Tag: white & case

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AABANY Hosts 2024 Annual Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street to Celebrate our 35th Anniversary

On Wednesday, May 22, 2024, AABANY hosted its 2024 Annual Dinner with the theme “Building a Strong Foundation for a Brighter Future” at Cipriani Wall Street. Celebrating the 35th Anniversary of AABANY, the event was hosted again during Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Month with over 700 attorneys, judges, prosecutors, in-house counsel, government officials, and dignitaries who came out to celebrate with us at the Annual Dinner.

The event began with an invite-only General Counsel Reception which was attended by 40 General Counsels and numerous sponsor guests. We thank our General Counsel Reception sponsor, Groombridge, Wu, Baughman & Stone for helping us start off the night strong! To see the full list of General Counsels who accepted AABANY’s invitation, please click here.

The General Counsel Reception occurred simultaneously with a Cocktail Reception in the West Ballroom where numerous guests mingled, caught up with each other, made new connections, and took photos at the step-and-repeat.

After the Cocktail Reception, the dinner and program began with CeFaan Kim as the night’s excellent host and charismatic Master of Ceremonies. First course was already plated as CeFaan kicked off the program. He invited to the stage Karen Kim, Immediate Past President, to deliver her remarks as the outgoing President. She was followed by our first honoree, Iris Lan, Esq., recipient of AABANY’s Public Service Award.

Iris began her speech by praising AABANY for its work in preventing AAPI Hate, as well as its support for the AAPI legal community. To close out, Iris told a story attributed to United States Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson. The story was centered around three stone basins: “Each stone basin represents a judge or a lawyer,” Iris stated. “Some see their work as merely a way to earn a living. Others perhaps view their work as applying legal precedent molding their decision.” Iris then described the third stone basin as one that builds a “cathedral,” representing the building of a path for others to walk through. She thanked AABANY, as an embodiment of this third basin, for “building the cathedral of the future.”

After Iris received her reward, a short video was shown, celebrating 35 years of AABANY. It discussed the birth of AABANY as an organization established to support the community of AAPI legal professionals and the wider AAPI community. It then chronicled AABANY’s growth from a small group that would host social events to an organization with a wide-reaching mission and membership. It also delved into how AABANY contended with the COVID-19 pandemic and the uptick in anti-Asian hate, and the birth of the anti-Asian Violence Task Force. 

Following the 35th anniversary video, White & Case LLP was presented with the Law Firm Diversity Award for its dedication to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal field. Sylvia Chin accepted the award on behalf of the firm. Congratulations to White & Case on this well-deserved honor. To read more about the award, read the press release here.

After a brief time for guests to continue networking, AABANY was proud to honor the Honorable Denny Chin, United States Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, with AABANY’s Impact Leadership Award

Judge Chin delivered a powerful speech on the importance of resilience and highlighted some of his most memorable career moments, such as sentencing Bernie Madoff in 2009.   

In addition, we presented the 2024 class of Don H. Liu Scholars: Felicia Hou, Grace Koh and Yangji Sherpa. Read more about the program here. Before this year’s class of DHL Scholars was presented, a short film celebrated the tenth anniversary of this program and its many accomplished and worthy recipients.

The dinner ended with a short trailer for the documentary, Voices Against Anti-Asian Hate, produced by the AABANY Anti-Asian Violence Task Force. The film featured numerous victims and survivors of anti-Asian hate, including Justin Go, father of Michelle Go, who spoke eloquently about her murder in January 2022. After the trailer played, CeFaan Kim stated, “Do not be afraid, and make sure you are heard.”

Next, AABANY President Joseph Eng made closing remarks, celebrating community leaders, former presidents of AABANY, and founders in attendance, as well as discussing the “next 35 years” of AABANY, expressing the hope that the paths those leaders and founders had forged would become familiar ones for success. He envisioned a future where “exceptional is the norm,” where AAPI voices are strong and heard throughout the legal community and beyond, and where young AAPIs are encouraged and inspired to enter the profession. He finished by again congratulating the night’s award winners, thanking the sponsors, and finally thanking his wife, Alejandra. 

After the dinner, attendees who wished to extend the celebration went up to the Mezzanine for the afterparty, which continued until midnight.

We thank the AABANY 2024 Annual Dinner Planning Committee and volunteers for their hours of hard work to organize this annual dinner and making it a celebration to remember. Thank you to AABANY 2024 President Joseph Eng for his leadership of the 2024 Annual Dinner Planning Committee.

We gratefully acknowledge all our sponsors whose generous contributions allow us to continue our work of supporting the AANHPI legal community and the AANHPI community as a whole. Thank you to our top sponsors: 

Lastly, we thank everyone who attended the 2024 Annual Dinner for making our 35th anniversary so special and memorable. You can view the photo albums and videos from the 2024 Annual Dinner here. 

Please save the date for the 2025 Annual Dinner taking place on May 29, 2025. 

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Congratulations to Poonam Gupta on Being Selected to Receive The Legal Aid Society Pro Bono Publico Award

Please join us in congratulating Poonam Gupta, AABANY Immigration Committee Co-Chair and Counsel and Director of Immigration Services at White & Case LLP, on being selected to receive The Legal Aid Society Pro Bono Publico Award.

Every year, The Legal Aid Society recognizes the outstanding work of volunteer lawyers, law firms, corporations, and other professionals who have volunteered their time and talent to provide exceptional legal services to low-income New Yorkers.

Poonam will be presented the award on Monday, October 28, 2019 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at The Prince George Ballroom, 15 East 27th Street, New York, NY.

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Press Release: White & Case to Receive Law Firm Diversity Award from Asian American Bar Association of New York

NEW YORK – The Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”) is proud to announce that White & Case, LLP will be the recipient of this year’s Law Firm Diversity Award.

Since 2014, AABANY has annually granted this award to one law firm for exceptional commitment to the improvement of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.

This year, AABANY has chosen to recognize White & Case for its outstanding support of diversity and inclusion. Examples of the firm’s significant achievements in this area include its continual status as 100% LGBT inclusive (measured by the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index), its relentless drive in creating new links with Asian American legal communities (as well as maintaining and enriching existing ones), and its careful attentiveness in crafting a pipeline of leadership for women and minority attorneys. White & Case’s sensitivity to diversity issues in an international context and willingness to combat them through innovative initiatives such as the Global Women’s Initiative pilot program for women lawyers working in international offices also deserves much praise and recognition for setting an example of how diversity and inclusion efforts should be spearheaded at an international level.

“White & Case shines as an example of how diversity and inclusion issues can be improved in impactful and meaningful ways in the legal profession,” states Yang Chen, Executive Director of AABANY. “Recent efforts to eliminate recruitment bias amongst partners are only a snapshot of changes that are currently taking place at White & Case. We proudly recognize White & Case as our 2017 Law Firm Diversity Award honoree.”

The award will be presented at AABANY’s 2017 Annual Dinner, taking place at Cipriani Wall Street on February 22.

For more information, please contact Yang Chen, AABANY Executive Director, at (212) 332-2478, or direct any inquiries to [email protected].

The Asian American Bar Association of New York is a professional membership organization of attorneys concerned with issues affecting the Asian Pacific American community. Incorporated in 1989, AABANY seeks not only to encourage the professional growth of its members but also to advocate for the Asian Pacific American community as a whole. AABANY is the New York regional affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).

Additional information about AABANY is available at www.aabany.org

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NAPABA Names White & Case LLP as Its 2016 Law Firm Diversity Award Recipient

WASHINGTON — The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) has named White & Case LLP as the 2016 Law Firm Diversity Award recipient. NAPABA created the Law Firm Diversity Award to recognize law firms that actively, affirmatively, consistently, and enthusiastically recruit, retain, and promote Asian Pacific American lawyers to equity partnership and firm leadership.

The award will be presented at the NAPABA Anniversary Gala at the 2016 NAPABA Convention in San Diego, California, on Nov. 5, 2016.

“White & Case is a distinguished industry leader when it comes to workplace diversity,” said NAPABA President Jin Y. Hwang. “To be regularly lauded by your peers as one of the nation’s leaders in diversity practices is extraordinary, and NAPABA celebrates White & Case’s constant devotion to diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.”

White & Case is regularly recognized as a leader in diversity by various prominent benchmarking surveys. The Law360 Diversity Snapshot has ranked White & Case as the most diverse law firm with respect to lawyers of color in the United States in 2016, as well as ranking 3rd among the 10 best law firms for Asian Pacific American attorneys. The firm also currently holds, for the third consecutive year, the No. 1 position on The American Lawyer Diversity Scorecard as the most diverse firm in the U.S. in a 2016 survey of over 220 of the largest and highest-grossing law firms in the country.

Additionally, White & Case scored an eighth consecutive perfect score of 100 percent on the 2016 Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index that measures employers’ commitment to LGBTQ workplace issues. The LGBTQ-related policies and practices evaluated by the survey include non-discrimination policies, domestic partner benefits, and diversity training.

For more information, the media may contact Brett Schuster, NAPABA communications manager, at202-775-9555 or [email protected].

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NEW YORK – May 28, 2015 – On May 26, as part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”), the Asian American Law Fund of New York, Inc., and White & Case LLP presented the New York premiere of Kicking Glass from the Boardroom to the Courtroom: Two Decades and Counting, a follow-up to a 1995 video produced by AABANY and White & Case regarding the position of Asian American women in the legal profession. The New York screening of Kicking Glass at the New York offices of White & Case LLP attracted approximately 100 attendees and was simultaneously live-broadcast to the White & Case offices in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Miami and Tampa. Click here to read the full Kicking Glass press release.

Photos by AABANY and Karen Zhou.

Check out the AABANY live-feed from the event below:

Check out the latest issue of the Advocate, hot off the presses and available at tonight’s Kicking Glass event. pic.twitter.com/UCHGNX5zKa

Thanks to @WhiteCase for hosting Kicking Glass from the Board Room to the Courtroom: Two Decades and Counting. pic.twitter.com/uYa6nrLMOt

Broadcasting Kicking Glass live to Tampa, Los Angeles, & Washington, DC! @WhiteCase pic.twitter.com/ApH45nHSDv

You’re not seeing double. That’s Judge Ling-Cohan standing in front of Judge Ling-Cohan. #KickingGlass pic.twitter.com/z53fICJLDB

The room’s filling up. Can’t wait for the New York premier of #KickingGlass to begin. pic.twitter.com/pmT5eX192T

1995: “I just don’t buy the myth that women aren’t entering the legal profession. We’ve been 30-40% of the workforce for 15 years.”

Hon. Ling-Cohan: I didn’t know any female Asian attorneys when I went to law school. There were few Asian judges when I wanted to be a judge

Hon. Chen: The solution has to be multi-faceted. [Progress] is slow, but happening. I see it when I go to the Asian bar conf. #KickingGlass

Hon. Ling-Cohan: In my first [judicial] election, people called me Chinky Chinky Chinky to my face. #KickingGlass

Clara Ohr: It’s difficult for the older generation to understand that a woman is in the room as more than a paralegal. #KickingGlass

1995: “I’d leave the practice of law for two years if I decided to have a child. Work life balance is a see-saw.” #KickingGlass

Clara Ohr: The fact that women have a uterus will probably always complicate things. #KickingGlass

Amy Wang: I am happy when law firm recruitment events do speak about work-life balance. To me, that’s progress. #KickingGlass

Grace Shim of @MinKwonCenter: I’ve been back five months after having a child. No one’s been able to give me a clear answer. #KickingGlass

Jennifer Kim: Our presence in leadership roles inspires younger women to define success in many ways, not just partnership. #KickingGlass

1995: “Partners tend to be white men, and they tend to mentor people who look like them or their sons.” #KickingGlass

Clara Ohr: We need help. We need to help each other. That’s not something that I see enough of. #KickingGlass

Saira Haider: You’ve got a seat at the table, so you’ve got to say something important that you can sit at the table again #KickingGlass

Hon. Chen: Be open to serendipity… Accept the notion that everyone makes mistakes even if they don’t admit it. #KickingGlass

Margaret Hanh-DuPont: Ultimately, in the final analysis, have you served your client well? #KickingGlass

What an incredible video presentation. Can’t wait for the panel! #KickingGlass pic.twitter.com/jAtvXsgJgJ

Sylvia Chin: I felt we needed a critical mass of female attorneys to let people know we make a difference. Cynthia Wong did not leave law!

Poojitha Rao: When I interviewed 21 or 22 years ago, I had trouble convincing employers that I had something generic to offer. #KickingGlass

Hon. Ling-Cohan: We are in a time of firsts. Despite there being so few Asian judges, we’re not considered a minority and we’re not white.

@aabany #KickingGlass video and panel discussion at White & Case. pic.twitter.com/hiW3vsuhCT

Hon. Chen: I think what holds so many Asian women back is self-doubt. It’s tough for those of us that grew up with tiger moms. #KickingGlass

Hon. Ling-Cohan: White women and Asian women walk into a room differently. Asian women like to make sure that they belong in the room.

Sapna Palla: I was a third-year associate when I had my first son. Not working was not even an option in my mind. #KickingGlass

Sapna Palla: Have a village to support you raise your child. My case was like my third child. #KickingGlass

Grace Shim, @MinKwonCenter: My husband and I came to the conclusion that you need either family or money to have a baby, and we had neither.

Hon. Chen: If a lot of people are asking to leave work at 5:30pm to see your family, it doesn’t seem so strange. #KickingGlass

Sapna Palla: If it were really equal, women wouldn’t feel scared that if they passed on an opportunity it would be held against them.

Grace Shim of @MinKwonCenter: Sometimes, as the token Asian, what you say matters; you have the opportunity to represent your interests.

Thanks to the Women’s Committee for putting together such an incredible show. Hopefully in another decade, even… http://t.co/wVfHd8Czeu

(Source: http://blog.aabany.org/)
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Press Release: Kicking Glass, Video About Asian American Women Lawyers, Has New York Premiere at White & Case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 28, 2015

Contact: Yang Chen, Executive Director
(718) 228-7206

NEW YORK – May 28, 2015 – On May 26, as part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”), the Asian American Law Fund of New York, Inc., and White & Case LLP presented the New York premiere of Kicking Glass from the Boardroom to the Courtroom: Two Decades and Counting, a follow-up to a 1995 video produced by AABANY and White & Case regarding the position of Asian American women in the legal profession. The New York screening of Kicking Glass at the New York offices of White & Case LLP attracted approximately 100 attendees and was simultaneously live-broadcast to the White & Case offices in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Miami and Tampa.

First presented at the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (“NAPABA”) Convention in 1995, the first Kicking Glass video explored Asian American women attorneys’ views on barriers to the highest levels of the profession, the successes they achieved, and what success meant to them.  Among the issues addressed were the “Asian woman” stereotype, and how to get recognition for one’s work, parity in the workplace, and achieving a work/life balance.  Headed by the AABANY Women’s Committee, the 2015 Kicking Glass video followed up on these important issues with several of the attorneys from the 1995 video as well as a new group of women and law students for their perspectives on the progress that has been made and the hurdles that remain. Following the screening, Sylvia Fung Chin, Partner at White & Case, moderated a candid panel discussion that included speakers featured in the video:

  • Hon. Pamela Chen, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • Hon. Doris Ling-Cohan, Appellate Term, First Department, Supreme Court of the State of New York
  • Sapna Palla, Partner, Wiggin and Dana LLP (AABANY Women’s Committee Co-Chair)
  • Poojitha Rao, Principal, Rao Law LLC
  • Grace Shim, Executive Director, MinKwon Center for Community Action
  • Helen Wan, Author, The Partner Track

“The video and panel discussion illustrate that since 1995 Asian American women attorneys have come closer to breaking through the glass ceiling but there is still significant progress to be made to give Asian American women attorneys equal opportunities for success in the legal field,” Sapna Palla, AABANY Women’s Committee Co-Chair stated. “Nevertheless, it is clear that open discussion about these issues and the presence of important role models such as Asian American women judges, General Counsel, law firm partners and Asian American women in leadership positions in the law provide great hope and optimism for the future. AABANY is committed to continuing this discussion and supporting the efforts of Asian American women attorneys to achieve their full potential in the legal field.”

For more information, please contact Yang Chen, AABANY Executive Director, at (718) 228-7206, or direct any inquiries to[email protected].

The Asian American Bar Association of New York is a professional membership organization of attorneys concerned with issues affecting the Asian Pacific American community.  Incorporated in 1989, AABANY seeks not only to encourage the professional growth of its members but also to advocate for the Asian Pacific American community as a whole.  AABANY is the New York regional affiliate of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA).

Additional information about AABANY is available at www.aabany.org

Follow our blog at www.blog.aabany.org

Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/aabany

Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/aabany

Find us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/aabany

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