Tag: task force

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New York State Bar Association Task Force Releases Report on Racism, Social Equity, and the Law

In 2021 the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) formed the Task Force on Racism, Social Equity, and the Law to examine how structural racism permeates and influences facets of daily life leading to injustice and inequality among New Yorkers. The Task Force included six subcommittees, Criminal Justice, Economic Opportunity, Education, Environmental Justice, Health, and Housing, and examined the key issues that cause structural racism to be entrenched and persistent. These subcommittees provided recommendations and action steps for NYSBA to take to address structural racism and effectuate meaningful societal transformation.

AABANY Member Nelson Mar served on the Task Force as co-chair of the Education Sub-Committee. Over a period of a year and a half, he helped identify and draft the issues and recommendations for the Education section of the Task Force report. We also thank and recognize past AABANY member Lillian Moy on her leadership as Co-Chair of this important NYSBA Task Force.

To read the full report, click here.

Thanks to NYSBA for issuing this report, and thanks to Nelson for his leadership on the educational issues addressed in it.

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AABANY Anti-Asian Violence Task Force Attends the Sentencing of Tammel Esco

On November 29th, AABANY’s Anti-Asian Violence Task Force (AAVTF) led by Chair Elaine Chiu and member Jim Lin, attended the sentencing of Tammel Esco in support of the survivor of a horrific act of hate that took place in Yonkers on March 11, 2022. AAVTF member Jennifer Wu represented the survivor pro bono as the case against Esco proceeded through the courts and accompanied the survivor, together with co-counsel Johan Tatoy (also an AABANY member) at the sentencing.

Tammel Esco was arrested after he brutally beat a 67-year-old Filipino-American woman at the entrance of her Yonkers apartment. Esco pleaded guilty to the charge of first-degree assault as a hate crime and was sentenced to 17-1/2 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Judge Minihan presided at the sentencing and recounted Esco’s sad history. She offered him the chance to apologize or explain himself, but he declined. In her victim impact statement, the survivor stated, “A complete stranger heartlessly spit, beat, and kicked me over 100 times just because of my heritage. I lost months of my life. I will forever be on edge.” Currently, she remains in stable condition, yet had to move out of her longtime home due to the traumatic event.

After the sentencing, AABANY members had the chance to meet the District Attorney of Westchester County, Mimi Rocah, at her press conference, where Jennifer Wu commented on the survivor’s behalf, stating, “Leaving the home that you’ve had for 24 years and where you raised your daughters, is incredibly painful.” During the meeting, AAVTF members offered proposals on statutory reform and how to prevent such gruesome cases from occurring in the Asian American community in the future. Elaine Chiu commented further on AAVTF’s attendance at the sentencing and the press conference, stating, “It was a very valuable day with efforts that contribute to the multi-faceted work of our Task Force.”

Watch this News 12 report about the sentencing, in which Johan Tatoy, as the survivor’s attorney, spoke at the press conference and AAVTF Task Force Chair Elaine Chiu was interviewed.

To learn more about the AAVTF and support its efforts, please click here.

Join the AAVTF at the next court watching on January 10, for the sentencing for Elisaul Perez, who pled guility to manslaughter in the death of GuiYing Ma. More details here:
https://www.aabany.org/events/event_details.asp?legacy=1&id=1701949

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Office of the Bronx District Attorney Holds Rally Against Hate on May 21

In light of recent hate crimes against AAPI and Jewish communities, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office held an Anti-Hate rally and a resource fair on May 21st, 2021 at Lou Gehrig Plaza from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm, near the Bronx DA’s Office, a few blocks away from Yankee Stadium. The Bronx District Attorney, Darcell Clark, led the cry against all forms of hate, saying, “It’s not who we are as New Yorkers and we will not stand for it… hate against one of us is hate against all of us.” 

Many religious and elected leaders joined DA Clark in denouncing hate. Bronx Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz said, “It’s not just Jewish residents, it’s not just Asian residents. The hate, the discrimination against other communities as well has been going on for far too long.” Other speakers, such as Mayoral Candidate Andrew Yang, NYPD Inspector Tommy M. Ng (and head of the NYPD Asian Hate Crimes Task Force), New York City Council Member Vanessa Gibson, and the Regional Director of the ADL Scott Richman all denounced hate while touching on the importance of solidarity, camaraderie, and acceptance of everyone regardless of their background. 

The Asian American Bar Association of New York’s Executive Director, Yang Chen, spoke on the recent hate crimes against the AAPI community. Chen invited attendees to visit the AABANY table to pick up copies of our anti-Asian violence report or a Know Your Rights brochure for AAPIs who encounter an anti-Asian hate or violence incident. Chen added that AABANY was also giving out buttons with the words “One Humanity Against the Virus.” He explained  that “we’re not talking just about COVID-19, we’re talking about the virus of racism that infects our world today.” The buttons proved to be a popular item.

In addition to AABANY, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, the New York City Commissions on Human Rights and other groups handed out various resources to educate the general public on ways to combat hate at tables set out in the plaza. 

AABANY thanks DA Clark and her staff, especially Deputy Chief of Staff, Beverly Ma, and Miriam Bell-Blair, Director, Immigrant Affairs Unit, for organizing this rally during AAPI Heritage Month. We look forward to continuing to work with the Bronx DA’s Office to combat hate against all communities in New York City. To see more photos from the event, view them here.

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T3 Project: Stand Together with AABANY and AALFNY in Turning the Tide Against Anti-Asian Hate and Violence

AABANY, in partnership with the Asian American Law Fund of New York (AALFNY), is pleased to announce the Turning the Tide (T3) Project. Following the February 10, 2021 publication of AABANY and Paul, Weiss’ report A Rising Tide of Hate and Violence against Asian Americans in New York During COVID-19: Impact, Causes, Solutions, AABANY established an Anti-Asian Violence Task Force to advance the proposals outlined in the report and consider other solutions to address the surge of anti-Asian hate and violence in the community. The Task Force advances the T3 project, which aims to incorporate a three-pronged approach encompassing education and communication, advocacy, and research, to address anti-Asian hate and violence. 

Please stand together with AABANY and AALFNY in turning the tide against anti-Asian hate and violence. We are now accepting donations to support the T3 Project. Donations can be made to AALFNY and will be tax deductible to the extent permitted by applicable law.

For more details about the T3 Project, please click here. 

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Young Lawyers Committee Hosts “Attorney Well-Being During COVID-19” Event

On April 15, AABANY’s Young Lawyers Committee (YLC) hosted a fireside chat titled “Attorney Well-Being During COVID-19.” In the face of isolating social distancing protocols and prolonged remote working arrangements, Committee Co-Chair Janet Jun organized and moderated the event in hopes of spurring more dialogue on the subject of wellness in the legal profession. Janet was joined by former AABANY President Glenn Lau-Kee and YLC Co-Chair Jane Jeong, who also hosts and produces The Whole Lawyer Podcast. At the intersection of law and wellness, Glenn serves as a member of the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Attorney Well-Being, and Jane is a member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Wellness Committee. Together, the speakers led a candid discussion about the current state of mental health awareness, challenges in the legal profession, and tips for achieving attorney wellness during COVID-19 and beyond.

Janet kickstarted the discussion by asking about the promises and pitfalls of current efforts to improve wellness in the legal profession. Glenn spoke optimistically about NYSBA’s Task Force on Attorney Well-Being, which consists of nine working groups, each dedicated to a specific wellness issue. As the head of the working group on bar associations, Glenn described the end goal of the Task Force as a wholesale culture change in the legal profession. Glenn observed that attorneys tend to experience higher levels of stress than other professionals, with young lawyers bearing the brunt of this pressure. While larger law firms have established more initiatives to promote lawyer well-being, small firms and solo practitioners are disadvantaged by limited resources. In this context, Glenn identified bar associations as a possible avenue for equalizing wellness resources. 

Diverging from Glenn’s opinion, Jane insisted that personal connections — not institutional initiatives — are the proper foundation for a more comprehensive culture of wellness. Invoking the fireside chat as an example, Jane stated that change starts at the individual level, with the creation of safe spaces for authentic conversations about personal mental health struggles.

Janet continued the discussion by asking about the source of rampant anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues in the legal profession. Glenn broke the problem down into three factors: (1) a lack of boundaries for down time, (2) client expectations and demands, and (3) financial pressures. Jane connected the first and third factors, explaining that the billable hour gives lawyers a systematic incentive to work ceaselessly. Deeming many lawyers to be perfectionists who are conditioned to tie their self-worth to external accomplishments, Jane also said that self-selection bias contributes to a workaholic legal culture.

AABANY Board Member Andy Yoo joined the discussion by asking about ways in which clients can help drive change. Glenn and Jane both responded by stating that leadership buy-in is an essential catalyst for change. As Jane explained, how CEOs and CLOs treat their employees trickles down to how employees treat external counsel.

Cynthia Lam, AABANY’s Co-Vice President of Programs and Operations, then asked the speakers to share their personal strategies for maintaining well-being. Glenn emphasized the community aspect of any individual effort to promote self-care. He urged lawyers to look beyond their own team members, who are all fixated on the same work, and reach out to family members, friends, and colleagues outside of their firms. Moving forward, Glenn hopes that bar associations will also play a greater role in providing lawyers with a sense of community. 

In enhancing her own mental health, Jane underscored the importance of setting and communicating boundaries with colleagues. She encouraged attendees not to cancel social plans for work except in the rare case of an emergency. Drawing on experience from her early career, Jane explained that by always saying yes to external requests, she had taught others that it was okay to overwork her. The lesson Jane derived from this experience was to treat yourself the way you want others to treat you. 

Ultimately, Glenn and Jane urged attendees to carve out time for themselves to participate in communities and activities that are wholly unrelated to the law. While Jane personally benefits from working out, writing fiction, and doing yoga, she encouraged lawyers to access their own creative and reflective sides in whatever way works for them. Janet concluded the fireside chat by appealing to the desire of all attendees to be good lawyers. Only by striking a proper work-life balance can attorneys be fully enthusiastic about their careers and clients. To this extent, valuing well-being in one’s own life can help us all become more present in the lives of those around us.

AABANY thanks Janet, Glenn, and Jane for sharing their insights and leading this dialogue on the ever-relevant topic of attorney well-being. To learn more about the Young Lawyers Committee and its work, click here.

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Chris Kwok Testifies Before the New York City Council Committee on Public Safety on March 22

On March 22, Chris Kwok testified on behalf of AABANY before the New York City Council Committee on Public Safety in support of two changes to the funding of Hate Crime Units of New York District Attorneys’ Offices. These recommendations call for Hate Crime Units to be staffed with full-time prosecutors and legal support personnel, and for periodic audits by the committee to ensure their use of dedicated funds for hate crime prosecution. Chris shared that AABANY first voiced these recommendations in its report on anti-Asian violence. The report specifically identified the “Jade Squad”—a police division formed to combat Chinese gang violence in the 1970s— and concomitant Asian Gang Units that were formed at the District Attorney’s Office. In line with these successful historical efforts, AABANY now advocates for the creation of dedicated and fully funded hate crime divisions in law enforcement and prosecutors’ offices.

The AABANY report recounts numerous instances of assault and harassment against Asian Americans in New York over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Chris highlighted the persistence of such racially fueled attacks to this day. Chris also noted that media outlets, community leaders, and politicians have since backed AABANY’s proposals to fully fund and formally staff anti-hate-crime initiatives. Among these supporters, Chris identified the inspector of the NYPD Task Force and New York mayoral candidate Andrew Yang. In the face of unrelenting anti-Asian violence throughout the state, Chris explained that the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force and District Attorneys’ Office Hate Crime Units require dedicated funding and full-time personnel to improve their reporting structures. Only with such resources can anti-hate-crime initiatives produce reports that adequately detail the efforts of law enforcement to stem anti-Asian violence. The statement concluded with Chris’s message that fully funded and full-time Hate Crime Units are critical to encouraging the continued reporting of anti-Asian hate crimes and to fostering greater trust within the Asian American community. To read Chris’s written statement, submitted with his testimony, click here.

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Chris Kwok Testifies Before the City Council Committee on Public Safety

On March 16, Chris Kwok testified on behalf of AABANY before the City Council Committee on Public Safety in support of two changes to the NYPD Asian Hate Crimes Task Force: to fully fund the Task Force and to replace its volunteer staff with paid personnel. An AABANY Board Director and Chair of the Issues Committee, Chris shared that AABANY was the first to publicly voice these recommendations in its report on anti-Asian violence. The report recounts numerous instances of assault and harassment against Asian Americans in New York over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Chris highlighted the persistence of such racially fueled attacks to this day. Chris also noted that media outlets, community leaders, and politicians have since backed AABANY’s proposals to fully fund and formally staff the Task Force. Among these supporters, Chris identified the inspector of the Task Force itself, New York mayoral candidate Andrew Yang, and all of the District 1 City Council candidates. District 1 covers Manhattan’s Chinatown among other neighborhoods and sites. In the face of unrelenting anti-Asian violence throughout the state, the statement concluded with Chris’s call for a fully funded and full-time task force to foster trust within the Asian American community and to encourage the continued reporting of anti-Asian hate crimes. To read Chris’s written statement, submitted with his testimony, click here. AABANY gratefully acknowledges Student Leader Taiyee Chien for his assistance in drafting the statement.

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Fireside Chat – Thursday, March 11 at 6:30 PM

From the Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo:

We are proud to present the next Fireside Chat as part of a series of discussions produced in partnership with the New York State COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Taskforce.

We would appreciate your help in spreading the word – please invite your networks to attend the event through email, or by posting the event information on social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Participants can view the program at ny.gov/VETF.

We encourage you to submit questions for the speakers in advance by emailing [email protected], and we will also be taking questions from attendees. We will do our best to pose as many questions to our panelists as possible. You may also choose to register for this event (not required), as a means of adding the event to your calendar and for reminders, at the link here: https://covid-19-vaccine-tribal-nations-building-trust.eventbrite.com. 

Thank you all and let’s #VaccinateNY!

Please refer any questions to Emily Stetson, Special Assistant for Intergovernmental Affairs, by email at [email protected] or by phone at (518) 956-2617.

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爐邊談話-普通話節目- 3月4日星期四晚间6:30 / Fireside Chat – Mandarin Program – March 4 at 6:30 PM

大家好：

我们很荣幸推出下一期的炉边谈话，作为与纽约州 COVID-19 疫苗公平工作组 (New York State COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Taskforce) 合作开展的一系列讨论活动的一部分。这将是一次向全纽约州讲普通话的社区提供教育的难得机会，意义非凡，所以我们希望这次活动的参与者越多越好。

我们鼓励您提前向讲者提交问题，请将您的问题通过电子邮件发 至 [email protected]，我们也将接受出席者的提问。我们将竭力向小组成员提出尽可能多的问题。您还可以选择注册该活动（非强制），以将该活动添加到您的日程表并适时收到提醒，请点击以下链接完成这项操作：https://covid-19-vaccine-mobilizing-chinese-communities.eventbrite.com.

English Translation

We are proud to present the next Fireside Chat as part of a series of discussions produced in partnership with the New York State COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Taskforce. This will be a meaningful opportunity to provide education to Mandarin-speaking communities across New York State, and we want to encourage as much attendance as possible.

We encourage you to submit questions for the speakers in advance by emailing [email protected]https://covid-19-vaccine-mobilizing-chinese-communities.eventbrite.com.

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AABANY Presents Community Webinars on Anti-Asian Violence in Mandarin and Cantonese

Mandarin Webinar
Cantonese Webinar

On Saturday, May 16, the Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) hosted its “Mandarin and Cantonese Community Webinar on Anti-Asian Violence,” part of a broader series aimed at addressing the rise in anti-Asian violence in light of COVID-19. The events focused on briefing individuals on how to defend themselves if an incident were to occur and also discussed relevant state laws that protect victims. The Mandarin webinar aired from 2:00-3:00 PM and the Cantonese webinar aired from 3:00-4:00 PM.

Guest speakers included moderator Kwok Kei Ng and representatives from the NYPD, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, and the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR).

William Kwok, Asian Liaison of the Immigrant Outreach Unit of the NYPD Community Affairs Bureau, discussed the practical measures by which individuals can protect themselves from immediate physical harm. Individuals are encouraged to run into public spaces such as stores or public spaces that may have police officers on duty. If they are able, victims are encouraged to call 911 or get bystanders to contact the police. There are translators on stand-by at the NYPD if needed. Most importantly, undocumented persons should not be afraid of calling the NYPD as officers are forbidden to inquire about a victim’s immigration status.

Additionally, Officer Kwok and Mr. Ng discussed specific provisions of the Hate Crimes laws that apply. New York Penal Law § 240.30-3 describes the elements of Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree, stating that the incident must reflect an intent to harass, annoy, threaten, or harm through physical force. New York Penal Law §485.05, the Hate Crime Law, enhances sentencing if the incident is proven to be bias-motivated. Victims and bystanders should be unafraid of reporting incidents to the authorities; any materials whether in the form of videos, audios, or testimonials can help secure a conviction. Officer Kwok and Mr. Ng presented in both the Mandarin and Cantonese webinars.

Lastly, Jiarui Li, an associate at Simpson Thacher and guest speaker for the Mandarin webinar, and Karen Yau, Co-Chair of the AABANY Pro Bono & Community Service Committee and guest speaker for the Cantonese webinar, discussed the various resources available to victims. Victims should contact the New York Office of Victim Services and the NYCCHR to see if they are eligible for compensation and legal assistance. Both New York City and New York State have dedicated Hate Crimes Task Forces that victims can contact. Victims residing in New Jersey or Connecticut can contact their own individual state Hate Crimes Task Forces.

The guest speakers reiterated the importance of reporting anti-Asian incidents to the police. Only by informing the relevant authorities can we adopt a preventative approach and stop bias incidents from occurring before individuals are harmed.

We thank the guest speakers for joining us and for their commitment to protecting the well-being of everyday New Yorkers. For more information on anti-Asian harassment and violence, email [email protected] or call our hotline at 516-690-7724.