Second Circuit Accepting Application for Pro Bono Appellate Mediator Panel

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is accepting applications for the Court’s Pro Bono Appellate Mediator Panel. The Pro Bono Appellate Mediator Panel is authorized by Local Rule 33.1, and is governed by the Second Circuit’s Pro Bono Appellate Mediator Panel Plan. Members of the Pro Bono Appellate Mediator Panel serve as volunteer mediators for counseled, civil appeals.

All applicants must be attorneys admitted to, and in good standing with, the Bar of the Second Circuit or the bar of a state within the Second Circuit. Applicants must have 10 years of legal experience and substantial mediation experience.

As explained in the Pro Bono Appellate Mediator Plan, the Panel’s size is limited; therefore, the Court cannot appoint every qualified applicant. Membership will be on a three-year rotational basis, subject to a limit of two consecutive terms.

To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, and this application to the Director of the Office of Legal Affairs and the Chief Circuit Mediator via email to [email protected]. Applications must be received by May 1, 2019. Please use the subject line: Appellate Mediator Panel.

Judges Needed for Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition

If you are an attorney attending the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Convention in Chicago this year, we request that you volunteer to serve as a judge in the preliminary and/or quarterfinal rounds of the 2018 Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition (Competition).  The Competition is an appellate advocacy competition sponsored annually by the NAPABA Law Foundation, an IRC § 501( c )(3) non-profit, charitable and educational affiliate of NAPABA.  This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Competition!  The Competition honors the late Judge Thomas Tang, a champion of individual rights, an advocate for the advancement of minority attorneys, and an ardent supporter of NAPABA.  Judge Tang served on the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals from 1977 until his passing in 1995. To learn more about the competition, click here.

This year’s problem addresses the following issues:

  1. Whether a state university may impose disciplinary sanctions on a student for non-curricular expressive conduct otherwise protected by the First Amendment in order to protect the expressive rights of other.
  2. Whether a state university may expel a law student based on university officials’ determination that her off-campus expressive activity, otherwise protected by the First Amendment, violates the professionalism standards governing attorneys.

The information for the preliminary and quarterfinal rounds is as follows:
Date:  Friday, November 9, 2018
Time:  Preliminary Round One (9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.), Preliminary Round Two (11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.), and Quarterfinal Round (2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.)
Place:  Sheraton Grand Chicago (301 E. North Water St., Chicago, IL 60611)

Please register online at https://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/dicpm to judge one or both of the preliminary rounds and/or the quarterfinal round.  Although the sign-up sheet is getting full, please consider signing up to be an alternate in the event someone needs to make a last minute cancellation. Once you register, you will be emailed the problem, the bench brief, the rules and the oral argument scoring sheets.  Please report to the Tennessee meeting room located on the second level at least 20 minutes before your scheduled round to obtain your room assignment.  We ask that alternates also report to the Tennessee meeting room 20 minutes before your scheduled room to determine if your services are needed for the Competition.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Linda Tran ([email protected]) or Leah Gould ([email protected]).

Volunteers Needed for AALDEF’s Election Protection Program

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The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund is in need of volunteers to survey Asian American voters and protect their vote. In past elections, Asian Americans have faced a series of barriers in exercising their right to vote. For example, poll workers were hostile and made racist remarks, poll sites had too few interpreters to assist Asian American voters, translated voting materials were missing or hidden from voters, and ballots were mistranslated listing Democratic candidates as Republicans, and vice versa. When the news media reported on election results and the vote by specific groups, Asian Americans were often overlooked. 

Since 1988, AALDEF has conducted exit polls of Asian American voters and monitored polls in every major election. Help us continue to resolve these issues at the polls by taking part in AALDEF’s 2018 Asian American Election Protection Program. On Election Day, November 6th, volunteers will document voter problems and the availability of language assistance. They will also conduct a nonpartisan multilingual exit poll to get a snapshot of Asian American candidate preferences, party enrollment, and issues of significance to Asian American voters.  

To read AALDEF’s report on the Asian American Vote, click here. Click here to sign up to volunteer. Attendance at one training session is required for all volunteers. All volunteers must be non-partisan and work a 3-hour shift. CLE trainings are 90 minutes, and attorneys can receive 1.5 CLE credits including 0.5 ethics credit. AABANY is the CLE provider for the New York training sessions. If you have volunteered in the past, you do not have to attend another training, but you must register to volunteer again. 

For more information, contact AALDEF Democracy Program Director Jerry Vattamala or Voting Rights Organizer Judy Lei at 800-966-5946 or [email protected].

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO DEFEND ASIAN AMERICAN VOTING RIGHTS

DC • CA • FL • GA • LA • MA • MD • MI • NJ • NM • NV • NY • PA • TX • VA

2018 Asian American Exit Poll and Poll Monitoring

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

In past elections, Asian Americans have faced a series of barriers in exercising their right to vote, including segregated “Asian” voting lines.  When the news media reported on election results, Asian Americans were overlooked.  In response, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) has conducted a non-partisan survey of Asian American voters to document Asian American voting patterns and document instances of anti-Asian voter disenfranchisement. AALDEF has monitored the elections for compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act, which mandates bilingual ballots and forbids anti-Asian voter discrimination.

We need your help.  In 2016, our volunteers surveyed 13,846 Asian American and Arab voters in 11 Asian languages at 55 cities about their voting encounters. Volunteers work in three hour shifts. There will be a one-hour training session for all volunteers in October (90 minutes for CLE credits).  All volunteers must be non-partisan during the time that they help.  Complete the form at Volunteer Sign-Up Form.  Thank you!

For more information, contact: AALDEF Democracy Program Director Jerry Vattamala or Voting Rights Organizer Fiona Zhao at 800-966-5946 or [email protected].

Register to Judge at The Downtown

Register to Judge at The Downtown

Empire Mock Trial (Opportunity to Judge)

Empire Mock Trial is excited to invite attorneys to judge at Empire New York, scheduled for November 18-19. The program is run by Empire Mock Trial, an education nonprofit.  The organization is asking attorneys to serve as a judge or juror for one three (3) hour trial, which includes a complimentary meal and brief orientation session.  The remarkable high school students hail from 6 countries and 16 states, and attorneys receive 3 free CLE credits for volunteering.

More program information can be found on the website here—it takes less than 5 minutes for volunteers to register.

For the event flyer, click here.

This is a win-win opportunity for everyone: the local community gets to empower the next generation of leaders, while students learn from their knowledge and expertise.

For more information, please contact 917-426-3682 or [email protected].

Volunteer to Serve as a Judge for the Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition

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Greetings!

If you are a judge or an attorney, we are writing to request that you volunteer to serve as a judge in the preliminary or quarterfinal rounds of the 2017 Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition (Competition).  The Competition is an appellate advocacy competition sponsored annually by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Law Foundation (NAPABA Law Foundation), an IRC § 501©(3) non-profit, charitable and educational affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).  The Competition honors the late Judge Thomas Tang, a champion of individual rights, an advocate for the advancement of minority attorneys, and an ardent supporter of NAPABA. Judge Tang served on the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals from 1977 until his passing in 1995.

This year’s problem addresses the following issues:

I.                 Whether the government’s acquisition of historical cell phone records, without a warrant, for the purpose of identifying an individual’s location over the course of several months violates the prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures found in the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

II.               Whether the warrantless use of cell-site simulators to track an individual’s location and movements in real-time violates the prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures found in the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The information for the preliminary and quarterfinal rounds is as follows:

Date:  Friday, November 3, 2017

Time:  Preliminary Round One (9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.), Preliminary Round Two (11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.), and Quarterfinal Round (2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.)

Place:  Washington Marriott Marquis (901 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20001)

Please register online at https://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/oicps to judge one or both of the preliminary rounds and/or the quarterfinal round.

Once you register, you will be emailed the problem, the bench brief, the rules and the oral argument scoring sheets.  You will receive an email to reconfirm your availability as well as provide you with your room assignment(s) and other logistic information by Friday, October 27, 2017.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Linda Tran ([email protected]) or Leah Gould ([email protected]).

Pro Bono Monthly Clinic on Wednesday, August 9

Our Pro Bono Monthly Clinic was held on Wednesday, August 9 (second Wednesday of the month).

Please join us in thanking all attorneys and interpreters that evening who assisted 30 clients:

Attorneys:

  • Michelle Yeung
  • Judy Lee
  • Jonathan Hernandez
  • May Chiang
  • Yun Gao
  • Kelly Diep
  • Kwok Ng
  • Asako Aiba
  • Chris Kwok
  • Tim Wong

Interpreters:

  • Wei Li
  • Mani Chander
  • Yiwen Feng
  • Wei Ling Huang