Official blog of the Asian American Bar Association of New York
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:
Interpreters:
AABANY’s Issues Committee is pleased to invite you to join the newly formed AABANY Community Response Task Force!
The Community Response Task Force (CRTF) is AABANY’s answer to the rapidly changing legal landscape and the need for quick, effective, and coordinated responses to the emergent issues that affect our communities. AABANY is firmly committed to being a strong voice and steadfast advocate on behalf of the Asian-American/Pacific-Islander community. In the past several months, we have all been witness to sweeping changes that necessitated powerful legal responses. While there have been some great triumphs, there were often times when it was difficult to obtain information, to find ways to contribute, or to organize a response quickly enough to be effective.
The CRTF is specifically designed to address these needs. The CRTF will serve as a central clearinghouse for information and coordination – tailoring the alerts sent to each volunteer based on that volunteer’s preferences and the needs of the community. Alerts and actions will range from emergency legal services to direct non-legal service actions and from workshops to rallies.
Furthermore, the CRTF will not simply be a reactive body but we will seek to proactively research and prepare for issues on the horizon by reaching out to experts and formulating effective responses. We will also be reaching out and collaborating with other organizing bodies in order to present a more united and broad-based response to issues that affect our communities.
So, where does that leave you?
The CRTF is seeking first and foremost to create a database of willing, ready, and able volunteers, like you, who want be a part of the response. We will activate volunteers based on the subject area, the type of response, and the interests of each volunteer.
We are also looking for people to become members of the Task Force itself, helping to research and anticipate possible future issues, reaching out to experts and developing toolkits, and coordinating with
other organizations.
If you are interested, please fill out the this form or feel free to email us directly at [email protected]
We keep all responses and information confidential in the Task Force Database. Information contained therein will not be shared with anyone outside of the Task Force and are solely for the purpose of organizing and coordinating Task Force activities.
To learn more about the Issues Committee, visit http://www.aabany.org/?page=154
NAPABA Seeks Volunteer General Counsel
NAPABA is searching for a pro bono General Counsel to advise the NAPABA Board of Governors and the NAPABA Executive Director on a broad range of legal issues. The General Counsel also acts as a key strategic partner to the Board and Executive Director by providing guidance on many non-legal governance matters.
The General Counsel should be a senior-level, highly respected lawyer who has been active in NAPABA and who has some familiarity with the organization’s history and leadership. The General Counsel does not need to possess any particular legal background, but s/he should have access to other lawyers at his/her firm who could provide specialized expertise in areas such as non-profit governance, Illinois corporate law, employment, contracts, privacy, public communications, and non-profit tax. Although NAPABA is incorporated in Illinois and based in Washington, D.C., issues do arise from time to time that require expertise in the law of other jurisdictions. For these reasons, although association with a large firm is not required, it could be very helpful to the General Counsel in executing his/her duties.
To recommend a candidate or for more information, please contact NAPABA Executive Director Tina Matsuoka at [email protected].
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association | 1612 K St. NW, Suite 510 | Washington, D.C. 20006 | www.napaba.org
The nonprofit Empire Mock Trial is pleased to invite you to serve as a judge or juror at the Downtown Collegiate Program on January 21 or 22 at the SDNY. We’re looking for attorneys to volunteer as judges or jurors for one trial (approximately 3 hours). In exchange for their time, attorneys receive up to 3 non-transition CLE credits in the category of skills. Hosted in conjunction with NYU, the Downtown brings together some of the nation’s top trial advocacy programs, including Harvard, Yale and Columbia, among others.
You can help teach talented, motivated college students about the law by volunteering just a few hours of your time. In exchange, we’ll provide you with free CLE credits.
I’ve included general information about the program below, and you can register to judge here.
Have questions?
Call us at (917-426-3682) or email at [email protected].
Volunteer to Make our Voice and Vote Count
Voters will be go to the polls 2 more times this year (in September and November). This summer, join us to make sure that our voices from Chinatown and the Lower East Side are heard in September and November.
Upcoming volunteer days:
Sign up here to get involved or contact us at [email protected] or 212-274-1891.
Legal Outreach prepares urban youth from underserved neighborhoods in New York City to compete at high academic levels by using intensive legal and educational programs as a tool for fostering vision, developing skills, enhancing confidence, and facilitating the pursuit of higher education.
Legal Outreach wants you! Volunteer with Legal Outreach as an Attorney Mentor!
CONNECT with a NYC high school student, positively IMPACT their lives, and INSPIRE them to pursue higher heights!
To apply to be a mentor or for more information, click on the link in the title.
Thank you MBBA for sharing this opportunity with us.
The Clemency Project 2014 is an unprecedented, independent effort to provide assistance to federal prisoners serving draconian sentences for non-violent offenses. Over 75,000 prisoners are currently serving mandatory minimums for non-violent crimes including drug offenses. The National Bar Association’s (“NBA”) Young Lawyers Division and Criminal Law Section have joined efforts to review at least 1,000 clemency applications prior to January 18, 2016.
You do not need to be a criminal law lawyer to help. Volunteering is easy and not terribly time consuming. The average petition review timeline is approximately 20-25 hours. We highly encourage attorneys to seek approval and credit from their law firm or employer’s Pro Bono Coordinator.
Click on the link in the title for more details. Thank you MBBA for sharing this information with us.
Earn 3 CLE credits for FREE while taking part in a great cause!
The nonprofit Empire Mock Trial is pleased to invite you to participate as a judge in its “World Championship” mock trial program on October 24-26 at the federal court in Brooklyn. Over 550 talented high school students from across the globe are traveling to the Big Apple and they need you to serve as their mock judges and jurors but real life educators! By volunteering just a few hours of your time, you can make a meaningful impact in these young people’s lives while earning CLE credit in the process. It’s a win-win for everyone!
General information about the program can be found below, and you can register to judge here.
If you have any questions call (917-426-3682) or send email to [email protected]. Thank you!
Clemency Project 2014 needs your help.
The ABA Criminal Justice Section has partnered with the ACLU, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, the Federal Defenders, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers to create Clemency Project 2014, an initiative to provide pro bono representation to incarcerated people in the Federal Penal System seeking sentence commutation–executive clemency–under the DOJ’s New Clemency Initiative.
You do not need to be a criminal law lawyer to help. Volunteering is easy and not terribly time consuming. Clemency Project 2014 has prepared a 2-hour training and streamlined process that identifies and acquires most of the documents that you will need to review a case. In total, it takes on average between 25-30 attorney-hours from receiving a case to preparing that case for clemency petition.
If you are interested in volunteering, please visit the Clemency Project 2014 website: www.clemencyproject2014.org. You may also contact Jonathan Gitlen at [email protected], an attorney leading the Criminal Justice Section’s Clemency Representation Project, for any questions you might have.