AABANY Intellectual Property Committee Hosts Board Games Night at Fish & Richardson

On Wednesday, July 23, 2025, AABANY’s Intellectual Property Committee hosted a Board Games Night at Fish  &  Richardson’s office in Times Square. The event was open to all, no matter skill level or profession, and encouraged guests to bring a friend. 

Around 20 players, including IP lawyers, legal interns, law students, in-house counsel, and patent professionals, gathered for an evening of friendly competition. Guests had the opportunity to enjoy a range of activities, including table tennis, Taboo, Codenames, and many exciting new games.

A spread of dumplings, noodles, and refreshments was available throughout the night. Professionals and students were able to converse about their various fields and advice for future career paths while also learning how to play new games.

After mingling and playing at various tables, everyone came together for a spirited group session of Hues and Cues. A player took turns providing one or two-word hints, prompting others in five teams of three to four to quickly identify a specific color square and place their pieces on the board before other teams beat them to it.

The AABANY and Fish interns took some time to figure out the rules of the game. Once they did, they showed everyone at the event how to play. Almost everyone participated, and they formed teams in this friendly competition. The game continued into the night, contributing to an atmosphere inspiring friendly banter, allowing participants to unwind and connect.

Thank you to all the attendees for coming to this event. Thank you to Jeffrey Mok for organizing this event and his firm, Fish & Richardson, for hosting. To learn more about the IP Committee and how you can get involved, visit their page here. Consider joining the IP Committee for dinner at Ziggle Tofu & Grill on July 28 here.

AABANY Joins the New York Diversity Equity and Inclusion Neutral Directory

The Asian American Bar Association of New York together with the New York City Bar Association ADR Committee and the New York State  Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section and partner bar associations are committed to increasing the selection of ADR professionals from historically underrepresented communities. To promote this goal, the partnering bar associations have created the New York Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Neutral Directory (“NY DEI Neutral Directory).  

The directory is a list of ADR professionals who self-identify as a member of a historically underrepresented community including but not limited to: a person of color, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, as having a disability, or identify as a woman. Individuals seeking ADR professionals can search the directory alphabetically, by practice area, by language ability, and by other self-identifying characteristics. Individuals who wish to be included in the directory must be members of one of the partnering bar associations, and have filled out the Directory Questionnaire which is available here: https://bit.ly/3d1Nn3q Inclusion in this directory does not imply endorsement or recommendation by any organization

Directory Partners include the following bar associations: The Amistad Long Island Black Bar Association, Asian American Bar Association of New York, The Bar Association of Erie County, The Brehon Law Society, Caribbean Attorney Network, Dominican Bar Association, Hispanic National Bar Association, New York Chapter, LGBT Bar Association of New York, Macon B. Allen Black Bar Association, Metropolitan Black Bar Association, The Network of Bar Leaders, New York County Lawyers Association, Rochester Black Bar Association, South Asian Bar Association of New York, Puerto Rican Bar Association, Westchester Bar Association and the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York.

The NY DEI Neutral Directory is available online here: https://bit.ly/3o7XOcf

AABANY Presents a Book Talk: Stuck – Why Asian Americans Don’t Reach the Top of the Corporate Ladder

On August 4, 2020, the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) hosted a book talk on CUNY Professor Margaret Chin’s new book, Stuck – Why Asian Americans Don’t Reach the Top of the Corporate Ladder. Moderated by Chris Kwok, AABANY Board Director and Chair of AABANY’s Issues Committee, the virtual webinar received over 300 registrations from legal and non-legal professionals. Conversation centered around the book’s subject — invisible challenges Asian Americans face when it comes to upward corporate mobility.

Professor Margaret Chin began the panel by articulating the difficulty that Asian American professionals face in moving from mid-level management to the C-suites. Chin has discovered two critical factors that explain why. The first is that Asian Americans are hidden from the research. Only in the past five years has research been done on the corporate mobility challenges facing the Asian American professionals, demonstrating not only the invisibility of Asian Americans in racial discussions but a lack of awareness of the “bamboo ceiling.” The second is trust. Through her interviews with corporate executives, Chin discerned trust as a leading factor in who is and who isn’t promoted. Trust, however, also opens the door for implicit bias. Oftentimes, those who are seen as part of the “in-group” or white are seen as more trustworthy, leaving racial minorities at a disadvantage. 

A Q&A session followed the talk, during which Chris, as moderator, posed questions sent via chat to Professor Chin. One audience member asked Professor Chin what inspired her to write this book. Her answer recounted a class reunion where she realized that while many Asian Americans are admitted to Ivy League and top tier universities, there was no research on their career paths post-education. This reveals the false assumption that once an Asian American achieves an elite education, their career is set. Another question asked Professor Chin for solutions to the lack of upward mobility faced by Asian professionals. To this, she discussed how through her interviews with Asian executives, she discovered the importance of early career resources such as college career offices, formal corporate programs, and other similar programs. These have proven to be particularly helpful to non-white professionals who often do not have strong networks or resources at their disposal. Nonetheless, these are not the only solutions, leading Professor Chin to reiterate the need for more research on the “bamboo ceiling” in order to drive change.

Thank you to Professor Margaret Chin for her time and insight and Chris Kwok for moderating. Congratulations to Professor Chin on her book, which was released on August 11. We encourage anyone interested in this hot topic to purchase the book, which is available here. For those looking to continue this important discussion, please email Chris Kwok at chrismkwok@gmail.com to participate in his book club which will gather together readers of the book for further conversations about the book’s findings and conclusions.

Asian Stereotypes: Understanding How Microaggressions Impact Professionals & Youth

What do Asian stereotypes have to do with the way we’re treated in schools and the workplace? How do the “model minority” and “perpetual foreigner” images influence our academic and professional careers – and how do we overcome the “bamboo ceiling”?

On Oct. 27, leadership consultant Gloria S. Chan and psych expert Kevin Nadal will lead us in an illuminating discussion about the impact of Asian stereotypes on our everyday lives and how we can effectively address them to achieve growth and success.

Event Details:

Tues., Oct. 27, 6-8 PM
505 8th Ave., 20th Floor

RSVP:

Seating is limited. To RSVP, please CLICK HERE.

From JPMorgan Chase: Networking Reception on April 7

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Legal Department is hosting a networking reception on April 7, 2014 @ 6:00PM for APA attorneys that are potentially interested in joining our Legal Department.

If you are interested in attending and meet the following criteria, please submit your resume along with a brief bio (no more than 3-4 sentences long) of yourself, expertise and/or interest, in confidence, by email to main@aabany.org with subject line “JPMC” by no later than March 7, 2014. If your resume is selected, you will be receiving an invitation to the event on or about March 17 directly from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Internally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. will have about 50-60 lawyers and compliance professionals attend the event. Many in attendance will be senior managers, practice group leaders and a couple of recruiters. Senior leaders who have attended similar events in the past have included lawyers from all four lines of JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s businesses: Consumer & Community Bank; Corporate Investment Bank; Asset Management and Commercial Bank. In addition, we have had litigators from our Litigation Department attend as well.

There is no guarantee of any employment as a result of this event and/or future guarantees but we hope that if there is a fit and/or a need, we will look to this group as a possibility. Of course, some in attendance may have an immediate need but there are no guarantees.

Criteria/other details for prospective guests:

  • lawyers (private, government, in house, etc.) who have been out of law school and have been practicing in any area of law for 5-15 years; and
  • current dues-paying member of AABANY.

There is no school or GPA requirement. For questions, please write to main@aabany.org. Please do not contact JPMorgan Chase & Co. unless you are selected. Thank you.

Credit Suisse 2014 PALS Summer Associate Program

PALS Logo White on Blue 

The application period is now OPEN for the Credit Suisse 2014 PALS Summer Associate Program and will conclude on Friday, January 10, 2014    

The Credit Suisse General Counsel Division offers a paid 10 week Summer Associate program geared toward law students who have completed their first year of law school and are interested in gaining “in-house” exposure within the Financial Services Industry.  Credit Suisse is interested in recruiting students from PALS.   

This program is being offered through the Credit Suisse General Counsel Americas Diversity Committee, which seeks to promote diversity among legal and compliance professionals. Credit Suisse seeks to hire applicants with a diverse range of geographic, socio-economic, and experience backgrounds. 

To learn more about this amazing program please click on
APPLICATION  for further information. The application period is now OPEN and will conclude on Friday, January 10, 2014 at 11:59 pmApplications will be reviewed and decided on a rolling basis, students are encouraged to apply early. 

Should you have any questions regarding the fellowship, please email the Executive Director of PALS, Paula Brown Donaldson, Esq. at executivedirector@palsprogram.org

For further information on PALS, visit our website at www.palsprogram.org

From NYAPM: NYC New Years Eve Open Bar @ Megu

From NYAPM: NYC New Years Eve Open Bar @ Megu