BreakthroughNY is a non-profit organization which supports underprivileged New York public school students from 7th grade through college by providing mentorship, educational and career training and support.
BreakthroughNY is looking for a law firm to donate their space, time and lunch on Thursday, July 28, 2022 from 1:00pm to 3:30pm, so that students can ask a lawyer career questions. The organization also seeks an interactive session for their students with practicing lawyers.
If you are interested, please send an email to:
Brittany Parisi Doshi, brittany@btny.org Chief Development Officer Breakthrough New York 39 Broadway, Suite 820 New York, NY 10006
Greater NY Chinese Dollars for Scholars scholars not only receive scholarship dollars but become engaged members of our alumni community.
We believe in supporting our scholars to achieve their full potential through engagement and fostering a culture of giving back.
Scholarships are for high school seniors of Chinese descent entering college in the fall.
Scholarships are for students living in NY, NJ or CT with the exception of the Wonton Food scholarship which is open to students nationwide.
A. Merit Scholarships: Four-Year Scholarships for $1,000 per year (Total is $4000) B. New Immigrant Scholarships (students arriving in the US after 1/1/19): Four-Year Scholarships for $1,000 per year (Total is $4000) C. Need-Based Scholarships : Four-Year Scholarships for $2,500 per year (Total is $10,000) D. Wonton Foods Achievement Scholarships: Four-Year Scholarships $2,500 per year (Total is $10,000) for children of persons currently working in the Asian restaurant business in the US for at least one year
AABANY hosted for the second time the Columbia Law School’s Spring Break Caravan. This year, Caravan representative Angel Li (CLS ’23) reached out to the Pro Bono & Community Service Committee (PBCS) and Student Outreach Committee (SOC) to supervise six students during the week of March 14, 2022. During this program, students shadowed volunteer attorneys at the Queens pro bono clinics held on Saturdays, researched and drafted legal training materials for the pro bono clinics, attended a legal community presentation about bankruptcy, and met with various mentors from law firms and SOC graduates.
On behalf of PBCS, we want to thank these law students for creating much-needed training materials to help volunteer attorneys in recognizing common issues in housing, family, wills and estates, and immigration law with flowcharts and outlines. These pro bono clinics act like triages in which attorneys spot issues for the individuals and provide legal information and referrals within a 30-minute session. We’ve been quite fortunate to have the support of our volunteer attorneys who are willing to teach each other and to open the eyes of these young law students about the problems many indigent and limited English proficient clients face daily.
On behalf of SOC, we are grateful for the not-for profit and biglaw corporate attorneys coming together to mentor these law students. Despite their different backgrounds and areas of practice, members of AABANY are always generously contributing their time, resources, and efforts to aid the AAPI community and leading these law students to a career of their own choosing.
Rather than picking just one essay from the Caravan, we believe it’s best to share with you all a snippet of these law students’ thoughts about the Caravan. We wish them the best in completing their studies and continue the AABANY’s spirit of giving back to the community.
Regards,
Eugene Kim, PBCS
William Lee, SOC
May Wong, PBCS
Supervisors of the Caravan
“In the first instance, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the texts that were assigned preparatory to the start of the Caravan. The excerpt from How Do You Live? was especially memorable as a means of getting me into the right mindset before the program even formally began. It goes without saying that behind every law student and lawyer lies a sizable aggregation of resources: years of schooling, various internship opportunities, and votes of confidence from a network of supportive people. Law students and lawyers are the products of considerable societal investment; as such, it is incumbent upon them to give back and to give generously.”
-Andrew Chang –
“While I knew that our society had those problems, I realized that knowing problems is different from helping people facing the problems. I also understood that volunteer attorneys need to deal with various issues in different legal areas in a limited time in the clinic. Therefore, clients’ problems are not entirely solved there, but clients are given helpful advice on the following steps to solve the problems.”
– Nobuko Ikeda –
“Overall, I really valued not only peeking into the issues faced by the community, but also into how Asian American attorneys are helping combat those issues through the clinic. This caravan has inspired me to participate in the pro bono clinic as a future attorney, and I look forward to exploring even more ways to make the sessions efficient and to help the clients legally and emotionally.”
-Angel Li –
“What I found during the research was that massive amounts of materials and resources are already provided by municipal bodies, government officials, and private law firms on the internet. However, people who are not legal professionals would have difficulty utilizing these public resources. The difficulty arises from a language barrier and complexity in understanding and applying legal standards to one’s own situation.”
– Shota Sugiura-
“I appreciated all the genuine and candid advice I received from our Caravan supervisors, and am especially grateful for the wisdom from my AABANY mentor. It was an amazing opportunity to hear from lawyers from a range of backgrounds: those working in public service, those at firms, those who have transitioned to in-house. It was an equally exciting chance to build bonds with other Columbia APALSA members who felt passionate about giving back to our community.”
AABANY, with the Syracuse University College of Law, hosted a discussion with Justice Doris Ling-Cohan (retired) on March 29. Justice Ling-Cohan is the first Asian woman judge to be elected to the New York Supreme Court and appointed to an appellate court in New York.
AABANY Executive Director Yang Chen introduced Justice Ling-Cohan to start off the program. Justice Ling-Cohan shared with students her groundbreaking path to judgeship. She discussed the many barriers she encountered during her election as a political newcomer and an Asian American woman. “Do not put barriers on yourself,” she advised her audience. “You don’t have to be the best to do [what you want].”
Civic engagement has been a constant theme through Justice Ling-Cohan’s accomplished career. She reminded students that they do not have to work in the public sector to be of service. “Anyone can have a foot in their community. There is so much you can do… compose op-eds, start petitions and campaigns.”
The evening continued with remarks on public service and diversity by Syracuse’s assistant dean for career development, Lily Yan Hughes. Syracuse Law School student leaders then led a Q&A session. The students were interested to know about the challenges of being a justice and navigating a bureaucracy with competing interests.
We thank Justice Ling-Cohan and Dean Hughes for their time and insights. This event was co-sponsored by Syracuse Law School APALSA, KLSA, SALSA, Office of Career Services, and the Asian Americans and the Law Seminar.
The New York City Bar Association announced that their report The Diversity Gap: Black and Latinx Representation Disparities in the Legal Pipelinehas been released with overwhelming support from the legal community. To determine the effectiveness of pipeline programs for Black and Latinx students who seek to enter the legal profession, they polled over 800 students from the 15 New York State Law Schools. They thank Ashley Bernal, Professor, York College and author of the report, and The New York Community Trust for funding this important work.
Additionally, they will be hosting a two-part panel presentation entitled, “The Diversity Gap: Black and Latinx Representation Disparities in the Legal Pipeline.” Details below:
To register for any of the events, please click on the registration link (you will need to create a free account if you are not a city bar member) or email Customer Relations at customerrelations@nycbar.org. The series is free for everyone.
AABANY’s efforts to recruit and train volunteer attorneys to help Asian American youth with disabilities protect their legal rights is the subject of a NYCLA blog post written by NYCLA Education Law Committee Co-Chair Amy Leipziger.
There are more than 12,000 Asian students receiving special education services in NYC schools, and yet Asian American youth with disabilities are often underrepresented in discussions about special education because they confront the ‘model minority’ myth that makes it more difficult for them to get the recognition and help they need, and as a result, their problems are more often ignored.
To read more, click the link above.
For further details on AABANY’s activity in this area, see the blog posts below:
Thank you to Nelson Mar for leading AABANY’s efforts to protect the rights of Asian Americans students with special needs. To get involved with this project, email Nelson at Nmar@lsnyc.org.
The McGuireWoods/NLF Internship Program supports students interested in the legal profession and will help students develop a commitment to advocacy on behalf of the Asian Pacific American community. The Program seeks to achieve these goals by providing undergraduate and law school students with meaningful internship experiences at the Washington, DC offices of NAPABA and NLF.
Internship opportunities are now available for the spring and summer. More information can be found here.
In 2014, Empire Mock Trial will host our eighth New York World Championship for high school students on October 25-27. Over the past 8 years, students from 4 continents, 6 countries, and 31 states …
Dear AABANY members,
Empire Mock Trial will host its eighth New York World Championship for high school students from October 25-27. Attorneys and judges are needed to serve as judges, jurors, and educators; 3 CLE credits will be awarded.
Preferred deadline to register is October 17.
For more information, please click on the link in the title.
The MinKwon Center will be hosting several Naturalization and DACA Renewal Clinics this fall and they have recently added some new clinic dates. The new clinic dates are indicated with asterisks below. These clinics are great opportunities to assist low-income community members with immigration law forms. Each clinic will be held at the MinKwon Center’s office in Flushing, Queens (a few blocks from the 7 train stop).
No prior experience is necessary, and training will be provided on the day of each clinic. The Center keeps a log of all volunteer hours and they’re glad to certify your pro bono hours for the NY bar admission requirement. If you’re interested in volunteering, please read the following clinic descriptions and sign up using the links below:
Naturalization Clinics –
The Center will be helping eligible LPRs complete their applications to become naturalized U.S. citizens. They are searching for assistance from attorneys, students and interpreters. Korean and/or Chinese language ability is especially helpful. Please sign up here to join for a Naturalization Clinic on any of the following dates:
Friday, September 26
Friday, October 10*
Saturday, October 18*
Saturday, November 8*
Friday, November 21*
Friday, December 5*
DACA Renewal Clinics –
The Center will be helping undocumented youth complete their applications to renew their DACA status. Successful applicants will receive an additional two years of protection against deportation and renewed work permits. They are searching for assistance from attorneys, students and interpreters. No foreign language ability is required. Please sign up here to join for a DACA Renewal Clinic on any of the following dates:
Friday, September 12
Saturday, September 13
Friday, September 19
Friday, October 3*
Friday, October 17*
Friday, October 31*
Friday, November 7*
Friday, November 14*
Friday, December 12*
Friday, December 19*
Please see below the contact information of the MinKwon Center:
MinKwon Center for Community Action (formerly YKASEC) 136-19 41st Ave. 3rd Fl. Flushing, NY 11355 Tel.718.460.5600 ext. 204 | Fax.718.445.0032
