation in the future clinic sessions!
Our Pro Bono Clinic helped nine clients this month, with varying issues ranging from housing, divorce, immigration, and a noise complaint. Due to the number of volunteers who showed up, the June Manhattan Pro Bono Clinic offered consultations that extended beyond the standard 30 minute time frame for each client, ensuring that our volunteers could provide the best possible guidance for clients with thorny legal issues. For some cases, volunteers directed clients to AABANY’s legal referral and information service (LRIS), a resource that connects clients with qualified attorneys to represent them.
Thank you to all of our volunteers for attending the Pro Bono Clinic. We look forward to your participation in future clinics!
Volunteer Attorneys
Wendy Cheng
Keey Diep
Carmen Huang
Justin Lee
Beatrice Leong
Arthur Lin
Meng Ru
Gary Yeung
Anna Bao
Suzie Yu
Law Students and Other Volunteers
Wenwen Cao
Jason Chen
Clive Chong
Nandar Win Kerr
Wendy Zeng
Zhiyi Zhang
Livy Li
We invite you to continue supporting our community by joining us at our upcoming Pro Bono Clinics:
July 11 [Brooklyn link here], from 12:30-3:00pm, CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11232
July 15 (Manhattan link here], from 6:30-8:30pm, AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk Street, NY, NY 10002
August 5 (Queens link here], from 6:30-8:30pm, AAFE One Flushing Community Center, 133-29 41st Ave, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355
If you are interested in supporting the work of the Clinic, we encourage you to make a donation to AALFNY. AALFNY supports the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee (PBCS), provides scholarships and internship opportunities for law students, and works with the AABANY Anti-Asian Violence Task Force. Donations can be made here.
To learn more about the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee, visit probono.aabany.org.
On Thursday, May 21, 2026, during AANHPI Heritage Month, the NYC Office of Special Narcotics brought together staff and community members for a screening of Voices Against Anti-Asian Hate, a documentary co-produced by the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) and the Asian American Law Fund of New York (AALFNY). The film centers on the deeply personal experiences of individuals and families impacted by anti-Asian violence. The event presented a moment to sit with America’s history of anti-Asian violence and its haunting legacy: from the exclusion laws of the 19th century, to the internment camps of World War II, to the waves of attacks that surged during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues today.
Throughout the documentary, the phrase, “This was not charged as a hate crime” was repeated again and again in multiple stories. One of the most striking stories was an interview with Patricia, who spoke candidly about her own experience navigating the system after being assaulted. Patricia did everything she could, seeking every available avenue, and still found no justice. After months without any response, she discovered AABANY’s Pro Bono Clinic, which provided actionable steps and legal advice to address her situation. For survivors who arrive vulnerable and unsure where to turn, that kind of grounded, practical guidance is as necessary as it is rare. Patricia pointed to what she identified as one of the most pressing and underappreciated challenges facing the AANHPI community: not a lack of willingness to report, but a lack of response from law enforcement.
Following the screening, a panel discussion brought the film’s themes into direct conversation with legal experience and community advocacy. Moderated by Kay Nguyen, Deputy Chief of the Alternatives to Incarceration Unit for the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York, the panel featured James Lin, a career prosecutor recently retired from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, and Yang Chen, Executive Director of the Asian American Bar Association of New York.
Photo by Alexandra Bergin
During the discussion, in response to a question, James Lin explained the intended effect of repeating, “This was not charged as a hate crime.” James Lin drew on his decades of experience in Brooklyn to speak to the ways that bias-motivated violence can be invisible within the bureaucratic logic of charging decisions. While it’s relatively straightforward to prove a crime occurred, proving the intent behind it is far harder. Yang Chen discussed the long history of anti-Asian violence, going back to the 19th century, and how to this day, charging such attacks criminally as hate crimes remains elusive, leading to a heightened sense of frustration and futility in the face of what seems to the AANHPI community to be obvious racially-motivated hate.
What emerged from the event was not despair but a sense of shared responsibility. The law has tools. Hate crime statutes exist. The question the film poses and the question the panel returns to again and again is whether those tools are being used, and how we can all develop a better understanding of the forces at work, and what changes are needed to prevent future recurrence of hate and violence against vulnerable and marginalized communities.
On May 27, 2026, the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department of the New York State Supreme Court held its fourth annual Hon. Randall T. Eng Award Program in celebration of AANHPI Heritage Month at 45 Monroe Place in Brooklyn Heights. This event was covered by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and by the World Journal. This year, the Hon. Randall T. Eng Award was presented to Assembly Member Steven Raga (Assembly District 30), Associate Court Attorney Kwok Kei Ng of the New York County Criminal Courts, and Jo-Ann Yoo, Deputy Executive Director of Asian Americans for Equality. Of note, honoree Kwok Kei Ng serves as the Co-Chair of AABANY’s Pro Bono and Community Service Committee and runs AABANY’s Brooklyn Pro Bono Clinics.
The World Journal traced Ng’s path through the court system, beginning his career as a court interpreter, translating for Cantonese and Mandarin speakers in Brooklyn Family Court. Ng then served in the borough’s Supreme and Civil Courts and, today, as a court attorney in New York County Criminal Court. He received the award in recognition of his efforts in partnering with the New York State Unified Court System and the Brooklyn Bar Association to develop CLE programming that enhances language access in the courts.
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle story recounted Ng’s acceptance speech, in which he spoke of standing on the shoulders of giants. “And many of these giants are here in this room,” he said. “Some of you paved the way for me before I arrived; some of you invited me in; and some of you encouraged me, and for that I am grateful.” His family joined him on stage to accept the award. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle also reported on AABANY President Varuna Bhattacharyya making closing remarks at the Award Program. She described the honorees as “exceptional individuals who exemplify all that the Randall T. Eng Award is intended to recognize and represent.” She added that they “have helped redefine what leadership looks like,” and closed with a call to action: “As we leave here tonight, let us continue building a legal community that reflects not just the diversity of our society, but its full promise.”
To read the World Journal article (written in Chinese), click here.
To read the Brooklyn Daily Eagle article, click here.
At the clinic, our volunteers met with 12 clients and provided guidance on a range of legal issues, including housing, immigration, medical fraud, real estate, and labor and employment matters. The collective efforts of our volunteers ensured that each client received personalized support and answers to their pressing legal questions. We are deeply grateful for everyone’s presence and contributions, and look forward to continuing this important work together!
Volunteer attorneys: Wendy (Wen-Hsien) Cheng Helen Ding Richard In Grace Ouyang Shirley Luong Johnny Thach May Wong Gary Yeung
Interpreters/shadowers: Nathan Cao Haotian (Victor) Chen Tiffany Jin Nandar Win Kerr Victoria Elise Sogueco Wendy Zeng
We invite you to continue supporting our community by joining us at our upcoming Pro Bono Clinics:
June 17 [Manhattan link here] from 6:30-8:30pm, AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk Street, NY, NY 10002
July 11 [Brooklyn link here], from 12:30 – 3:30pm, CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232
August 5 [Queens link here], from 6:30 – 8:30pm, AAFE One Flushing Community Center, 133-29 41st Ave, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355
Thanks 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.
These clinics not only answer legal questions but also focus on training law students and young attorneys to identify legal issues and explain legal concepts in everyday language. We value your willingness to listen to our clients’ stories and provide them with a safe space to be heard.
We would like to extend our gratitude to the following volunteers who dedicated their time and expertise to make this Clinic a success:
Alexandra Ly
Haotian Chen
Andrew Sun
Helen Ding
Angie Liao
Karen Yau
Anna Bao
Keli Huang
Arthur Lin
May Wong
Elaine Ouyang
Nandar Kerr
Gary Yeung
Wendy Zeng
If you are interested in continuing to support our community, we invite you to join us at our upcoming Pro Bono Clinics:
May 20th in Manhattan from 6:30-8:30pm at AAFE 111 Norfolk St.
June 3rd in Queens from 6:30 – 8:30pm at AAFE One Flushing Community Center.
July 11th in Brooklyn, from 12:30pm-2:30pm at CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Ave.
To learn more about the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee, please visit probono.aabany.org.
At the Clinic, our volunteers met with 14 clients and provided guidance on a range of legal issues, including housing, immigration, and civil litigation. Your collective efforts ensured that each client received personalized support and answers to their pressing legal questions.
We are deeply grateful for everyone’s presence and contributions, and look forward to continuing this important work together!
Special thanks to Megan Rha and D. Jenny Kim, partners from the Rha Kim Grossman & McIlwain, LLP, who came to support our Clinic and to provide valuable time and advice to the community. Also, special shoutout to Betty (Xinyue) Zhu who lives in New Jersey and came all the way out to Queens to help us out!
At this Clinic, we had so many intakes that we ran out of spaces and had to use the community playroom’s space. We are grateful for AAFE allowing us to expand to this area to do our work. At this playspace, some of our volunteers enjoyed a game of mahjong in between meetings with clients. While we would love to play more mahjong, we love helping out the community even more!
Volunteer attorneys:
Hung Yi Chien
Ting-Yu Chien
Helen Ding
Richard In
D. Jenny Kim
Emeline Kong
Grace Ouyang
Megan Rha
Sinbay Tan
Wendell Y. Tong
Anthony Wong
May Wong
Interpreters/shadowers:
Yining Pan
Ellie Wang
Jingjing Wang
Wendy Zeng
Betty (Xinyue) Zhu
We invite you to continue supporting our community by joining us at our upcoming Pro Bono Clinics:
– May 20 [Manhattan link here] from 6:30-8:30pm, AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk Street, NY, NY 10002
– June 3rd [Queens link here], from 6:30 – 8:30pm, AAFE One Flushing Community Center, 133-29 41st Ave, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355
– July 11th [Brooklyn link here], from 12:30 – 3:30pm, CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232
Thanks 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.
In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month this year, AABANY is presenting or co-sponsoring several events this month. We hope to see you all there! Follow the links for more details, and please note the registration deadlines. This blog post will be updated throughout the month, as new events get added on, so check back for any updates.
May 2, 2026
AABANY Co-Sponsors: Korean Hat Day at Yankee Stadium
1:35pm – Yankees Stadium, 1 E. 161 E. 161st Street
This event has already occurred.
May 3, 2026
AABANY Sunday Run Day
11:00 am – Start at Bedford Ave (L); End at Canal St. & Chrystie St. This event is preparation for the May 23 AAPI 5k run.
This event has already occurred.
May 5-7, 2026
Asian Comedy Fest 2026: AABANY Discount Available
7pm and 9pm – Sugar Mouse NYC, 47 3rd Avenue, Lower Level, New York, NY 10003
This event has already occurred.
May 6, 2026
AABANY Co-Sponsors: Power in Unity: Strengthening Communities Together
1:00 pm – Kings County Supreme Court, Criminal Term, Courtroom 2.95, 320 Jay Street, Brooklyn, New York 11201
This event has already occurred.
May 6, 2026
AABANY Co-Sponsors: Beginner’s Mahjong
6:00pm – Sparrow’s Nest Studio, 35 W. 35th Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10018
This event has already occurred.
May 6, 2026
AABANY Presents: Dumplings & Discussion Series Featuring Judge Pamela K. Chen
6:00pm -Midtown location – to be emailed to registrants.
This event has already occurred.
May 9, 2026
AABANY Bi-Monthly Brooklyn Pro Bono Legal Clinic
12:30 pm – 2:30 pm – CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Ave, Brooklyn, New York 11232
This event has already occurred.
May 10, 2026
AABANY Sunday Run Day
11:00 am – Start at Bedford Ave (L); End at Canal St. & Chrystie St. This event is preparation for the May 23 AAPI 5k run.
This event has already occurred.
May 12, 2026
AABANY Co-Sponsors: Reflections of Unity and Strength in our AANHPI Communities
12:30pm – Queens Supreme Court – Civil Term, 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Ceremonial Courtroom 25, Jamaica, New York 11435
This event has already occurred.
May 16, 2026
AABANY Presents: 3rd Annual Wellness Retreat
10:00 am – 5:00 pm – Blue Cliff Monastery, 3 Mindfulness Rd, Pine Bush, New York 12566
This event has already occurred.
May 16, 2026
AABANY Co-Sponsors: Asian Americans and the Law, Featuring Hon. Denny Chin
2pm – White Plains Public Library, 100 Martine Avenue, White Plains, New York 10601
